English to Italian Bus/Financial Management hiring processes

When weighing what to do, experts say, it helps to take into account the desired job's level, the duration of the vacancy, the extent of rival contenders, the scarcity of your skills and your insights about the opening's likely salary.

And candid money talk with outside recruiters is almost always a good idea. "Blowing off the compensation question creates bad chemistry with the recruiter," cautions Patricia Cook, head of an executive-search boutique in Bronxville, N.Y. Thirteen times during her 22-year recruiting career, Ms. Cook has encountered qualified prospects who refused to tell her their pay. She presented the 12 women and one man to corporate clients. But none became a finalist.