What to Put for Desired Salary — Free Response Picker
Pick your field type, whether the posting shows a range, your location, and your pay basis. Get the exact wording to paste into the desired salary field — no salary number required, and none is ever collected.
The tool never asks for your salary — it only matches the wording to the question, the posted range, and your rights where you apply.
A decision flow, not a calculator.
The picker walks you through four choices: the type of salary question on the form, whether the posting shows a range, where you are applying, and how pay is expressed. From those facts it returns the recommended response strategy and copy-ready text. It does not ask for your salary, your target, or any number at all.
Every salary question, and what to put in it.
The static version of the picker’s logic — the same recommendation the tool returns, laid out so you can scan it before you ever open the form.
| Question on the form | Recommended response |
|---|---|
| Optional field | Leave it blank. If the form forces an entry to proceed, write “Negotiable — open to discussing based on the full compensation package.” |
| Required — free text | Range posted: anchor inside the band. No range in a transparency jurisdiction: ask for the band first. Otherwise, a short range anchored on your target plus one sentence on total compensation. |
| Required — numeric only | Enter your target — the figure you would say yes to — inside the posted band when one is shown. Never your floor, never a placeholder like 000 or 999. |
| Required — min/max range | Minimum is the lowest you would genuinely accept; maximum is a realistic stretch at or under the posted top. Keep both inside the band when one is posted. |
| Required — dropdown | Pick the band that contains your target — not the lowest band you would accept, which can anchor the offer at the bottom. |
| Asks for current or past salary | In ~20 US states + D.C., the EU Directive, BC, and PEI you can decline — redirect to your target for the role. Elsewhere, declining is still the right move. |
| Asked verbally or by email | Deflect once — “What’s the range budgeted for this role?” — then anchor with your target if pressed. |
Your salary is never entered or sent.
Salary is sensitive personal data. This tool deliberately avoids collecting it. The recommended wording uses placeholders like [your target] that you fill in yourself, on your own device, before pasting into the form.
Jobsistant records that the tool was completed, subject to the site’s analytics consent, along with the field type you selected. It never records a salary value, because the tool never asks for one.
Check the pay rules for the job's location.
Pay-posting and salary-history rules vary by location, employer, and role. The picker helps format a response but cannot decide whether a particular legal requirement covers your application. Check current labor-agency guidance if a legal right matters to your answer.
For examples of official guidance and how to use a posted range, see the pay transparency laws guide. For the reasoning behind each recommendation, read the salary expectations guide.
Common questions.
What does “desired salary” mean on an application?
It is the compensation you are seeking for the role. Some employers may use this answer in screening, but rules vary. The right answer depends on the field type, the role and location, and whether a range is posted.
Should I put 0 for desired salary?
Do not use 0 as a placeholder. If the field is optional, you can leave it blank; if it requires a number, enter a researched amount you would genuinely discuss. There is no universal auto-rejection rule for a particular value.
Can I write “negotiable” in a salary field?
Only where the field accepts text — and only as a fallback. Numeric-only fields reject non-numeric entries, and “negotiable” alone gives the filter nothing to work with. In a free-text field, a short range anchored on your target plus “flexible on total compensation” does the same job without the placeholder risk.
What if the posting does not show a salary range?
In a pay-transparency jurisdiction (20+ US jurisdictions, the EU, BC/ON/PEI in Canada) the employer must provide the range — ask for it before naming a number. Elsewhere, enter a researched, defensible target for the title and location rather than a blind guess.
Save your salary answer once. Confirm it for each role.
Save the answer you chose here and Jobsistant fills salary fields from it in the form’s own format, and always flags them for you to check. Location, pay period and scope change between postings; the final value is yours.
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