YES.

ION, I only had to have conversations with two people about why I think their 3 rating is actually good, when they were terribly insulted by it.

Hi everyone. Been depressed for awhile after my aunt's death, and terribly stressed by the job search thing. Like, the most stressed out I've been in years....

So I'm sorry to skip 1000 posts and show up with a question, but... should I tell a recruiter what my minimum salary requirement is? I told a recruiter yesterday I'd get back to him with a minimum salary number, but I've since read that's a bad idea.

Because the recruiter works for the company doing the hiring, they could just pass that info to the hiring company, giving them a big advantage in salary negotiations.

If I don't give him a minimum salary, what should I say?

The recruiter says the company with the job I'm interested in hasn't posted what the salary range would be, which is why he wants my minimum salary requirement (and my preferred salary).

I'd give your preferred number as your minimum and go up from there. Don't low-ball yourself!

Is the minimum a negotiation point or set in stone with a laser-grid defense system and highly trained attack geese?

Tommy, Ask A Manager always says not to tell your salary history, because the salary of any given job should be based on that job's skill and requirements, not the applicant's history. You might look at her archives for how to navigate this.

Thanks for the advice, guys!

eta:

Of course, without thinking, I told the guy my current salary yesterday. But my current salary (at least before my pay cut) was pretty high, because my boss almost always contributes the maximum amount to his retirement account that is tax deductible, and he's required to contribute the same percentage to me, so I've been getting a lot of my compensation that way.

(I've never used a recruiter before. Must be more careful.)

Is the minimum a negotiation point or set in stone with a laser-grid defense system and highly trained attack geese?

Oh no, the attack geese! One more thing to be stressed about. :)

Good luck, tommyrot! I hope the job search is way easier than expected.

Thanks for the florist tips, folks! I just didn't want to screw it up and have flowers not show up.

Because I'm 99% sure I'm not going to the funeral. For reasons that are extremely long to sum up, but include the fact that it's going to be raining (possibly hard, as a remnant of the tropical storm [hurricane?] in the South right now) and it's a 50-minute drive ONE WAY in *good weather* (so god only knows what it will be like in the pouring rain), and I just...can't.

I asked myself, if the situation were reversed and it were my dad who had passed away (which will be the case someday [unless there's a family secret he hasn't told me, HIGHLANDER DAD]), and a cousin (or anyone, really) didn't come to the funeral, I would assume they had a good reason and really wouldn't give it another thought. Now, I can't control anyone's responses, and my dad might get pissed at me for not going, but I can't control that either.

And it's not because it's my birthday; that's just unfortunate timing. It's entirely because I just can't do it. I genuinely think the outcome, in terms of my mental health, would be very very bad. And I care more about my mental health than I do about my family members (including my dad) being pissed at me.

But I sure am glad I have therapy tomorrow.