For wanting to know the approx salary before going to a job interview?

[helenjen]

I have recently been made redundant and before that the last time I went for a job interview was over 8 years ago - so I may well be very out of date here.

I applied for a job earlier on this week which I saw on an online job site which sounded right up my street, however there was no salary info on the post. Not even negotiable between £x and £y, it was just blank. I thought I might as well apply and if they got in touch I assumed I would be told the salary.

Yesterday I got a call inviting me for an interview which I have arranged for Monday however when I asked about the salary, she said she didn't have the information which I found a bit strange. She said they would tell me at the interview on Monday.

I get that it is probably negotiable and they will offer a salary based on however well the successful candidate does in their interview - however AIBU to be a bit put off by it? I feel like a professional company would just be upfront and honest about it?

I posted a very similar thing recently in the employment section of MN. YANBU! Very annoying and if I had a large pool of jobs to choose from (I don't, specialised field) I wouldn't even bother applying for ones that don't give a salary.

But I also get the impression that at this level, everyone is willing to negotiate. I can see why they might not want to give a range if the range could be really wide. At entry level it's much easier to give an indication.

I find this crazy. Salaries can vary between jobs by a huge amount and there are certain salaries I wouldn't waste my time going to the interview for. I'd phone back and ask for it before you go!

Agree with RichardBucket but yes it's so rude - because it feels really "you first" so you have to tell them what you want, which women tend to be worse at than men, which maintains the pay gap.

It's basically "we'll pay you as little as we can get away with"

I was once told that if a salary is good, they will make bloody well sure they mention it in the ad in order to get the best quality applicants.

So if they don't mention it, assume it is crap.

I had no idea of the salary when I went for my current job.
I later found out there was no room for negotiation- the salary was set but I was pleasantly surprised (floored in fact)by the offer.

Is it a job you want? If so, go to the interview and play it by ear. You may have a good point where you can ask. Good luck

Just go, negotiate a much higher salary if you've got all the essential and desirable. Eg if you're on £50k pa at the moment then say you're looking for something at the next level starting at around £60k. Particularly if there's more responsibility

Oh and look at similar jobs in the same field and see what they pay .... What is the job field/area/employer?

I hate this too.

They are lying btw, of course they have the salary information.

Depending on how much you want the job, I'd contact them again and say you don't want to waste anyone's time so need to know the salary in advance, as if it's low you won't be taking your application any further.

Be more Man.

Thanks all - didn't think I was being unreasonable

It's just annoying and would have been nice to have all the info so I'd have known whether or not it's worth my time (and theirs).

I am going to go on Monday anyway even if the money is crap I will use it as interview practice!

I went to an interview the other day which just said salary negotiable. They asked what I wanted at the interview and I just said I'd prefer them to make an offer first... It is annoying I agree!

Incidentally I always ask when recruiters call. They very often say they can't disclose so I say something like 'I currently earn in this band. For the right job I'd stay in that band, although I'm looking to advance and I'd expect the salary to reflect that... And obviously I don't want to waste your time if it's lower than that. I am not interested in a job which means a pay cut.'

The thing I don't get by not putting that sort of info on is that you could be wasting everyone's time. Eg, if you wouldn't take a job under £40k and they won't pay above £35k then they have wasted an interview (which costs money) I have better things to do than interview someone who wouldn't accept the job just say it on the advert or when you call to offer an interview

They know what salary you are expecting and honestly wouldn't waste everyone's time if it wasn't in the ballpark. Recruiters do not get paid unless you take the job so they aren't going to piss you or their client off.

In my field the salary is pretty much the only indication of exactly what the job involves. Job titles and descriptions and software used can be pretty much the same and it's the salary that indicates just how much in depth knowledge is needed.

When I was job hunting I insisted on them telling me the salary before I would commit to an interview. The jobs where no salary was listed and the recruitment companies were reluctant to give a starting salary were always very very low paid. I would call them back OP because if you have a salary in mind it's likely they are wasting your time.

It must also depend on how large the organisation is, so how many roles they have available.

I applied for a role, they asked me 'that question', they didnt seem surprised and i felt all went well. I got the call offering me an entirely different role, at a higher salary, while driving home. All good.

I went to an interview, at a large national company, having given them my salary expectations. As I was being escorted to the interview room, they proceeded to tell me the salary, which was close to being insulting, given the role. I had no intention of taking the role then, but I was there, so went through with the interview, which frankly was overkill too, as I was interviewed by four people. I got the role, turned it down and it turns out so did most of those they interviewed!

I feel your pain. I'm applying atm and roles in my fields with much the same job description are advertised anywhere from under £20k to over £80k! At least most of them do mention a ballpark but the ones that don't, I can only assume the pay is at the crap end.

If they are creating a new team and need people doing roughtly the same stuff at 4 levels and will allocate salary accordingly, why not just say so?

Job titles and descriptions and software used can be pretty much the same and it's the salary that indicates just how much in depth knowledge is needed.

This is the same as my field. The pay bands are clearly defined and are an easy indication of what your experience and knowledge should be.

It is annoying but not always straightforward. I've got an interview next week with no idea of salary so I'll have to cross that hurdle then. But what I'd accept depends on the finer detail of the job and other elements of package.

In a previous life when recruiting I had a range I could offer depending on the candidate. Already knew the territory with contacts would be offered more than someone I had to train up more.

Sounds like a waste of everyone's time.

Question: does this kind of behaviour (not listing salaries and being all fake coy about it) happen more frequently in jobs where a higher percentage of women traditionally apply/work? Thoughts?

No. As above. Salary depended on experience and contacts. Mainly male applicants.

A friend of mine walked out of an interview once when the salary was finally revealed after a load of coy bullshit. Timewasters.

Ewe - not in my industry, which is very male dominated as it gets more senior.

I make it clear to recruiters that unless there is a salary band to discuss then I am not pursuing it. As PP have said the ones who are reluctant to tell you, are usually those that want the moon on a stick for tuppence! I will not waste my time researching a company, its board and annual reports and completing other interview prep (it's common in my field to have to provide a formal 20-30min presentation as well), if someone can't tell me whether it's going to be worth my while applying.

I have no intention of taking a pay cut, so if they aren't prepared to disclose then I am not prepared to interview for it until such time as they do. I learned the hard way that as a woman you need to be prepared to dig your heels in, not be the first to bend and to learn to deal with difficult conversations and asking awkward questions. I dislike negotiating salary and find it embarrassing, but I do it anyway because the last time I didn't it turned out that my male colleagues were being paid £15K p.a. more than I was...