You can't keep going on interviews with no idea of what an employer is planning to pay you if you get the job. You have to bring up the topic of salary.
If you need inspiration to ask the salary question, just think about a plumber.
The plumber isn't going to come over and walk around looking at the work that a homeowner needs done without talking about money. Eventually the plumber is going to say "You're looking at about ten thousand dollars worth of work" or the homeowner is going to say "How much is this going to cost me?"
They're not going to dance around the topic and hope for the best. Only job-seekers do that, and only a certain kind of job-seeker.
The kind of job-seeker who doesn't bring up salary during the hiring process and hopes that s/he gets a job offer with a reasonable salary in it is afraid. That's the only reason to keep silent about such a vital topic.
The job-seeker is afraid that if he or she brings up the salary topic, the employer might not like it. They might get mad and cast him out of the candidate pool. That's the fear. Think about it, though - that fear isn't reasonable. If you're thinking about working with people who would be so hostile and crazy that they'd drop you from a candidate roster just for asking about salary, why would ever consider working with them?
As you grow your job-search muscles and find your voice, it will become easier and easier for you to talk about salary during the hiring process. You'll get to the phone call or email message that invites you for a second interview, and you'll say to yourself "Let's see what these people are ready to pay."
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You don't have time to go on second interviews with people who haven't figured out what their salary budget is, or who are delusional in their understanding of what certain kinds of backgrounds command on the talent market.
We've had clients go on three interviews for a Director of Marketing job and then get a job offer for forty-seven thousand dollars a year. There is a lot of delusion, denial and self-deception in the business world.
Hiring managers get beaten down by CFOs who tell them there's no money. The CEO beats up on the controller, because the CEO is a shell of his or her former self after getting beaten down by investors. All of them are afraid to tell the truth. They trade their vocal cords for a paycheck, and that is the biggest problem for all of them - CEOs, CFOs, investors, employees, customers, kits, cats, sacks and wives. It's a problem for our planet.
That's the pattern, but plenty of smart managers break the pattern and tell the truth at work, and you can tell who they are the minute your meet them. You can tell by the results they get in the marketplace. People who break the pattern always win. It comes from within. Call it courage, intestinal fortitude, or just the lack of a filter that keeps your true thoughts from coming out through your mouth, those are the guys who prosper. People who tell the truth and say what needs to be said are the only kind you can afford to work for.
As a hiring manager or HR person it's in your best interest to put the salary issue on the table as early in the hiring process as possible. If you can, put the salary in the job ad. Companies hedge their bets. "We won't put the salary in the ad because the right person could cost $45K or $60." I encourage you to change your thinking. Put "mid-fifties range" in the ad to give people a clue. When you read a job ad these days, you can't tell if it's an entry-level job or a senior management assignment.
The suckitude of the average job ad is the topic for another column. If you can't put the salary right in the job ad, bring it up on the first telephone call. Don't even waste your time or a candidate's time with a face-to-face meeting if the dollars don't work out. Bring it up. Ask the candidate "What's your target salary range?"
My job-seeker brothers and sisters, don't tell me "The employer should name a number first." You have to have your own number. You have to price yourself like a house on a job hunt. "Should" is a useless word that makes people feel better about not finding their own voice. It's easy to point fingers. Find your number through Salary and Payscale, talk to your friends and any headhunters you know, get a price and name it. If the recruiter on the phone doesn't mention salary, ask "By the way, what is the salary range for this position?"
If the recruiter asks you "What were you earning before?" say "I'm focusing on $60K jobs in this job search." That's all they need, a salary target. Your past salaries are nobody's business. Hold firm on that. If people browbeat you on a job interview or try to intimidate you, flee. Get out of Dodge. Those weenie losers don't deserve what you bring.
Get the salary question out there early and put it to bed. Raising the issue and coming to common ground or parting ways in a friendly life-is-long manner does wonders for your mojo - not to mention your paycheck.
