I've been working for more than 2 decades. I am financially secure with no debt (yes, home/car/education paid off). Paid my son's freshman college tab also so no loan there either. So I am not desperate for a job as I have a good one right now.

I get inquiries over Linkedin about this or that position. Most of those positions are below where I currently am. So instead of wasting my time and theirs with a phonecall, I decided that I would just get to the point and ask them for the salary range when I respond to them over email/Linkedin. Most of them make some excuse and say it depends on experience, some say that they cannot reveal, I just weed them out and don't respond any further.

Sometimes they give me a range that is way lower than what I make now and I am able to tell them and not waste their time. A few years ago I made progress in the interviews and then found out that the position was offering 30% less than what I was making! It's a rare occasion that the salary offered is worthwhile thinking.

So I was wondering if anyone else did this to cut the crap and save time. If not, think about it.

I always ask recruiters for the salary range. When looking at postings, I typically don't even bother applying for jobs that don't list salaries because I figure it's less than what I'm making now or it gives them a chance to low-ball on the offer. Sometimes I look to see if I can find that info online somewhere before I consider applying.

I ask salary immediately. You're not going to sell me to take less than I'm willing to move for, so why waste time if the money isn't there.

From a professional standpoint, I see nothing wrong with it

I kind of like to know the specs of the car or the house I'm buying, so I don't think it's out of bounds to be up front about wanting to know the specs of the job I'm being pitched on. If a recruiter can't or won't even give me a range up front, why would I waste my time?

It saves them time, too.
I've applied for a job where they recruiter called and asked ME how much I was making. When I told him, he said, "Yeah. We would both be wasting our time here."

There's a REASON they are so desperate to fill a position, and I think you've found it.

Flip side of salary ranges…

For ease of number sake, if you currently make $50k and a recruiter approached you and said they had a job at $60-70k pay range, you're likely to be interested in the role assuming everything else lines up.

Congrats, you got the offer. $60k. But you know the range went up to $70k. Could you have got more? Are you not good enough to get the highest offer? What are your thoughts now that you got an offer that meets your minimum requirements to make a move but still some on the table?

You are WAY better off telling a recruiter your starting point (even if you aim high) and tell them to not contact unless the role is paying at least that much.

I always ask candidates what they're looking for. If it's not a fit, move on and wait for the next. No skin off my back. I get paid to put butts in seats. A candidate saying no thanks is the same as a candidate that gets an offer after 3 interviews but doesn't take it. Why waste anyone's time? This applies to other aspects of job search too.. remote, type of projects, etc etc.

Lol, I love when I get a holier than thou recruiter that says some bullsh*t like, "we want people that are about more than just money" after getting asked for salary.

"Oh, didn't see the part of the posting about being a gullible idiot being a requirement" is my typical response.

I love it when they reach out and say the job pays "six figures". I usually respond asking "by what month?"

Twice in my career I've had offers change after a the verbal offer.

The first was with a pretty big consulting company. The offer letter said "x salary, x bonus potential, x shares of stock and x weeks of vacation .

I get the hr paperwork on the first day and the 2 weeks of vacation has now transformed in to 10 days of PTO including holidays. Yeah **** you.
And then as I am reading the option grant I notice that it includes reference to a share holders agreement. Naturally since I am asking to sign a document that references another document, I ask to see said document. Hr is confused and says no one has ever asked for it before. I refuse to sign, it goes up to the CFO who ask "who do you think you are demanding to see a copy of the shareholders agreement?"
"Well, it isn't who I think I am. It is who I know I'm not. And that is someone dumb enough to work with a bunch of idiots that didn't read their their employment agreements. Send me a box and I'll ship my laptop back "

The other was a large health care provider. The recruiter and I agreed on a number, I go through the recruiting process. I get offered the job and then the written is 20% less than we agreed. So I accepted but kept looking. Ended up taking a contract with my current employer the day before I was supposed to start. So Friday at 4:45PM I called the recruiter to tell him "sorry to tell you this but I got an offer for what we agreed to at the beginning."

We post the full salary range on our job postings. Granted there isn't a lot of detail on the bonus plan, but we're not going to give that intel to our competition. I've been recruiting for 20+ years and I stopped ****ing around with candidates about salary secrecy after about 5 years in. I'm going to straight up tell you where we are total comp wise and if you don't like it there is no reason to waste anyone's time.

