No Salary Listed?

I always found it somewhat ball-less of employers to not list a starting wage, and especially when they ask me what I expect to get. They already know what they want to pay out, so why not list it? It tells me that they want it all for nothing.

I had a couple call me back because I left off the salary expectation. They didn't call back again after I gave it to them. Gutless wonders couldn't just be up-front and say "We want to pay you X amount of dollars for this job. Interested?"
Instead they want to take the lowest bidder.

There are many reasons that salary is not listed in job postings.

If the posted salary is too attractive, the company gets far too many resumes to review.

If the posted salary is low, the company may miss out on a great candidate who requires just over their "standard" range.

Even though most companies have a structured wage scale based on a number of quantitative factors, they guard this data better than "trade secrets".
They don't want employees finding out that position "X" pays "Y" dollars more than they are making.

I was once in a "hiring" position.
We knew that our allowable pay range was on the low end, and definitely did NOT want to publicize that information.
Even in the 80's, we were getting over 100 resumes for each opening.
Unless a candidate looked VERY interesting, we tossed every resume that did not include salary history or expectations.

We did not want to waste our or the candidates time if we could not afford them.

And yes, part of the "goal" for human resources is to hire new employees at the lowest possible wage.

I know that my management, back then, was reluctant to allow me to hire candidates that already were earning near the top of our pay scale.

Chas

MUCH too commone to be respected.

I see this from a few different 'types' of employer.

a) Why offer $60,000 when the guy may apply and request $40,000 due to desperation and need to find employment, underhanded and not very honest way to employ your team members.

b)He WOULD have offered $60,000 but nobody else posted a salary so why should he? Sometimes they don't know why they do this but are simply following the format.

I found that when I was hiring an operations manager in Oregon, I posted a salary range even though nobody else had. The next week, almost ALL the postings had salaries on them.

Many people just follow th eformat. Much like MANY documents yuo will see in your travels, gee haven't I seen that before? People use templates or standard formulas. That's why I created a unique resume style (although I picked it up from an associate), it REALLY stands out and helps get you noticed. Beside EACH job reference, insert the company's logo in full color. It REALLY helps people associate with your work history at a quick glance. They MAY not recognize 'Call Net Canada' but you slap the Sprint Canada logo on there ad it is recognized instantly.

I think many employers have something to hide, others are just trying to look cool and follow the pack. Decide what YOU are worth and what YOUR skills are worth. Then find out what the ersponsibilities are and develop your starting (high) figure based on what they want you to do.

Another thing I've done before is just say, salary is negotiable based on the position's requirements. Then in an interview you can negotiate a salary, how do you know how much to 'charge' if you don't know what the job is. Companiers doing this and expecting YOU to name the figure are just wrong, play their game and do the same, be evasive yet interesting.

Good luck with your interviews, it is erally good to hear such a positive post amongst all those who say the sky is falling.

Don't tell the democrates that the economy is starting back up again.

But - yes that has become a normal event, most don't post even a range. That way they can see the highest and lowest canidates for the position. Apply and when they want to set up an interview ask them the salary range - not in your range, say thanks but not in the salary range you are looking for. Then send a thank you note to the HR.

But its normal today.

...it is based on the rule that, "whoever lists price first, loses".

When working on compensation, both the hirer and hiree attempt to not state a solid figure as the first to do so loses.

So employers don't list salary ranges because they want to first feel out the candidate and let him/her state the salary requirements. If the candidate states too high, "nice to have met you, we will be in touch". If the candidate is too low, "your hired".

I do not worry if a job listing does not list salary. I arm myself with knowledge of similiar jobs responsibilities and compensations. Then, when the debate begins. I reference other companies and force the hirer to state the beginning wage. Most of the time, if I can get the hirer to list compensation, I can get what I want. If I list compensation, I have gotten screwed.

It is common practice for the organization to put the first number on the table. For all the reasons listed. They have their own internal rules, and they also have a much narrower range of what they can offer than the applicant's range of what he can accept.

Of course, "common business practices" are becoming less common as a new generation of business leaders takes command. We watched these people cheat, smoke, and daydream their way through school, learning Transactional Analysis instead of math and history, being promoted with a D average to the next grade to avoid "emotional damage," then graduate from college with a fifth-grade reading ability. It's no wonder that few of them have the skills to run a business.

Stick to your principles. Flat out tell them that it's customary for the organization to make the first offer and you expect them to follow common business practices. If they are this contrary and hard to get along with at the interview, do you really want to work for them?

If the company refuses to suggest a figure and insists that I go first -- and I think they are worth pursuing anyway -- I always say, "Well, I'd be really happy to start at $150,000. Does that work for you or would you like to make a counter-offer?" By adding a touch of levity you can avoid turning it into an argument, yet you make the point that you have confidence in your qualifications and believe you deserve to be in the upper salary range. Many interviewers will be pleased to find a candidate who is willing to stand up for himself without being angry or confrontational. Others won't, but as I said before, do you really want to work for those guys? The interview is a screening process for both parties. Use it.

Be EXTREMELY careful about using corporate logos on your resume. Those are registered trademarks and/or copyrighted material. The probability is zero that you have a legal right to use them to promote your OWN business, even if your business is simply to find a salaried job. Strip that stuff off of your document immediately and avoid a lawsuit. If you don't want to take my word for it, call Legal Aid and spend $25 for a professional opinion. But don't put it off.

But again, you are talking about the USA!!!

Here in Europe and in many countries around the world, salaries (or at least a range, starting point or negotiating figure) MUST be stipulated on any publicly advertised job vacancy!

You may see "?9500 to ?11,500 depending on experience and qualifications", "Starting Salary ?24k + benefits" or "Salary negotiable for the right candidate (circa ?45k)" etc.

Even 'negotiable' salaries must (I think, legally) cite a 'ballpark' figure as a basis for negotiation!!!

Even sales positions with commission based earnings must stipulate a base rate ("Basic Rate ?8.5k + commission. OTE IRO ?22k")

OTE and IRO must now be realistic!! You may have OTE ?45k but do you need to work 20 hours a day to achieve it? Working an 8 hour day you may only have OTE ?16k!!!

IRO is now less misleading than it used to be. Salary IRO 40k must now mean just that. 20k is half of 40k and nowhere IRO.

Most non-profits, public service and educational job vacancies will stipulate an actual figure...often to the nearest penny! Some jobs are advertised for nurses, teachers etc which do not specify an actual figure, or range, but refer to a Pay Scale or Grade. These are set by the Government at fixed rates and therefore an employee working for the NHS on Scale 5 earns the same as any other employee on the same scale. What the scales or pay grades mean is public domain information and can be looked up easily by anybody. Of course, if you are transferring to another job within the same organisation, the figures matter not! Moving from a Grade 4 to a Grade 5 salary means a pay rise. Moving from Grade 7 to Grade 6 means a pay cut. Move from Grade 8 to Grade 8? The money is identical, only the job (or office, location, or department)changes.

If someone advertised a job here in the UK and didn't mention a salary range, figure, grade or scale, they probably wouldn't get any replies and would probably also contravene several laws on both employment AND advertising!!!!!!