I Am Ashamed of Including My Salary On The Cover Letter

Career Dilemma: I am ashamed of including my salary on the cover letter

By Elizabeth Benu,

While you may be excited that a new job means a better salary, Sarah Muchemi is ashamed of her salary and would rather not apply for a job she is qualified for because of it:

This is her story:

I consider myself poor because I do not have a lot of money. Having invested heavily on my tuition fee I feel bad that I am earning peanuts while half my college mates are doing financially well in their lives. I am always qualified for jobs, but all the time I fail to apply because I feel that my salary is too little.

I graduated with a degree in Strategic Management and then landed a job at a small firm as an Operations Assistant. When I started one and a half years ago, I was earning 9,000 shillings, and so far it has only been increased to 14,000 shillings. Mind you I had previous experience that was a 6 months internship.

All the jobs that I am qualified for require someone to state their current and expected salary but I am ashamed of mine. I want to earn a salary in the range of Kshs. 35,000 to 45, 000 but with my current wage, no employer would consider hiring me. I feel that this would be their judging point on my potential as a job candidate.

With my poor pay a prospective employer may feel that my skill set is not worthy therefore deny me the chance to work with them. What do I do yet I really want to get out of my current job? Can I ignore that part and send my applications because I am not proud of my salary at all.

Please Help

What would you advise Sarah to do? Should she include her current salary on the cover letter or not?

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