Dealing with Requests for Salary Requirements

If you're searching the job ads these days, you'll see that a lot of companies ask for you to send your salary requirements along with your cover letter and resume. 

Keep in mind, though, that if you have strong qualifications that you can outline in an attention-grabbing cover letter, it's in your best interest to leave all discussion of salary to the later stages of negotiation.  On the other hand, these requests are used to weed out applicants that don't fall within companies' budget.   If your numbers are too high, they can't afford you; too low, you're not at the career level that they're seeking. 

Some people like to state that their requirements are negotiable.  This approach may work; however, with the huge volume of resumes they receive, the company will probably want to eliminate as many candidates as possible without having to look at the resumes.   

The same situation applies to applicants who simply ignore the request.  These people are even more likely to suffer an early cut from the resume pool.  No matter how great your resume is, you're not going to get the job if they eliminate you without even looking at it.

Most successful applicants do a lot of research before drafting their cover letters.  Start at online sites, such as Salary.com, Payscale.com, or SalaryExpert.com.  You can also contact the career office at your local college or university.  These offices may offer free or low-cost advice to students or alumni.

If  you do decide to enter your salary requirement, naming a range rather than a single number will more likely help your resume survive this part of the weeding-out process.  For example, you may add a sentence or two to the end of your cover letter that says something like: My salary requirements are in the range of $50,000 - 56,000, depending on the job requirements and additional benefits.

A similar response to a salary requirement request may aid you in getting an interview, so consider your situation before deciding what to write.  Do you have the credentials and experience that makes you perfect for the job?  If so, you may be better off taking a chance and just saying that your requirements are negotiable.  If your cover letter doesn't stand out from the thousands that they receive, then you need to do dome research and use a range of numbers.

Set Up an Emergency Fund to Survive the Economic Meltdown

The current economic crisis has started a lot of people thinking about ways to adjust their lives to survive the next couple of years.  For sure, the gloomy forecast for an increase in job losses, skyrocketing costs for consumer goods, and a global credit crunch keeps a whole bunch of us up at night - and with good reason.

Yesterday, I sent an email to a high-level Wall Street insider I'll refer to as The Guru.  In answer to my question for the forecast for economic recovery and the possibility of a spike in prices, these are his exact words:

Things will get much, much worse in the next 2 years.....   not sure if prices will rise.  Right now commodity prices are in free fall from fear of lack of demand....

He didn't say things were going to get much worse, he said much, much worse.  This guy who trades millions of dollars of credit and debt every day doesn't tend to exaggerate. 

For any of us who are not in good financial shape, disaster looms ahead.  Time to sort things out, set up a realistic budget, and get ready for the tough times ahead.  

Where to Start

The most important thing for anyone to be financially sound is an emergency fund.  Financial advisors recommend setting aside at least 3 to 24 months living expenses in an easy-access, low- risk account.   How important is it to do this?  Essential.  In fact, most financial advisors urge their clients to set aside an absolute minimum of $1,000 before working to pay off credit card debt.

Financial security represents freedom to a lot of women, so we should all take responsibility for our fiscal fitness in the same way that we care for other aspects of our lives.  If you don't have an emergency fund now and/or you're living paycheck to paycheck, don't wait any longer.  Go to the library and take out a book that will help you get started.  (No reason to spend money on a book if the library has the title on the shelf!) 

Many people have found that The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey is a great place to start. 

Or you could try Saving On A Shoestring by Barbara O'Neill, but that title is out of print these days.  Published in 1997, her book recommends having $8,000 in your emergency fund.  I wonder what her number would be today!

Once you have an emergency fund set up to help you survive a possible job loss, you can move on to paying off high-interest debt and taking small steps towards financial freedom.

Credit Cards: Annual Fee and Rewards Programs

We all use credit cards (some more recklessly than others), but whether or not you carry a monthly balance, two benefits that all your credit cards should offer are no annual fee and a rewards program.  If you don't have both of these, you need to consider getting a new card and cancelling the old.  You're going to be using it anyway, might as well get something out of it.

No Annual Fee

With the huge number of cards available, there's no reason to ever choose one that makes you pay to use it.  If you're carrying a balance, you're paying enough.  If not, why pay for a card when you can get one that's just as good for free?  Some business accounts have different benefits, but as far as your personal accounts, refuse to part with any of your money.

Rewards Programs

In general, these rewards programs give you something for nothing.  The trick is to pay the balance every month.  For example, I have two credit cards that I use regularly.  One is an Amazon Visa from Chase, where you earned triple points on any purchases made at Amazon.com.  Every time I reach 2,500 points, they send me a $25 Amazon gift certificate.  Since Amazon now sells just about everything and shipping is free for any order of $25, this arrangement works out well.  

The other Visa is from Wachovia where you earn points for every dollar you spend with extra points for purchases made in supermarkets, at gas stations, and in pharmacies.  You can save up the points for increasingly valuable items. 

For example, one of the first rewards I chose was a $50 gift card to Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  Now, I'm saving my points.  Next month, I should have enough for an 8-piece Calphalon cookware set.   I'll get:

• 8" omelet pan
• 10" omelet pan
• 1-quart saucepan with lid
• 2-quart saucepan with lid
• 6-quart stockpot with lid

I'm getting this for free.  I did nothing but use my credit card normally.  I need a new cookware set, and instead of plunking down $150, I'm using my rewards points.    If you think about it, the credit card companies are actually paying us for using them with these rewards programs.  Considering how much interest we have to pay them, it seems like a good deal to me!