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Should I Include My Salary Requirements In My Cover Letter?

Administrator — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:52:52 +0000

Heather Eagar asked:

In most normal cases, you should not include your salary expectation in cover letters unless you have very good reason for doing so. This may be when a recruiter contacts you after seeing your resume somewhere, such as an online job board. In this particular case, then it is okay to reveal your salary expectations early, in order to avoid wasting your time and theirs. However, barring this one difference, you should just write the cover letter as you normally would.

Why Shouldn’t I Include My Salary Requirements In Every Cover Letter?

Writing salary expectations without first being asked for them can possibly make you look like someone who: a) jumps in without thinking or b) is desperate. If you include your salary requirements on the cover letter, you take the chance of the figure being either too low or too high. In the first case, the company will save a lot of money, particularly if you have the skills that the employer is looking for (and you will be giving your skills away). In the latter, you will potentially spoil your chances of being called for an interview if the figure is too high, yet you are willing to negotiate in other areas.

If you genuinely feel that you should include your salary requirements, then by all means do so. However, you need to do this with a bit of finesse; you have to do it in such a way that you won’t be pigeonholed into a particular figure. One effective way to do this is to employ the “range technique”. You’ll have to do some research and provide a range, beginning on the low end and ending on the high end. You can write something like, “Here is my salary expectation as required, which I believe will fall into the prevailing salary range for the position”. You should also indicate that you are willing to negotiate. Writing a full paragraph or not sufficiently researching the prevailing salary in the industry may create an odd impression, which will probably work against you.

There Are No Guarantees

Providing your salary requirement is not a guarantee in itself of anything, let alone a hiring decision, so don’t ask for a figure that is obviously higher than the industry standard. However, asking for too small a sum can fail to project you as a mature professional with overall awareness and one having good negotiating skills. All positions advertised will have salary ranges predetermined and asking candidates to specify them is really to find out whether suitable candidates fall within the range. The final salary depends on how much a particular employer is willing to invest in you, your history and how you can contribute to the company. Nonetheless, the final figure still rests within a predetermined range, barring extreme cases where you can strongly justify your case.

In general, you should be reasonable with salary requirements and take care not to let the entire cover letter circle around it alone – if you decide to include it at all. Be polite and matter-of-fact when writing it, as the company could be asking because of difficulties the company ran into due to someone over-qualified who asked for an out-of-the-range salary.

One thing that you should remember when faced with the “salary requirement question” is that companies do expect you to negotiate. Don’t disappoint them.

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5 Steps to a Successful Job Search

Administrator — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:36:18 +0000

Starting a job search can be an overwhelming and stress-provoking experience for some people. But it doesn’t have to be for you… Not if you approach it in the right way. You CAN have a successful job search, using the tips and advice you will find in this article.

Step 1: Know Where to Look for the Great Jobs

When most people begin a job search, they start with the Employment section of their local newspaper. But that is not the best place to find your dream job. Why? Simply because the best jobs are seldom found in the newspaper.

You may not want to hear this, but many times you can find the best jobs by tapping into “who you know.” Networking is absolutely the best way to locate a job. When you do a job search, talk to everyone you know about what you’re looking for. It’s hard to predict who might give you that valuable lead to your next job.

Recruiters or staffing consultants are also a great way to find a job. Many times, employers will outsource recruitment to a staffing firm. So those jobs are never listed in any public venue… only the staffing firm knows about them!

In today’s technologically-oriented world, the Internet is another way to conduct a job search. You still won’t always find the best jobs listed online, but you can get a much broader exposure by registering with a few online job search websites, such as Yahoo Jobs or CareerBuilder.

Step 2: Know What the Employer Wants

Employers care about more than your skills and experience. They’ll also want more intangible qualities, such as the ability to work as part of a team, creativity, and organization, depending on the job. They may also be looking for qualities unique to their corporate culture or employee expectations. Make it your business to find out as much as you can about what each employer is looking for before you begin your job search.

Step 3: Put Together a Powerful Resume and Killer Cover Letter

Once you’ve located a job you want to go after, you will need a resume and cover letter that will attract enough attention to make the employer want to interview you. You need to think of your resume and cover letter as a sort of “sales tool” that will convince the employer that you are the only one for the job.

There are many resources for writing resumes and cover letters on the Web and at your local bookstore and you are encouraged to learn as much as you can on this topic if you want to succeed in your job search. Or, if you prefer, you can always hire an expert to write them for you.

Here are a couple of quick tips. Your resume should be written clearly, simply, and to the point. Use lots of bullets and action words to highlight your accomplishments, rather than long paragraphs. Focus on quantifiable results, such as “Made a suggestion that streamlined operations and saved company $2500 in the first quarter”.

