Should I include Salary Information in My Cover Letter?

One of the top questions with job seekers is whether or not we should include salary information on our cover letters. Generally it is just plain old business etiquette to not mention salary unless you are discussing it with the hiring manager or interviewer once they bring it up; however, over the last few years there have been some changes in regards to what companies are looking for.

It is definitely safe to say that if the company you are applying for is requiring salary expectations from you, then you should definitely provide them with it. With a down economy, jobs are a little scarce and truly there is an abundance of unemployed individuals who are applying for positions everywhere.

Simply doing what the employer requested by providing them with your salary expectations, which allows them to weed out those individuals whose salary expectations, are above and beyond their budget and what they can afford to pay you. While it does not look as professional to discuss salary on a cover letter, it is important that you do place your salary expectations on the cover letter, only if it is a requirement by the interviewer.

You definitely do not want to exclude yourself from the other candidates and potentially have your cover letter and resume thrown out because they do not have your salary requirements. Unfortunately some companies will not go the extra mile to interview an individual when they are missing required information, so your best bet is to go ahead and provide it when asked.

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If you absolutely MUST include your salary expectation, it is better to address the salary issue discretely by writing something like, “I would be pleased to discuss salary expectations once we discuss the logistics of the position” or something like “I would be glad to discuss salary once you have had a chance to assess my skills”. You do not necessarily have to include numbers to cover this requirement, but make sure you do address it if it is a requirement.

Now that we have talked about positions that require you to include salary expectations, I will tell you that the best thing that you can do is NOT include your salary requirements. It is a huge turnoff for an employer to have to read a cover letter that states what you want to get paid. Unless required, it is a bit unprofessional to even discuss this until after you are in the interview room and it is a topic that has come up while interviewing.

Will Employers Look At My Cover Letter Without Salary Expectations?

There are statistics that have been surveyed in the past that state that employers will still pursue your application regardless if there is a salary requirement or not, so to keep it safe and to keep yourself from disqualifying yourself you do not want to include it.

Now, if you are working with a recruiter you will definitely want to make sure that you provide your salary information because they will definitely need to know what type of position you will be able to fill with that salary expectation. Other than that, keep it professional by not discussing salary with employers until after the two of you have discussed the position and they job expectations.