This can be a very scary topic to discuss especially when you are nervous about the position. When it comes to what to put for desired salary for your first job, make sure you put in enough information to cover all aspects that you feel an employer would need to make a sound decision.
When you’re applying for your first job, it can be nerve-wracking to decide what to put for your desired salary. You don’t want to undersell yourself, but you also don’t want to appear too greedy and scare off the employer.
The best thing to do is think about what your needs are and how much you need to get by. For example, if you have a family or significant other who relies on your income, then your desired salary should be higher than if you are single and prefer not to have roommates or have any other financial commitments that would require additional funds.
You can also consider what the average salary range is in your area (this information is often available online), how long it takes people in your position at this company to reach a certain level of success (such as manager or director), and how much experience they usually have before they can advance.
If possible, ask current employees who work in similar positions how much they make—but be careful not to come across as nosy! Also keep in mind that some companies may offer benefits like bonuses or stock options which can increase the value of their salaries when calculating their total compensation packages.
What to put for desired salary for first job
Introduction
You might be wondering what you’re supposed to write for your desired salary on a job application. Well, it’s a little complicated. If you put something too low, you’ll be getting paid less than market rate for the rest of your career. If you put something too high, the company won’t even bother interviewing you because they think that’s more than they’d want to pay for someone with your skillset. But if you leave it blank, then the employer can assign anything they want and give themselves a discount from there! So how do you know what to put? Fortunately, we have some guidelines that should help:
You have some options, so choose carefully.
When it comes to deciding on the amount of money you’re looking for, there are a few options. You have some choices, so choose carefully.
- Use the one that will help you get the job: You might be able to use this approach if your current salary is low and you need more money in order to stay where you are working. For example, if your current salary is $40k while other people with similar experience are making $50k+, then using this strategy could help get them interested in hiring someone who isn’t asking for too much money in comparison.
- Use the one that will get you closer to what others are making at your level: If others make more than what’s expected for someone at your level (in other words, if they earn “too” much), then consider including a higher number just so that companies know how competitive their offer needs to be when compared against competitors’ offers from other firms or agencies
You can put the lowest number you would be willing to take.
If you are concerned about getting a job, I recommend that you put the lowest number you would be willing to take. This is because the option of getting hired for less than what you want is better than the alternative of not getting hired at all. If you do get hired with a lower salary than what was listed on your resume, then at least there’s still hope that they’ll raise your wage once they see how well-qualified and valuable an employee you are!
If they hire you at a higher salary than what was listed on your resume, then again, there’s still hope that they’ll raise your wage once they see how well-qualified and valuable an employee you are!
You can put the highest number you can imagine getting.
When it comes to salary, it’s best to be as honest as possible. The company you are applying for surely has a budget in mind and will want to know what your desired salary is before they make an offer. If you’re overqualified for the job, don’t just pick some random number that seems appropriate—unless of course, that’s exactly what you want.
If your desired salary is higher than the company can pay and negotiate down from there until we meet somewhere in between.
You can put something in between.
If you don’t know what salary to put in your cover letter, be honest. Tell them what your budget is and that you can make it work. A good employer will respect this approach and maybe even offer a better deal than expected.
On the other hand, if you have no idea how much money you want to get paid but think that $100k sounds like a lot of money for one year of work, then just write “$100k” as your desired salary. Your potential manager still won’t take you seriously and probably won’t hire someone who doesn’t even know how much she wants to earn every month (or even every week).
You can leave it blank.
You can leave it blank.
If you don’t know what salary to ask for, leave it blank. This is the easiest and most honest way to go about this process — no one will fault you for not knowing what to put down here. You can always get a higher salary later; if you undervalue yourself now, there’s a good chance that you’ll be stuck in that situation forever. If your boss offers a lower number than what was expected (because hey, everyone knows everyone else), don’t even think twice about saying no or negotiating further—you’d already be getting paid more than someone who just started!
Walking into a job negotiation with a real figure in mind is often helpful, but putting a desired salary on your application could get you disqualified for being too high or low.
- The lowest number you would be willing to take.
- The highest number you can imagine getting.
- Something in between, if you have a specific range in mind (e.g., $25K-$35K).
- Leave it blank, if you’re more concerned with impressing the company than landing your first job and are willing to take whatever they offer.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, we recommend that you put in a figure. Doing so will let employers know right away whether or not they can afford you, which can save you some time and give them a better sense of how well your expectations align with each other. Just be mindful of where you stand on the scale before submitting your application, and keep an eye out for opportunities to get more information about what’s reasonable during interviews or negotiations.
