A company reached out to me for an IT position.
Before the 1st interview I asked them what the salary range was, and they said that it isn’t shared or discussed until after the interview feedback is received.
So I passed the first interview, and now the 2nd interview is much longer. Should I ask again?
My concern is that this 2nd interview is almost 2 hours long and I don't want them (or me) wasting time doing an interview without having an idea of what the salary could be.
So I passed the first interview, and now the 2nd interview is much longer. Should I ask again?
Yes, ask.
If they once again do not provide any information then thank them for their time and let them know that you are no longer considering their position. If they ask for the reason, you let them know that it is the lack of transparency with regards to salary.
Personally, I would not have even bothered interviewing with a company that reached out to me and was unwilling to provide salary information.
My concern is that this 2nd interview is almost 2 hours long and I don't want them (or me) wasting time doing an interview without having an idea of what the salary could be.
If you feel that an additional 2 hours would be a waste of your time without having salary information, then you should ask for it now.
Something like "Before we continue with the next step, I'd like to know the salary range for this position. I wouldn't want to waste your time or my time." should work.
Then, if the range isn't forthcoming, just decline the interview.
Be prepared if they ask you for your salary requirements.
Yes, you should ask or you could throw out a number yourself "I'm looking for a salary in the $xxx range".
The purpose of salary discussion at this point is not to start an actual negotiation but to determine whether it's at least in the same ballpark and not a non-starter.
And yes, I'm aware that common wisdom here is to "never give a number first", but, personally, being more up front about it has saved me a air bit of time and energy. Having been on both sides of the table: there is less flexibility then most people assume.
they said that it isn’t shared or discussed until after the interview feedback is received.
"I'm sorry - but I have a Salary expectation of (Salary Range) - and before I commit any more of your time and my time, I want to know that this is within your scope for this position"
If a recruiter said the line I quoted from me, I would take that as a Massive red flag and probably say words to the effect of "Then I'm no longer interested in this opportunity. If you can't be honest with me now about what you might pay me, how can I be assured you aren't going to be honest in the future?"
However, if you still are interested in the job - then you can absolutely state what your salary expectations are (+10% higher for negotiation ;) ) and in order to see that you are on the same page.
Should you ask? If it were me I would. I don't want to waste my time or theirs if the salary isn't in my expected range. If they're decent people they'll respect your asking and will be forthcoming with the information. If they're not decent people they won't be forthcoming and you'll know:
they want to lowball you regarding the salary.
they're probably not the kind of people you want to work for.
I ask for salary before I even apply at all. Anecdotally, I see a huge range of salaries for the same position - the high end offers 1.5-2x what I would consider "normal" salary for a mediocre applicant, and the low end (about 50% of all openings) is comically low. I always assume they're just fishing for very clueless people, but regardless it would be a huge waste of my time to interview these. I stop responding to 90% of employers purely based on unacceptably low salary range.
Companies that pay a high salary are not going to be mad that you asked. It's a great selling point for them. Of course they want to brag to you about how they pay a lot more than other people.
If they get mad that you ask about salary, it's almost certainly very underpaid. So no big loss.
However, they rarely get mad, and simply asking about compensation is not going to turn you from a yes to a no, unless maybe you're applying to a very cultish non-profit where people are expected to do very hard, skilled work for minimum wage. At most they'll dodge with something like "well it depends on experience/how you do" which is why you should ask them for their range, not what you would get. It's also best to ask as early as possible. The further into the interview you go, the more they know about you, and it can be used to adjust the top end of the range down. But early on they are forced to give a general range because for all they know you could be a great candidate that would be scared off by a lowball.
