# Job app question "Minimum Salary Requirement"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-app-question-minimum-salary-requirement/536083>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 14, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-app-question-minimum-salary-requirement/536083 "2010-04-14T17:11:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-app-question-minimum-salary-requirement/536083/41 "2010-04-15T22:51:06Z")

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> [@Clark\_Cello](#):
>
> Sure they can ask. But most won’t give it to them, and because of this, most won’t ask. My employer, one of the largest in the country, would not even consider giving out a former employe’s salary information.

Salary information is generally confirmed, not given. The third question is usually posed “Is the person eligible for rehire.” Keeps out personal opinion and gets an answer based on company policy.

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**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-app-question-minimum-salary-requirement/536083/42 "2010-04-15T23:36:07Z")

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> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> It is true if your skill set is a dime a dozen, or you know you don’t interview well, you are behind the 8-ball and in no position to try to increase their offer. In that case, the best answer to the “minimum salary required” question is, “What ever you are offering!”.

In those cases you will never have lots of jobs available. However I know plenty of people with skills that are definitely not dime a dozen who took over six months to find a job in this economy.

Actually, when I got asked that question on the phone, I’d say my current salary plus 10% or 15%. I figured even if this was a lowball salary for the job, I’d still be happy, and it was not absurdly out of the ballpark.

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**Author:** ![steadierfooting](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@steadierfooting](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steadierfooting)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/job-app-question-minimum-salary-requirement/536083/43 "2010-04-16T17:40:16Z")

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> [@BlinkingDuck](#):
>
> - You bring someone in for an interview and they think they are applying for a position much better paying than it is\*. This way I, as a hiring manager, can weed out people that think the position is more senior than it is. This is not necessarily hurting the job seeker but stopping us from wasting each others time.
> 
> - Because your company doesn’t pay that well, you cannot expect to get the best out there. Knowing what they expect means that you avoid the job seekers that know what they are worth but what your company will not allow you to pay.

I agree with this. For most average paying jobs, I think it’s fine to leave it blank. When you get into more specialized or higher paying jobs, it helps weed people out for people that are on the fence with skills. I was called by a company I applied for a Sr. Analyst position and my range was about 50K more than what the company paid. I think a ±20K isn’t going to have someone pass on the interview, but in my case I always make sure to put my salary requirements. There’s no way in hell I’d take a 50K pay cut and I’d rather have us waste each others time.

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