Got 2 interviews in the next 2 days, neither of which I know even a salary range for.

(Both are entry level/graduate jobs)

When is an acceptable point to ask the salary? How to approach it? Or is it best to just wait and see what they offer (if they decide to make me an offer?)

At the end, when they ask you if you have any questions. And no, I wouldn't wait. Ask it, and show that you're prepared to engaged in what I like to call – active management of your career 🙂

Aye – at the end when they say any questions. Thats your opportunity

Perfectly reasonable question, now part of the standard information we give at the start of the interview that they all sign to say they've received and understood.

say something like.

'i have to say that job x is so appealing that this question is almost irrelevant to me, but the wife will ask me when i return home, so could you tell me how much i will be paid?'

or something. charm them a bit is my point…

They may even ask you if you have any salary expectations in the interview, so find out what other jobs are offering – it's good to give real examples so it doesn't look like you're taking the piss!

If it's a grad job I'd check to see how many they are recruiting (if you can). It is likely you will all come in on exactly the same wage and that they've already agreed & budgeted for it.

Say it like this right at the very start straight after they say 'Hello'

"I'm not prepared to take anything less than 45k plus a car."

It'll save a lot of time in the long run.

If you feel uncomfortable there is no harm in waiting to the 2nd interview.

Remember that the purpose of an interview is to get the job offer. Once you've got the offer that's when you can decide f you want the job, or talk money.

I've seen too many people spoil their interview by trying to find out if they would like the job by asking a bunch of negative questions. By the time they decide it's OK they've done the damage.

You forgot Private Health and golf club membership, Samuri.

Ask about the package rather than the money. That way they can tell you about all the lovely benefits before admitting you will be paid a pittance.

I wouldn't ask at the first interview if I were you and I have hired >100 people in my time.

Wait until the second interview or better still wait until you get a job offer. As a graduate recruit they will be investing in you and you also investing some time with them in return so I would consider both jobs much more on what they can offer you as experience, interest and fun over the probably minimal differences in sallary.

Negotiating begins when there is an offer on the table IMO.

I've been told its not a good idea to ask until you've been offered the job.

If it not really likely they are going to try and do you over by offering you a really low wage. It probably more likely they have some kind of salary scale and can only offer you that wage.

"I'm not prepared to take anything less than 45k plus a car."

If that was on offer, I wouldn't even turn up at the interview… 😀

Me neither but he did say it was entry level. 😉

I imagine it would be ok to ask about the salary range / scale in accordance of the grade you are applying in addition to the benefits and package.

Why are people so nervy about asking THE MOST IMPORTANT THING about a job?

If the interviewer thinks less of you for asking, then you should wonder if it's the sort of place you want to work anyway.

Asking certainly wouldn't lose you the job on it's own, IMO.

Them: "Do you have any questions?"

You: "Yes (smile), what's the salary?"

"Any questions…?"
"Yes, can you afford me…" 😀

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

Not according to all the research – IIRC recognition is top with money about 7th.

Agree that you should always bring it up unless you're landed gentry and don't care 🙂 I'd be suspicious of anyone I interviewed who hadn't raised the issue of money by the end of a second interview.

Not according to all the research – IIRC recognition is top with money about 7th.

Yeah, I know. But it's the thing you most want to know when you;re sat in that interview.

Some good advice already but you may be put in a more difficult position – you need to be prepared for what to say if / when they ask what your salary expectation is… go too low and you will be pissed off when you find out you could have got more – ask for too much and you won't get to the second round.

My suggestion is you think through how you will turn this question round. A two part question could work quite well – something like, "The job sounds really interesting and I think I have all the skills / experience you are looking for (i.e. assure them you are interested and keep selling yourself) – clearly I want to be properly rewarded but don't know how packages work in your org. What salary range would you expect to pay for people in this position?" that will get them to expose not just the bottom entry starting level but where they might be prepared to move. Then when they have answered that you can ask, "and where would you put me on that salary range?". This will give you a clear indication of how they rank you and puts them on the back foot – if they like you they will probably already give something more away than their expected starting position. Oh – and if the interviewer is any good they will also be impressed with how you turned the question around…

Good luck!!!

The first person who says a number is always in the weakest position when it comes to negotiating. If they ask you what you would expect to be paid turn the question around !

The culture in the UK is to be coy about money – so yes ask if you want but try not to be crass, and make sure you ask the right person, in the public sector even up to quite a high grade some random HR bod will decide, not the people interviewing.

I always use my personality to the best of my ability in an interview, there's nothing worng with querying and commenting that there was not a sallary advertised or attached to the pre-interview literature and you're terribly sorry for asking but….

That way you don't look a cock and avoid a confronataional situation but invite them to a resolution by casting doubt on their initial advertising etc so they have to deffend it and notice that you have scrutiniesd the information.

NB, this can back fire if it was in the ad' bold as brass and you missed it.

We normally ask candidates what their salary expectations are.

A bold as brass "I want x", is rarely viewed favourably, mainly because the confident person who would make that statement is more likely to over-value themselves. We normally get a range back – ie I'm on this much now, and am looking to move up to etc.

Don't forget, it's not just your salary expectations that have to be accomodated. a good manager will need to try an make sure that your rewards fit well within the ranges paid to the existing team

Ring them today, why should it be a secret? Working for somebody else is something you only want to be doing for money. If it's too low it'll save you the bother of turning up. If you're prepared to work for these guys at any price, why are you bothering to ask?