Fun fact. If a company does business in Colorado or if the position is remote with the possibility of someone in Colorado applying, the company is required to post the salary guardrails.

I always try to search and see if the job is listed in Colorado if I find a job anywhere in the country that might be interested in

And by the way. If a recruiter asks you what your current salary / compensation is, they are probably breaking the law in many states. I only ever asks what their expectation is / where do they need to be.

gigemags-99 said:

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And by the way. If a recruiter asks you what your current salary / compensation is, they are probably breaking the law in many states. I only ever asks what their expectation is / where do they need to be.

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I never give the answer to either. My current pay has absolutely zero to do with the job they may be talking to me about and I'm not going to give any numbers. You tell me the salary and then we can go from there.

gigemags-99 said:

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We post the full salary range on our job postings. Granted there isn't a lot of detail on the bonus plan, but we're not going to give that intel to our competition. I've been recruiting for 20+ years and I stopped ****ing around with candidates about salary secrecy after about 5 years in. I'm going to straight up tell you where we are total comp wise and if you don't like it there is no reason to waste anyone's time.

Fun fact. If a company does business in Colorado or if the position is remote with the possibility of someone in Colorado applying, the company is required to post the salary guardrails.

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I've had conversations with HR reps at state institutions that didn't want to post a minimum salary or salary range for fear of revealing info to competitors. I asked how much of an issue that really is when anyone can request the salary of every state employee through open records requests. I told them all they are likely doing is preventing good candidates from applying for positions that they suspect don't pay well (that's my assumption as well when I see nothing about compensation listed).

I can't remember the last recruiter screen where this didn't come up.

I did turn down an offer recently that was much less than discussed. The other company got pissy and I told them "I literally told you I expected X in cash comp and Y in equity comp".

Make them want you first, then talk salary.

You want to talk salary when their desire for you is highest, and that is not in the opening email.

Duncan Idaho said:

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I always try to search and see if the job is listed in Colorado if I find a job anywhere in the country that might be interested in

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Come November, all postings in NYC will be required to post reasonable salary ranges as well.

I cover salary in the first screen call. I want to be as up front as possible with candidates so as not to waste my time.

Did you just graduate last week?

Newsom. California. New law. Salary posting required in announcements.

bmks270 said:

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Make them want you first, then talk salary.

You want to talk salary when their desire for you is highest, and that is not in the opening email.

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I am two-thirds of my career done. I have no time or patience for bull-sheeting and playing games. I played the game when I started off, beat around the bush when it came to salary, said "negotiable". Said we could discuss it "later".

No more.

They want me, else they would not be contacting me. Now that they have contacted me, I am checking to see if they can afford me. If they cannot, then there is no point in me wasting my time. Time is money.

Irish 2.0 said:

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gigemags-99 said:

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And by the way. If a recruiter asks you what your current salary / compensation is, they are probably breaking the law in many states. I only ever asks what their expectation is / where do they need to be.

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I never give the answer to either. My current pay has absolutely zero to do with the job they may be talking to me about and I'm not going to give any numbers. You tell me the salary and then we can go from there.

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So if they offer the salary range and it's not where you want it to be, you don't offer any kind of range in response?


That's an immediate no for me in that sort of situation.

nai06 said:

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I cover salary in the first screen call. I want to be as up front as possible with candidates so as not to waste my time.

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I thought you said you were a teacher?

I haz the confuse...

Ag with kids said:

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nai06 said:

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I cover salary in the first screen call. I want to be as up front as possible with candidates so as not to waste my time.

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I thought you said you were a teacher?

I haz the confuse...

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Not anymore. Recently got out

Irish 2.0 said:

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gigemags-99 said:

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And by the way. If a recruiter asks you what your current salary / compensation is, they are probably breaking the law in many states. I only ever asks what their expectation is / where do they need to be.

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I never give the answer to either. My current pay has absolutely zero to do with the job they may be talking to me about and I'm not going to give any numbers. You tell me the salary and then we can go from there.

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I like this.
I have given them a range and danced around the number but I should be up front that I am not revealing the number, they tell me their number and if it matches, we move forward.

I have a few recruiters I speak with regularly, they know my numbers and don't waste my time.

