Forced to disclose salary expectations!

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I am currently applying for job via an online form.

One of the mandatory questions is salary expectations (no salary is advertised). This really irritates me as not only do I have to state a figure, it will also only accept numbers. Not even an opportunity to position my response.

What on earth do I put without shooting myself in the foot or excluding myself from the shortlist?!
I feel it's so underhand and am wondering if I even bother submitting the application

I wish companies would just publish the salary with the job advert it’s so annoying.

All you can do is be honest, if they won’t pay what you want then I guess that discounts you but it’s annoying because technically their budget might be higher and you’re shooting yourself in the foot, ugh I feel your pain!

Is there any info on salary online OP even just roughly for grades/roles? Maybe have a look on Glassdoor to see if there’s anything on there? Or depending on the role you could always take a look at what the industry “average” is for that role and use that to inform you?

It’s ridiculous and just means the company wants to get the cheapest deal possible. I know it’s really hard when you are searching for a job but as much as possible we’ve all got to ignore these arsehole companies that do this.

Can you Google similar jobs and see what the average salary is then jiggle it around and add a bit to reflect your experience, training, qualifications. Does the actual company appear on glassdoor which sometimes shows salaries for previous jobs

It’s outrageous that salaries are unpublished. Channel your inner man, do some research and then add 20% to the figure. If yours skills and experience are a good match then don’t be afraid to ask for what you are worth!

What job is it?

This sucks and will soon be illegal in EU member states. Let’s hope the UK adopts this law.

Just put in zero

That’s interesting to know, it would be great if the Uk had this law too, it’s such a bloody waste of everyone’s time not being transparent about salaries.

I'm just a going to go for it; if I'm discounted at paper sift purely because of what salary expectation then so be it.

This. Then follow up with an email.

I like the zero idea. Then you can say I didn't have any expectations at that point, I wa waiting to hear more about the role so I can decide on how well my skills and experience match and therefore what my corresponding salary expectations would be.

It’s an absolute waste of people’s time to not know until possibly the second interview stage whether or not they can actually afford to take the job.

Do you really want to work for them if this is their approach?

According to reviews it's otherwise a good company to work for.

The only risk to you from this approach is that you pitch it too low and they get a bargain.

Unless there are other very solid reasons for wanting this job then you should probably be aiming for at least 15% more than whatever you're on now, given that you'd be losing a lot of protection under employment law by moving (your right not to be unfairly dismissed doesn't kick in for two years), and you probably wouldn't be eligible for a promotion or pay rise for a while.

But definitely do as much research as possible about the company and role, use Glassdoor, try to figure out what other people in that role are getting paid, try to benchmark it against other similar roles at similar companies, talk to a recruiter about what sort of salary someone with your CV should expect if possible, to make sure you're not asking for a salary which is below market rate.

I agree put in zero or if it won't accept that, 1. If there is something kind of minimum value then just go 1234567 then it's clear you're not willing to disclose but can also get round their website validation rules.

I put "£competitive" once when filling in an application that insisted on this information. I didn't get to the next stage 😅

I'd be fearful a company who operates this way only values getting the cheapest people and not the best.

Hi