Your cover letter should not be a rehashing of your resume, but it can and should highlight specific points or expand on certain areas. Cover letters should always be customized to the employer and the job you are applying for. That is the single factor most likely to get you an interview.

Step 4: Prepare for Interviews Thoroughly

The interview is your opportunity to make a strong positive impression. It is essential that you prepare for it if you want to succeed in your job search. Take time to research possible interview questions the employer may ask and think carefully about how you plan to answer. Be prepared to discuss what you have to offer the employer.

It is also a great idea to have questions of your own for the recruiter. So take time to research the company before the interview. This is usually easy to do if they have a website. Think of some related questions about the company and about the job that you can ask and that will show your sincere interest, not to mention your thoroughness.

One set of questions you should always ask is what the next steps are after the interview. For example, how many other applicants do they have for the position, when do they expect to make a hiring decision, and will they let you know of their decision, one way or the other?

Step 5: Follow Up!

One of the most effective job search strategies, and one that is sorely underutilized by most job seekers, is following up. When you follow up consistently at different phases during the job search, you demonstrate your professionalism and your interest. As long as you are polite and considerate of the recruiter’s time, follow up should not be viewed as “annoying.”

After you submit a resume, application, and/or cover letter for a job opening, feel free to follow up within a reasonable time period to check on the status of your job application. As a rule of thumb, a week or two should be plenty of time.

After an interview, always follow up by sending a letter (or at least an email) to the interviewer to thank them for their time and for the opportunity to learn more about the job and the employer. This is also a chance for you to emphasize again what you have to offer the company.

And, if you haven’t heard about the employer’s decision on the job within a reasonable time frame (depending on what they told you about their recruitment process), it is perfectly permissible to contact them and ask.

Follow these five steps, and you are guaranteed to have a more successful job search.

Article by Jobsearchmanual.com
Visit http://www.jobsearchmanual.com/job-hunting/ for more job hunting articles, over 100 jobseeker tips, and more!

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Resumes That Work

Administrator — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:37:16 +0000

3 Steps to More Interviews

All of us involved with helping you get a new job, whether as third party recruiters or as representatives of a company evaluating you for employment of all receiving hundreds of emailed resumes a day. Having done professional search work for almost 40 years, I have seen both resumes change and how they are delivered change. The change in delivery means that how you think of your resume being seen needs to change too.

1. Few people are really looking at resumes in the traditional sense of pieces of paper. They are looking at screen shots of approximately 1/4 -1/3 of a page per shot and attempting to make decisions based upon a few quick Page-Downs (or PgDn on your keyboard). For this reason you need to think of your resume in a different way than you may have before. Critically examine your resume each time you scroll down. Where does your eye fall? Does it convey meaningful information about your experience for that particular position?

2. Generic resumes are less effective than targeted ones. Only use a generic resume if you are sending out a mass email or mass mail. Where you have a job description to work from, revise your resume to include information about your experience relevant to the particular job. Don’t assume that someone will read your resume in detail, think about nuances and call you to inquire whether you have the relevant experience. Few people have the time to email or call you to find out whether their interpretation of your experience is correct. Make it simple and put it in your resume!

3. For years, if people were going to attempt to forward a resume to an employer directly, I would encourage them to write a three paragraph cover letter. The first paragraph would explain why they were writing (I’m forwarding my resume in response to your ad in . . . for a Java Developer); the second would include several relevant points about their experience that pertain to the job (I believe my 5 years of experience with Java including 2 years of J2EE experience, coupled with my experience with your industry would allow me to be a productive performer within your organization). The third paragraph would extend a hope that they contact you for an interview or might indicate that you’ll be calling with an eye to meeting with them (I look forward to hearing from you about joining your firm . . . I’ll be calling you in the few days about our meeting to discuss my experience and the opportunity you have).

Today, I receive attachments of cover-letters. I never open them and few people I know open them because we don’t have time. Instead of attaching a cover letter, use the message to which you are attaching your resume as a place to write a commercial that pertains to the position.

We encourage people to copy and paste position descriptions into the message area of the email and go point by point and describe their relevant experience so that it is obvious. Sure takes the guesswork out of whether some is qualified, doesn’t it?

And that is really what you need to do–take the guesswork out of communicating whether you are qualified for a position. It’s one thing to not get an interview because you’re not qualified or because you are asking for too much money; it’s another to fail to get an interview because your resume doesn’t communicate that you have the experience that’s being sought.

Use these tips and watch your interviews grow.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

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