What salary should I put on my CV?

26.01.2022

When you apply for a new job, the first thing you do is submit your resume to the employer. This document is a kind of presentation of a candidate for a position, and the more necessary information it contains, the more chances the applicant has to interest the employer and get an invitation to an interview. You need to write a resume so that they want to invite you. Therefore, resume preparation service is the best option. You need a minimum of information, and in writing — where and when you studied, worked, the direction of the company, what positions you held. Everything is enough to make a competent resume for you.

However, one sub-item of the resume often raises questions — the level of the desired salary. Do I need to specify it, how to justify the named amount? Let’s figure it out.

Do I need to write the salary level in the resume?

This item is not mandatory, but if you seriously expect to get the desired position, you should write, if not a specific figure, then at least a “fork” (from and to) of the salary. There are several reasons for this.

The employer, wishing to «close» the vacancy, looks through a lot of resumes. Most of all, he will be interested in a document containing the most complete information about the skills and expectations of the candidate. Since a good leader values both his own and other people’s time, he will invite for a personal conversation only those applicants who “can afford” him and at the same time satisfy the requirements of the declared position.

If the level of the desired salary is indicated in the resume, this means that the applicant is not just passively waiting for any offer, sometimes not entirely beneficial for him, but strives for an objective assessment of his knowledge and a decent reward.

At the mention of the minimum possible amount of wages, employers who want to save on the employee and count on smaller requests from his side are automatically “dropped out”. And there are a lot of these.

How to determine the minimum income?

So what amount should be indicated in the resume so as not to scare off a potential employer, but also not to sell too cheap? There are several options.

Overpriced services. It is justified only if the specialist has unique expensive knowledge and skills, which must be mentioned in the resume. This includes continuing education courses, professional retraining, work experience abroad or in large companies. If there is nothing of the kind in the document, the employer will not even invite a candidate with excessive requirements for an interview.

Understating the cost of services. Perhaps if you have absolutely no experience in this area, and you want to get it, working for a little less money than more qualified specialists. Most often, “yesterday’s” students do this.

Specify the average amount. The average salary level is a figure obtained as a result of an analysis of the vacancy market in a particular region. If you study this issue, and your resume contains an average, the chances of getting the desired position will increase significantly.

Do not write anything about the salary. Your right is not to put this sub-item in your resume, but to discuss it directly at the interview, if you are invited to it.