The whole process of applying for a job may be likened to an Olympic race. All may be highly qualified, possibly training to bag the actual trophy (in this case, the job) but only one gets the gold. It's like a battery of games which may or may not bring you the much-needed job. Your cover letter is your arsenal that will help propel you to reach greater heights and get lucrative job offers.

A job offer is not complete without the issue of the salary. The declaration of salary is double-edged sword in your cover letter. It is a game, and a tricky one at that. If you want to be able to nail that job, you must be able to maneuver your way into this salary game, among many other things. The companies are particularly sensitive on the issue of salary expectations of their prospective applicants. Depending on their manner of screening applicants, your salary expectation may be formed for or against you.

It is very difficult to find the balance between a reasonable salary, an overly declared one or an underpaid one. If you put in too little an amount in your cover letter of your salary expectation, they might hire you but you will be at a losing end since they will no longer allow you to negotiate for higher pay beyond your salary declaration in the cover letter. On the other hand, if you declare a very huge sum, they might get turned off and boot you out of the list of applicants to be considered due to that.

The best way to avoid the nuances of the salary game is not to play the game at all. You heard me right. Do not ever declare salary expectations in your cover letter. Given that it is possible to decline stating your salary expectations, this is what you must do. However, if you should be forced to give an amount by the companies, you must give not an exact amount, but a range with which you can flexibly negotiate should you proceed higher and land that job offer. The range must be comfortable enough come actual salary negotiation time.

The range of salary that you will be giving must not be a product of whim. But it must be something based on research of people who have the same job. Know the average net worth of that job and base your salary range declaration according to that. This way, you will have enough justification for declaring such and such an amount. This will also lessen resistance on the part of your potential employer, who probably knows as well as you do how much this job is really worth.

You must also know the profile of the company you are intending to work for. Are they highly profit-oriented and willing to sacrifice the quality of screening applicant in lieu of lower employee compensation? Or are they generous? If your potential employer proves to be the former, you might as well think twice before filing for an application and being forced to play the salary game in your cover letter. Typically, the really good companies would not mind shelling out huge compensation for deserving applicants. And if you are the deserving applicant, why settle for less?