Here’s a recent question from one of my clients and how I answered:
Question: I am interested in applying to more than one role at a particular employer. Is that ok, and if I move forward with all my submissions should my salary expectations be the same for each role (even if they are in different job functions or levels of seniority)? If I should only apply to one, which one should I choose?
My answer:
Like with anything, context matters in my answer to your question. It is ok to apply for more than one role at an employer if the following is true: the roles are in the same job family (i.e. project management/program management), and demonstrate self awareness about your goals, experiences, and qualifications. For example, applying for EVERY open role at an organization is not a good look. Applying for both an executive assistant AND a senior project manager or VP role is not a good look. But, applying for 2-3 openings that report to the same hiring manager (same program, for example), or the same function (project manager but different openings at one org) is strategic.
When applying for more than one opportunity at the same employer, it’s ok to have different salary requirements per role. If asked by the recruiter why your salary requirements are so different per role, you can say: "given the scope of the role AND the level of experience I bring, I would expect to land in a range of X to Y for this particular position."
If you receive advice directly from the hiring team or those with insight (a friend who works at the organization, for example) that the hiring team prefers candidates only apply to one role at a time, apply for the role for which you are most qualified. I am defining meeting qualifications as holding the exact degrees/licenses required in the job description and experience versus transferable experience or degrees/licenses. If you apply for a role for which you are overqualified in hopes that you’ll be seen as competitive, you could be viewed as lacking self-awareness or outside of the hiring team’s salary range. And if you apply for a role that is more of a stretch or promotion, you’ll likely be less competitive than other candidates, even if it’s a role which you could likely succeed in if hired.
Ultimately, you want to present yourself as someone who understands their level of seniority and job function, and with a "healthy" interest in the role (i.e. applying to the roles you're excited about via desperation to land anything).
Ideally, an employer will provide guidance on these questions on their career page. They might strongly encourage candidates to apply for all roles of interest, or a smaller employer might share that they are able to evaluate candidates for multiple opportunities at once especially if they see a fit between your profile and their openings.
