Some employers ask you to state your desired salary in their application (rather than advertising it themselves). This has always struck me as a way to pre-empt the negotiating power of the potential applicant by outing and eliminating potential applicants whose salary expectations are higher than what the company would like to offer. In this situation, is it better to state your maximum desired salary first, or simply to leave the question blank?
Some employers ask you to state your desired salary in their application (rather than advertising it themselves). This has always struck me as a way to pre-empt the negotiating power of the potential applicant by outing and eliminating potential applicants whose salary expectations are higher than what the company would like to offer. In this situation, is it better to state your maximum desired salary first, or simply to leave the question blank?