Salaries have always been a touchy issue with recruiters and candidates alike. This is the one area where the hiring company and the potential employee are competing almost head to head against each other. The company, obviously, would like to be able to keep their costs as low as possible and bring the new employee into the company at a discount price. The employee on the other hand is looking for every chance to get just a little bit more.
This confrontation actually begins at the very start of the hiring process when the company tries to establish some sort of standard for the position they are trying to fill. They may base this target salary on their own employee's salaries or on a consultant's salary report. Once this target has been approved it is hard to overcome. The concern with an applicant is that by asking for too much you run the risk of scaring the company off when you may have taken less. The other side, asking for too little and passing up the chance to score a big hike in compensation. While you may not be able to negotiate with every company, the majority of firms will have some flexibility and if you have what they want they will come up with a reasonable offer to get you (emphasis on the word "reasonable").
As a candidate, your first step should be to research your worth. This is not that difficult to do but it may take some time and legwork on your part so don't wait around, get to it. Start by asking your friends about their opinions on salaries for the position you are applying to. Then checkout the Internet, a few sites are now offering salary information for the jobs they post (including www.Asia-Net.com). These sites will give you a reasonable range to work within. If you are particularly energetic you can contact a few headhunters and interview with them. Describe to them the job you are looking for and the salary you would like to get. They will tell you if you are way off or not. It doesn't hurt to gather information from a few different sources and then compare the results. Statistically it will give you a clearer picture of your current worth.
Do not include your current salary or desired salary in your cover letter or resume.
During your first interview, if the company has not received your salary information through a recruiter, you will most likely be asked for that bit of data. The question may be very straight forward such as, "How much are you making now?" or they may approach it from the other point of view and ask, "How much are you looking for?" Answering either question with a number is risky. Try to divert the question with an answer like, "This is a great company and the opportunity is the one I am looking for, I am sure that if you decide that I am right for the job you will make me a fair offer." Or if you are working with a headhunter you can always throw it back to them and say, "My agent told me that you and he would be discussing that at a later date. I would prefer if you followed up with him regarding compensation questions." You can try following up your answer by asking what a current company employee in that position is making. In some cases the interviewer will be very persistent and you will have to divulge some sort of number. By being too stubborn you can run the risk of being thrown out of the office and being declined for the position so use your judgement when the question comes up.
If you are forced to give a number then no matter what, do not agree to accept it unless you are already in the 3rd or 4th interview. Some interviewers might try to close you on a low salary before they even decide to hire you. Your and the hiring firm's goal should be the same at this point, coming to a conclusion about whether you are the right person for this job or not. Once that is decided a discussion about compensation can be had.
The most important thing to remember is that you and the hiring company want essentially the same thing. You working for them. As long as you are able to keep your negotiations/discussions moving forward you will find that it is possible to satisfy both sides.
