Most Hiring Managers Expect You to Ask About the Salary for the Second Interview
Obviously, you are allowed to ask for compensation during your job interview. This response from an online delivery company to a recent job candidate is harsh, but it raises an interesting question: When do you raise your paycheck?
Taylor Byrnes says she was in her second back-office interview for an online restaurant delivery service when she sent them a quick interview about compensation and benefits. They then canceled her second interview, stating that her “priorities did not match” with theirs and that her request was a “problem,” suggesting that it was contrary to their environment of persistence and motivation. She shared about this on Twitter:
This is a rather dramatic and unusual move, especially given this 2014 survey by HR Robert Half, which found that most senior hiring managers feel it’s appropriate to ask for compensation in either the first or second interview. Here’s how the numbers are distributed:
Poll: “When is it appropriate for job candidates to ask about compensation and benefits in the recruitment process?”
- Phone interview: 9%
- First interview: 31%
- Second interview: 38%
- Third interview or after: 8%
- Once you make an offer: 14%
They also asked managers, “Have you ever decided not to hire the best candidate after he asked too early for compensation and benefits during the interview process?” The overwhelming majority – 92% – said no. Forbes author Liz Ryan says that you can ask a question about the salary range right from the start, but you definitely need to prepare for your second interview:
If you are going to an interview and you enjoy the job and the people you are meeting, discuss the salary before the second interview … Do not return to the second interview until you figure out what these people are willing to pay their new employee for. Many job seekers lived to regret that they were silent about the salary until an insultingly low offer arrived on the table.
If the employer sees your request as a “problem,” the bigger issue may be how he treats his employees and pays them compensation.