Can you put salary requirements and salary history on a cover letter?

Can you put salary requirements and salary history on a cover letter?

• Answer:

  Of course you can. But why would you want to? It would leave you no room to negotiate. Instead, if you think you qualify for the job, simply indicate: "My salary requirements are flexible." You can leave salary off, but as a retained executive recruiter, I can tell you that if you don't put it in your cover letter, you're less likely to get a call from me. I see several hundred unsolicited resumes a day. Rarely is wage and salary given, but from my viewpoint, it would be preferred to have it with your original submission. I would recommend talking about salary when you have the most bargaining power. It may be the case that you are rejected for a job on the grounds that you demand too high a wage, but later the person getting the job ends up getting paid around that amount. You always have time to negotiate after they have shown interest in hiring you, at which point it may be costly for them to refuse you.