Jobseeking advice

[Otto Katz]

I'm thinking of applying for a job, and have been told it's a good idea to call the employer before sending in my application and CV, in order to find out more about the job and generally show an interest.

Is it a good idea to ask about the salary, or should I wait until I'm offered the job?

[Andy C]

Jobseeking advice

Being English, I'm pretty reticent about raising such sordid subjects. Personally I wouldn't talk about salaries until most of the details of the work had been covered at an interview.

[Andy C]

Jobseeking advice

As for calling the employer before applying, I suppose that depends on the culture of the line of work you're in. In my experience it's very unusual and would quite possibly be looked on as a bit weird unless the advertisement explicitly invites interested parties to phone up for more details. Mind you, in my field of work most applications come through agencies, and I suppose the agent often does this phoning-first thing.

[Guest]

Jobseeking advice

Asking early about the salary tends to put potential employers (and hiring agencies) off quite quickly in my experience.

[ursus arctos]

Jobseeking advice

I would agree that it is rather unusual advice from a US, German or Italian perspective, but this is the kind of thing that can be very region- and industry-specific, and I have no clue what practice is in Norway.

[Otto Katz]

Jobseeking advice

Yeah, I thought there might be some regional variations. The employer is a Swedish company based in Denmark, however, so I hope they are more like their Scandinavian brethren in this respect, lest I make a total ass of myself (putting that off to the interview).

Over here you're certainly adviced to call in advance, so long as you ask pertinent questions and don't waste their time by asking about stuff you can find by reading the ad.

I don't think I'll be asking about the pay, even though it would save both my time and their time if such issues could be clarified in advance. I'm sure it would be subject to post-interview negotiations anyway, but I'm keen to know vaguely what scale we're talking.

[hobbes]

Jobseeking advice

Heh. In IT the first question I've ever asked is "what's the rate?"