Interviewing - When to talk about pay?

[WuLabsWuTecH]

Traditionally, in business, there are more than one round of interviews, and the second round is when generally you start to discuss pay (since they called you back a second time, if you feel the interview went well, then that's a good time to at least get the ball rolling on the topic even if there is nothing certain yet). That way you know a bit of what to expect when they make the offer (and you can call them back and negotiate then) or at the third interview.

The problem is this. I turned in a resume a few weeks ago, and got an interview for Monday. I know they are looking to start training on Wednesday from both what was outlined in the initial application packet and from an inside source who I know. I also know that they are just now starting to do interviews (they start on Friday) so I'm not a late offer or anything, but they are running behind their intended schedule. I don't know if they are planning to push back training, but if they are not, I doubt there will be a second round of interviews. The quick turnaround is not what i'm concerned about, we were told to be prepared to start on the 19th, but I am wondering if I should bring up pay in the first interview at the end if they don't bring it up or sit on it. It may be that I get the call Tuesday and then don't have a chance to negotiate really all that much.

If it helps, there are 4 spots open. I know that "a significant number" applied but I don't know exactly how many that means. My friend think they're interviewing the top 10 candidates but he said it could be more, he's not sure.

In past interviews, they have all been one interview deals, and at the end I received the offer with a number. We talked about it right there and I usually got them to go up a little bit more. Interestingly, I always accepted on the spot when I got it up more since in both cases they were my last round of interviews, I told them the offer I got from their competitors, and they beat it. And since I liked what I heard about them and the tour of the station/rigs and meeting the people there I was ok accepting the offer.

That's probably all irrelevant, but thanks for any help with what you think I should do on Monday when they ask if I have any more questions and they haven't mentioned pay at all!

 

[Epi-do]

I guess it would depend in part on where you are interviewing. I know that at most of the municipal services around here, salary is either part of a local ordinance or contract so there really isn't any negotiating. Salaries are spelled out as 1st year employee makes X, second year makes Y, and third year makes Z. After your third year, it is Z + % raise, and the raise is just added on each year. (I hope that makes sense.) If you want the job, then you accept what they offer, or they will call the next person on the list.

There is more of an ability to negotiate with private service, and most times you will have some success in doing so. For every private service I have interviewed with, the would ask what sort of salary I was looking for before making an offer. It was when the offer was made that any negotiating was able to take place.

 

[46Young]

Find out from your inside source how well you can expect to be compensated given your years of prior experience, and what others are making, if possible. You can also ask "How does the organization determine hourly (yearly) compensation in regards to prior experience"? A great time to slide that in is when the interviewer asks "Do you have any other questions about the company?" That's the smoothest way I can think of to get the question across, and it forces them to give a definitive answer with rationale, unless they attempt to dodge the question as in "HR handles that after you're hired", or some other line of BS.

It always looks good to ask about compensation AFTER asking all of the questions about company organization, ops, etc. It appears that your priorities are learning about the organization, which makes you appear eager and motivated. The interviewer is expecting to discuss salary at some point, it's just that it looks better to discuss it after learning about the company.