Hi,

I have been through 2 phone interviews with this company and now they want to fly me up there. My question is, can you ask what they want to pay before you get up there so it's not a waste of anyones time? I just don't want to spend time to go out of state if it's not the kind of money I need.

They are a local company, so there's not any Glassdoor reviews.

TIA!

Is there another company that you could look up in the area for an industry equivalent?

No they are the only company in this town doing what they do unfortunately.

I would think that you would have to interview to understand the salary range. They're not going to give a number until they understand your worth. Make clear to them the sacrifices you would need to make to move out of state, and that you were not seriously looking for a job if you currently have one.

Have you spoken with anybody in HR yet so that they understand what your current compensation is?

I had two situations where I interviewed for a position similar to the one I had and in the same market only to find out that their idea of compensation was about 1/3rd less than what I was currently earning.

I wish that I would have understood their salary expectations before we started.

The irony was that they seemed surprised that I actually had the experience they were asking for. Yep. I had the experience but not for 33% off list price.

MrsC2012 said:

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Hi,

I have been through 2 phone interviews with this company and now they want to fly me up there. My question is, can you ask what they want to pay before you get up there so it's not a waste of anyones time? I just don't want to spend time to go out of state if it's not the kind of money I need.

They are a local company, so there's not any Glassdoor reviews.

TIA!

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Just my $.02

Are they flying you up there on their dime?

Aside from losing time, will you lose any money?

Have you researched the COL in the new town/city/community, then reconciling it with the COL where now you reside, giving it an apples-to-apples comparison?

If I was going to fly someone up... to wherever... it's the flying part... It would be because I have no local talent that meets my candidate requirements and qualifications. You might recognize that as leverage when the circumstance arose. Maybe they know that they might have to pay more for talent... a qualified candidate... because no one in town/city/community has the skills for their gig.

You might consider having a good solid figure to counter with because, hopefully, you'll let them roll out the first number. If you go in knowing what is your bottom, no-holds-barred bottom line... you'll emerge victorious. Whether you accept the job, or not.

Best wishes, and keep us posted.

I would ask them. I had the same hing happen to me back in 1994. Brought me up there. Spent a lot of time touring their facilities.
Offered me less than I was currently making on drive back to airport. Screw you Avalon Hill Game Company.

Some might find this controversial, but when a company/recruiter contacts me out of the blue, one of the first questions I ask is the salary range for the position. I clearly frame it so that they understand I'm just trying to make sure neither side is wasting their time. Been down the interview process many times before only to find out the offer ends up being equal to or less (especially given adjusted cost of living for CA vs. TX, for example). If they won't share the range I thank them for their time and move on.

I have a different opinion from akaggie. I believe that you avoid addressing salary until you have the opportunity to prove you're the best fit for the job.

I within the last 3 years went through the process of interviewing for an out of state job. From my experience, I didn't want to Talk salary until the job offer because I didn't want to sell myself too short (by going too low) and also I didn't want to eliminate myslef (by going too high). It was frustrating as I really didn't know true market value for my position. So I wanted them to know how valuable I was before approaching salary...and to do that they would need to go through the identification of other candidates. Your risk is you waste a ton of time for a very stressful process but If you're strong enough in winning the job, you will get top dollar if you negotiate after proving that you are the choice.

akaggie05 said:

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Some might find this controversial, but when a company/recruiter contacts me out of the blue, one of the first questions I ask is the salary range for the position. I clearly frame it so that they understand I'm just trying to make sure neither side is wasting their time. Been down the interview process many times before only to find out the offer ends up being equal to or less (especially given adjusted cost of living for CA vs. TX, for example). If they won't share the range I thank them for their time and move on.

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I agree with this, but since I won't be changing jobs I won't get to do it. Especially people contacting YOU out of the blue. It's a simple conversation - "what is the range" for the position. Typically they are recruiters and don't want to waste their time as much as you don't want to waste your time.

Hi!

I ended up flying up Sunday for 24 hours, it was a really cool experience, they paid for everything. Money didn't come up, if I don't get an offer I chalk it up to learning about my industry in another town.

It was an amazing opportunity regardless.

akaggie05 said:

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Some might find this controversial, but when a company/recruiter contacts me out of the blue, one of the first questions I ask is the salary range for the position. I clearly frame it so that they understand I'm just trying to make sure neither side is wasting their time. Been down the interview process many times before only to find out the offer ends up being equal to or less (especially given adjusted cost of living for CA vs. TX, for example). If they won't share the range I thank them for their time and move on.

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I completely find that acceptable, especially since they contacted you. Now, I would find that to be tacky/odd if you applied to a job, and when they contacted you, your first question was about salary range.

But if someone is recruiting you, might as well ask to see if it is worth either of your time.