I wouldn't ask at the first interview if I were you and I have hired >100 people in my time.

Wait until the second interview or better still wait until you get a job offer. As a graduate recruit they will be investing in you and you also investing some time with them in return so I would consider both jobs much more on what they can offer you as experience, interest and fun over the probably minimal differences in sallary

250 interviewed last week, not all by me of course, all of them on a graduate programme all have the salary explained to them at the start as it's asked about 95% of the time. They sign the form to say they've understood as it has been known for some to say "That's not what I was told." Some ask for it to be explained a little further and what other benefits there maybe, all are very reasonable questions and not even considered against them in the interview.

>'i have to say that job x is so appealing that this question is almost irrelevant to me

LOL!

Having conducted lots of interviews, I'd say that there may be a vague discussion of money but no real discussion until the offer is on the table. Somebody asking up front/straight away for the cash may seem less appealing than someone who wants the job for other reasons. Like they might enjoy it. Plus if they offer you the job you know that they want you and you may get a better offer.

If you are interested in how much the job pays. Try asking some other people in the industry, google it or ask on a forum.

Somebody asking up front/straight away for the cash may seem less appealing than someone who wants the job for other reasons

Why? Well all do out jobs because we want to be paid, wanting to find out just how much is not unreasonable at all. In fact if I was being interviewed and they were a bit shirty about the whole pay thing I'd be considering if I want to be employed by them or not.

IMHO, it needs bringing up. What's the point of ending an interview with no idea of the package, and therefore neither party knowing if you would take the job if offered? It happended to me 10 years ago, I had interviews with 3 different people, and none of them would indicate salary. When I pressed it with the 'lady from HR' (for want of a better expression) she did not know what position I was applying for :-).

I'd get it in well early. Just after " is there any decent badger in the office ? "

Because somebody who is looking for the job primarily for the money is less likely to do the job as well as someone interested in the job (and the money). Someone who pushes the money straight up rather than being interested in what the job is all about wouldn't get a job with me.

I'd ask before I wasted my time going to the interview.

Make them an offer they can't refuse . . .

say you'll work for them for free for the first 2 months, so they can suss you out.

If they refuse, . . . kill the Managers horse and whack the head in his bed!

Because somebody who is looking for the job primarily for the money is less likely to do the job as well as someone interested in the job (and the money). Someone who pushes the money straight up rather than being interested in what the job is all about wouldn't get a job with me.

Bo-lax. Seriously. Assuming he is not applying to be the CEO of a top100 company the 'difference' between someone doing a job because they want to and someone doing it for money is in my experience impossible to tell. If I stopped paying you tomorrow in the job you love I seriously doubt if you would continue to turn up. We're all capitalist pigs at heart.

To answer your question, if they don't proffer the salary range or package then I wuold be upfront and enquire as to the salary range or package that the role comes with. Whats the point wasting time on a second interview, background checks etc if the salary is 1 pund a year ? You wouldn;t work for that so why bother ? If they ask you what you expectations are you just leave it open and say that you'd expect a market salary for a role of that type. And stop. You can;t guess what their budgets are and what they might pay unless you know someone who is in that role. Thank f*ck i don't need to go job hunting again, games like this bore my pants off… 🙄

Anybody noticed that all the people who have genuine experience in recruiting say "don't ask" but plenty of people are still telling you its a good idea to?

I'd ask in the first interview. Just spit it out when they ask you if you have any questions. The advert didn't mention the salary, what is it?

I've declined second interviews on the basis of crap salaries, don't waste your time running around to be offered less than you are prepared to take. If they say it's negotiable, negotiate, Got an extra 5% on the advertised for my current job for saying I was expecting more and could they do anything about it.

Being a graduate/entry position and first interview I would probably not bring the subject of salary up unless the interviewer(s) gave you a specific lead.

I fully agree with the not wasting your time if the salary is far below your expectations etc but if you are time rich at the moment then the experience will be good experience etc. Such advice IMO seems better suited to people with a few years experience and a proven track record that supports their existing salary etc.

I would have thought that you have some idea of what typical graduate starting salaries are this year and some notion of whether the employer is likely to be toward the top end or very possibly lower than the mean.

I suspect there is very little room for any negotiation this year as if there ever was for graduate entrants. This year has been very tough for new graduates and competition is more fierce than ever. I would not want to risk alienating a prospective employer with unrealistic expectations of my own worth unless I had very good grounds and would be perfectly happy to walk away with no offer. Again a position easier for those currently in work and with a regular income.

BigJohn – Member

Anybody noticed that all the people who have genuine experience in recruiting say "don't ask" but plenty of people are still telling you its a good idea to?

I have experience in recruiting and I'd not wait to be asked. I expect to provide that information up front, otherwise the whole process can be a complete waste of time.

Anybody noticed that all the people who have genuine experience in recruiting say "don't ask" but plenty of people are still telling you its a good idea to?

Not strictly true – I have recruited every single person in both my companies. The thing is that salary/package etc is a factor for consideration in any job. An interview is a two way street – do they want you and more importantly do you want THEM?. The remuneration is a factor in that equation so I would expect them to set the stall out or at least give you a lead. If its not profferred then you have a right to enquire in my opinion. Unless you are totally desparate for a job then get what you are given.