Asking for salary details before interview

carly burn

Got an interview at a place that is a good 2 hour drive from where I live. I'm not unemployed and applied on a bit of a whim with thoughts of moving myself and my family away. Thing is,I have no idea what the pay is. If its not enough then its a no no. I know this sounds a bit crass and am well aware people are fighting tooth and nail for any sort of work.But I don't fancy a 5hr round trip if its not practical.
Is it wrong for me to contact them and ask for the salary details and maybe explain my situation?

PL54

Have they advertised the role with no salary ?

SilentAddick

Get a mate to call up! Leave you all clean either way, ;-)

carly burn

PL54 said:

Have they advertised the role with no salary ?

£competitive

bolloxbolder

Of course you can and should ask for the salary range. They would probably have not shortlisted you if your salary was higher then that they can offer. Good luck.

Having worked for 20+ years in HR they will not hold it against you - indeed if you attend the interview it will hold you in good stead in their eyes as you are serious about the job and not a speculative applicant.

PL54

may be worth telling them what you are on and what you would expect - they can then cancel or continue

Henry Irving

Better to wait until you have been offered the job but before you accept. That is when you are in the strongest bargaining position.

Rizzo

Henry Irving said:

Better to wait until you have been offered the job but before you accept. That is when you are in the strongest bargaining position.

Doesn't really help when deciding whether or not to show up for the interview in the first place though.

Clem_Snide

Personally wouldn't ask and would wait till you need to IE if they offer you the job. Worst case scenario they won't give you want you want and you loose half a day of your life.

Whenever I interview people alarm bells ring if they are more interested in discussing salary and potential raises than the role/organisation.

ForeverAddickted

Clem_Snide said:

Whenever I interview people alarm bells ring if they are more interested in discussing salary and potential raises than the role/organisation.

Yeah personally I'd never ask this question until offered the job

In most of the Interviews I've been in recently I've been asked what I was on in my previous role and what I'm looking for in my next... Watch for their reaction to see if they're a million miles from what you want

DRF

I would wait until you have the job, it's only one day and good interview practice if nothing else. If you really don't want the job (or don't want it unless the pay is unreasonably high) then don't go to the interview.

Kap10

If you convince them enough then they will pay what you want within reason.

I was offered a contract and told them i would not look at below X, they then increased their offer by 40% and I took the contract. I would have accepted 20%. However, I waited till they knew they really wanted me before getting into the salary discussion.

Almost certainly they will ask you what you are looking for in the first interview. I would go for it if i was you and if they don't come up with the goodies put it down to interview expereince.

Henry Irving

Rizzo said:

Henry Irving said:

Better to wait until you have been offered the job but before you accept. That is when you are in the strongest bargaining position.

Doesn't really help when deciding whether or not to show up for the interview in the first place though.

Clem and Kap10 have answered this.

carly burn

Kap10 said:

If you convince them enough then they will pay what you want within reason.

I was offered a contract and told them i would not look at below X, they then increased their offer by 40% and I took the contract. I would have accepted 20%. However, I waited till they knew they really wanted me before getting into the salary discussion.

Almost certainly they will ask you what you are looking for in the first interview. I would go for it if i was you and if they don't come up with the goodies put it down to interview expereince.

Doesn't really work like that in the process engineering world. There will be a number of employees in the same position and grade and I would get the same as them. No more No less.

Kap10

carly burn said:

Kap10 said:

If you convince them enough then they will pay what you want within reason.

I was offered a contract and told them i would not look at below X, they then increased their offer by 40% and I took the contract. I would have accepted 20%. However, I waited till they knew they really wanted me before getting into the salary discussion.

Almost certainly they will ask you what you are looking for in the first interview. I would go for it if i was you and if they don't come up with the goodies put it down to interview experience.

Doesn't really work like that in the process engineering world. There will be a number of employees in the same position and grade and I would get the same as them. No more No less.