When I get calls from ones I don't know I just ask and indicate I'm well compensated where I'm at and don't want to waste either of our time if the role wouldn't be appealing. I'm a couple decades in to a career and not terribly concerned about offending a recruiter's delicate sensibilities - especially not the ones cold calling. If they lie and I find out later I don't take their calls anymore or use them should I have a hiring need (also usually let my peers know at other companies so they don't engage them).

FIDO*98* said:

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Did you just graduate last week?

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Ha, no.

In cases where you want the job, and want to be paid well, it's better to court them a little bit before talking salary.

It seems most of the discussion here is around cold calls and e-mails from recruiters, likely for jobs that the recipient isn't all that interested in to begin with. I've always gotten good offers by delaying the salary talk to the end, and I just give most recruiters a polite no before having any salary details, unless I'm actually somewhat interested in the position.

Sometimes businesses or hiring managers can modify the role or salary range to bring you in if they really want you, but that will only be after they've gotten to know you. It's only worth the time to find out if you particularly like the company or role.

If you're just looking for salary, it's probably not a good fit to begin with.

I have heard of cases where after the interview process people were able to get higher salaries than the range initially provided by recruiters.

Quote:

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If you're just looking for salary, it's probably not a good fit to begin with.

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Never agreed with this sentiment. Work to live, not live to work.

I think you're misinterpreting at least a few posts. There is an aspect of this that it depends on your situation. Like if you know you're well compensated and in demand you can cut to the chase a bit. I mentioned recruiters in my post, but if a friend called with an opportunity at their company I'd probably approach very similarly.

TXAGFAN said:

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I think you're misinterpreting at least a few posts. There is an aspect of this that it depends on your situation. Like if you know you're well compensated and in demand you can cut to the chase a bit. I mentioned recruiters in my post, but if a friend called with an opportunity at their company I'd probably approach very similarly.

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This. An in demand, well compensated, senior level candidate can cut to the chase about salary. An entry level candidate right out of college with no other offers cannot.

Im an internal recruiter with over 12 years of experience and Im 100% transparent about salary. If I reach out to a candidate and they ask me about the salary range right away, I will tell them. I will always discuss salary in the first phone screen, either I will ask for their desired salary range or I will tell them our range. If they tell me their desired salary and its below our range, I will tell them that I can get them more money. Most recruiters just want to make a good offer to a candidate so they will accept, and we can move on to the next position. Everyone thinks we want to lowball them, but we don't.

I do the same when other companies reach out to me. If Im not familiar with the company, I will ask what the salary range for that role is right away. A recruiter reached out to me last week with a position that didn't seem that great, I asked what the range was, and it was $40k below what I'm making now. Im glad I asked so I didnt waste either of our time.

Now if Google or Exxon reach out to me, I assume their pay range is within my desired range, and I will wait to talk salary and "play the game" a little bit. If I were to ask about pay right away it might turn them off.

bmks270 said:

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FIDO*98* said:

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Did you just graduate last week?

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Ha, no.

In cases where you want the job, and want to be paid well, it's better to court them a little bit before talking salary.

It seems most of the discussion here is around cold calls and e-mails from recruiters, likely for jobs that the recipient isn't all that interested in to begin with. I've always gotten good offers by delaying the salary talk to the end, and I just give most recruiters a polite no before having any salary details, unless I'm actually somewhat interested in the position.

Sometimes businesses or hiring managers can modify the role or salary range to bring you in if they really want you, but that will only be after they've gotten to know you. It's only worth the time to find out if you particularly like the company or role.

If you're just looking for salary, it's probably not a good fit to begin with.

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No one is "just" looking for a salary. But salary is part of the package. If the job is great but salary is terrible then I will most likely say no. Only reason to say yes if I can get some good experience and then jump elsewhere.

ea1060 said:

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I do the same when other companies reach out to me. If Im not familiar with the company, I will ask what the salary range for that role is right away. A recruiter reached out to me last week with a position that didn't seem that great, I asked what the range was, and it was $40k below what I'm making now. Im glad I asked so I didnt waste either of our time.

Now if Google or Exxon reach out to me, I assume their pay range is within my desired range, and I will wait to talk salary and "play the game" a little bit. If I were to ask about pay right away it might turn them off.

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This happened to me a few years ago. 2 rounds in and I found out that the job paid me some 30% less than what I made then. I was angry that I did not ask earlier.

Yes, I agree with you If Google calls then I would expect their salaries are good and delay it.