Should you put salary expectations on your CV?
No. Keep salary off the CV and give a figure only where the employer asks, in a form field or the cover letter. Under the EU Pay Transparency Directive, employers must tell applicants the starting pay or its range.1
Written 13 October 2026. CitedCV. How we write our guides
Start with what the advert already tells you
Whether to name a number is mostly decided by the employer before you write anything. Read the advert and the application form for three signals, in this order.
- A published range. If the advert gives one, you have your anchor; there is rarely a reason to state your own figure as well.
- An explicit instruction, such as "please state your salary expectations in your cover letter". Follow it in the place it names, and only there.
- A required field on the online form. Answer it with a range and the basis (gross, per year), not with "negotiable" if the form rejects text.
- None of the three: leave salary out entirely. It comes up in a screening call or after the interview.
Where a salary figure belongs
Each part of an application has a different job. The CV is evidence of what you have done; the figure you want is a negotiating position, and it ages faster than anything else on the page.
| Place | Put a figure there? | How | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CV | No | No current salary, no past salary, no expectation | TED University Career Center: do not write your salary expectation |
| Cover letter | Only if the employer asked | One short paragraph between the third and the last | Prospects, May 2025 |
| Application form field | Yes, when the field is there | A range, gross, with the period and currency | The form itself |
| Screening call | Be ready with a range | Same range you would write; say what it includes | Practice, no rule |
| After an offer | Yes, this is the negotiation | Respond to their number, not to your earlier guess | Practice, no rule |
Why the CV is the wrong place
One CV usually goes to many employers. A figure that suits a small firm in one city undersells you to a larger one and prices you out of another, and it stays in every database the file lands in. Leaving it off loses nothing, because any employer that wants the number will ask.
How to write the figure when you are asked
Use a range with a clear basis
A single number becomes the ceiling of the conversation. A range shows where you would be content and leaves room above the bottom. Always state gross or net, per year or per month, and the currency; the EU directive itself defines a pay level as gross annual pay and the corresponding gross hourly pay, which is a sensible default in Europe.
Say whether the range covers the whole package
The directive's definition of pay includes the basic wage or salary and any other consideration in cash or in kind, and its recital lists bonuses, overtime compensation, travel facilities, housing and food allowances, and occupational pensions as examples. If a bonus or a car matters to you, say whether your figure includes it.
Sample wording
Example lines with invented figures. Replace them with a range you have researched for the role and the city.
| Situation | What to write |
|---|---|
| Required form field, EU job | €52,000 to €58,000 gross per year, base salary |
| Required form field, UK job | £38,000 to £42,000 per year, excluding bonus |
| Cover letter, when asked | You asked for my salary expectations: I am looking for £38,000 to £42,000 a year, and I am open to discussing the full package. |
| Advert already gives a range | The advertised range of €50,000 to €60,000 works for me. |
| Field that accepts only a number | Enter the bottom of your range; add the range in the free-text or cover-letter box if there is one |
The EU Pay Transparency Directive, read on 13 October 2026
Directive (EU) 2023/970 was read in the Official Journal text on EUR-Lex on 13 October 2026. Article 2(3) applies its Article 5 to applicants for employment, in both public and private sectors.
What the employer must tell you
Article 5(1) gives applicants the right to receive, from the prospective employer, information about the initial pay or its range, based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, and, where applicable, the relevant collective agreement. It must come in a way that allows an informed negotiation, such as in the published job advert, before the job interview or otherwise.
The ban on asking your pay history
Article 5(2) says an employer shall not ask applicants about their pay history in their current or previous jobs. Recital 33 adds that employers should not be allowed to enquire or proactively try to obtain it. If an EU employer asks what you earn now, you can answer with your expectation instead.
When it applies
Article 34 required Member States to bring their national laws into force by 7 June 2026. A directive reaches you through each country's own act, so the exact rules, and whether your country has finished, are on its labour ministry's site. Check it before relying on the right in a specific application.
Outside the EU
United Kingdom
The directive does not bind the UK. Prospects' rule of thumb applies: mention current salary or expectations only if the employer has specifically asked, and then between the third and the last paragraph of the cover letter.
United States
Pay transparency is set by states and cities. New York State's Labor Law section 194-b, for example, requires private employers with four or more employees to give a pay range and a job description for advertised jobs, promotions and transfers, and bars retaliation against applicants who ask for the information, according to the state Department of Labor. Check your own state's labor department.
Türkiye
Türkiye is outside the EU. Article 5 of Labour Act 4857 forbids agreeing a lower wage for the same work or work of equal value because of sex. The Turkish version of this page covers net and gross figures and the payslip that shows both.
When this advice does not fit
- Public-sector and academic posts with a published pay scale or grade: the scale is the answer, so there is nothing to state.
- Freelance and contract work, where a day rate on a profile or proposal is normal; the guide on freelance work on a CV covers how to present clients.
- Recruitment agencies that ask for your expectation at registration: a range given privately to the agency is not the same as a figure printed on the CV.
- An EU employer that insists on your current salary after the national law is in force: you can decline and give your expectation instead, citing the national law.
Next steps
- Research one range for the role and the city before you open the application form, and keep it in your notes so every form gets the same answer.
- If the employer asked for salary in the cover letter, the cover letter guide shows where the paragraph sits; UK readers can use the UK cover letter guide.
- Remove any old salary line from your CV, then run the file through the free checker on this site.
- CitedCV writes the CV from the facts you confirm, so a salary appears only if you enter one; a CV with no salary fact has no salary line.
Questions people ask
Should I put salary expectations on my CV?
No. Career services such as TED University tell applicants not to write a salary expectation on the CV. Give a figure only where the employer asks: a form field, the cover letter or a call.
What do I write in an expected salary field?
A range with its basis, such as "€52,000 to €58,000 gross per year, base salary". If the field takes only a number, enter the bottom of your range and explain in a free-text box.
Can an employer ask my current salary?
Not in the EU once national law applies: Article 5(2) of the Pay Transparency Directive bars employers from asking about pay history. Elsewhere it depends on the country, state or city.
Should I give a salary range or one number?
A range, in most cases. One number tends to become the ceiling, while a range shows where you would accept and leaves room to negotiate the full package.
Should salary expectations be gross or net?
Say which one you mean every time. For EU jobs gross annual pay is a safe default, because the EU directive defines pay levels as gross annual and gross hourly pay.
Where do salary expectations go in a cover letter?
In a short paragraph between the third and the last, and only if the employer asked for them, according to Prospects. Keep it to one or two sentences.
What if the job advert does not show a salary?
In the EU you are entitled to the starting pay or range before the interview or otherwise in time to negotiate, under Article 5(1) of the directive. You can ask the recruiter for it.
Is it OK to write "negotiable" as my expected salary?
It is fine in a free-text field when you prefer not to commit, but it does not answer the question. If the employer insists, a researched range is more useful to both sides.
Sources
- Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency, Official Journal L 132 (EUR-Lex): Articles 2, 3, 5 and 34eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/970/oj
- Prospects: How to write a cover letter (May 2025)www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/cover-letters/
- TED University Career Center: CV preparation guidecareer.tedu.edu.tr/sites/default/files/docs/staj_kitapcik_0-1_1.pdf
- New York State Department of Labor: Pay transparency (Labor Law section 194-b)dol.ny.gov/pay-transparency
- 4857 sayılı İş Kanunu (mevzuat.gov.tr): article 5www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.5.4857.pdf