Fair enough, but I would still go to my end paragraph. Equally, if that is how it works, isn't the salary then relatively known? Anyway, there is enough good advice here either way, to help you decide, good luck, whatever you decide.

rikofold

I've seen roles that appealed to me, but were paying barely half what I'm on. Who's helping who by not having the conversation first? No-one works for free, salary is key factor in any job so it's both reasonable and sensible to ask.

After all, it's all very well for them to say it's £competitive, but who's defining that? It might be nothing of the sort for you. I always ask so as not to waste anyone's time, mine or theirs.

Trust me, unless you're being interviewed by Clem you'll be ok - and if you call HR, you won't be talking to Clem's doppleganger but someone who's paid for a modicum of empathy. Clem is right though, better to ask for the expected range beforehand than to bring it up in the interview. It will also arm you for negotiation in the likely event they want you.

JiMMy 85

Yeah my lot won't allow interviews if your 5-10k above the rate. I'm in a similar situation, albeit much closer to home so it's worth attending. I suspect the job in question will be 25% lower in pay, but it's worth finding out if you have to travel so far. Nothing wrong with that - might as well avoid wasting each others' time.

Macronate

Clem_Snide said:

Personally wouldn't ask and would wait till you need to IE if they offer you the job. Worst case scenario they won't give you want you want and you loose half a day of your life.

Whenever I interview people alarm bells ring if they are more interested in discussing salary and potential raises than the role/organisation.

did you do that on purpose?

kigelia

Henry Irving said:

Better to wait until you have been offered the job but before you accept. That is when you are in the strongest bargaining position.

agree with that. I never discussed salary until a company was willing to make an offer. Partly because as HI says it puts you in a stronger position but also because I was always flexible about salary if I felt the organisation was one I would especially enjoy working for.

I tended to prefer the same when on the other side of the interview room, essentially as a company we had an idea of what we would pay but could vary that depending on preferred candidate.

carly burn

kigelia said:

Henry Irving said:

Better to wait until you have been offered the job but before you accept. That is when you are in the strongest bargaining position.

agree with that. I never discussed salary until a company was willing to make an offer. Partly because as HI says it puts you in a stronger position but also because I was always flexible about salary if I felt the organisation was one I would especially enjoy working for.

I tended to prefer the same when on the other side of the interview room, essentially as a company we had an idea of what we would pay but could vary that depending on preferred candidate.

I also agree and would also normally do the same. As I said earlier,the salary is of huge importance to me as any move would require me to relocate.
I would be on the same salary as a number of other people that already work there. No 15% deal breakers here. Not really any reason for them to keep it a secret unless it is particularly bad. Just don't want to waste anyone's time.

kigelia

I also agree and would also normally do the same. As I said earlier,the salary is of huge importance to me as any move would require me to relocate.
I would be on the same salary as a number of other people that already work there. No 15% deal breakers here. Not really any reason for them to keep it a secret unless it is particularly bad. Just don't want to waste anyone's time.



That sounds perfectly reasonable I guess it is a case of how you worded it. I would say just be upfront about it.

ValleyGary

SilentAddick said:

Get a mate to call up! Leave you all clean either way, ;-)

This!

Mortimerician

Honestly can't see the problem. Be straightforward, although maybe make it more about them: "I want to understand the salary range as I don't want to waste your time". Fair points about interview practice, but the length of round trip makes it fair enough to have a dialogue.

Treating the hiring process as a negotiation game, for me, is irritating. I've had jobs where they ask me my salary get through three interviews then offer me less than I've told them. When I asked the consultant what they were playing at he said they'll just assume you've bumped it up. I just turned them down flat. Either they can't do arithmetic or they happily employ liars and believe me to be a liar. Either way we'd all be better off if everyone put their cards on the table upfront.

Clem_Snide

Macronate said:

Clem_Snide said:

Personally wouldn't ask and would wait till you need to IE if they offer you the job. Worst case scenario they won't give you want you want and you loose half a day of your life.

Whenever I interview people alarm bells ring if they are more interested in discussing salary and potential raises than the role/organisation.

did you do that on purpose?

Huzzah!

Can't believe it took someone so long to notice. :-)