I got ghosted after asking about salary after the first interview, should I not have done that?

I always, always make my salary needs known. I have a specialized skill set, so that’s a factor, but I also need a specific amount to even consider an offer. If they aren’t in the ballpark, then it’s a waste of everyone’s time.

I work for money, plain and simple. If someone is going to ghost you for asking them to value your time appropriately, they are not someone you want to work for anyway.

Probably a hot take, but I think you should ask about the salary in the first interview to save everyone some time. The fact that they ghosted you only shows that 1) they probably don't value transparency 2) they wanted some free work and 3) they would've probably lowballed you if they did decide to go through with your candidacy.

Hiring managers and recruiters* are literally trained on how to handle salary inquiries; if they're not the right people to talk about the salary, then idk who is.

*Sometimes recruiters start sourcing for roles before an official JD is in place, and they might honestly not know the salary range due to starting early. However, when that's the case, they usually communicate this with candidates.

You saved yourself some time and did the right thing.

I generally don't have an issue with asking about comp ranges up front. Companies who shy away from this often do because they aren't proud of what they are offering. They know they are out of step with the market, and often try stupid games like saying "you aren't committed" by asking about it. With respect, my commitment is the exchange of my time and intellectual capital for money. Cash, bonuses, or equity. Let's have a value based discussion if we need to.

That being said, I generally would broach the conversation with HR, not a business lead, and in person if it is already past the first interview and not a qualification before the interview.

If you're desperate for work and willing to accept any salary, I might wait until after the interview.

If getting market rate or better is a priority, asking ahead of time saves everyone's time.

I'd that's the reason you didn't get a call back, you dodged a bullet.

If I don’t have a salary range by the end of the HR screening call, I excuse myself from consideration moving forward. I got so fed up with wasting my time.

Don't assume that the reason you got ghosted is because of your salary question. It could have been almost anything and most likely had absolutely nothing to do with you.

Nothing wrong with asking about salary from the off. It avoids waisting everyone’s time. Plus you don’t know for sure if that’s why they ghosted you. Either way ghosting is unprofessional so I think you’ll be ok without them

I think talking about salary is a fair question during an interview

I agree with everyone else that if they rejected you just because you asked about a salary, then it either wasn’t because you asked or they’re not a place you want to work for.

I ask when the offer comes. If the salary is not acceptable to me, I politely decline it.

The only reason I interview is to make money, if they can’t handle that it’s a business relationship, then they’re not serious people.

To avoid this, you generally want to talk about salary after you've gotten an offer. A lot of people whine about waiting to do this, because they say things like "you've wasted my time!!!" even though they've submitted 2,000 applications that have gone unanswered, but this is generally standard practice.

I think it's silly to ghost applicants for that reason, but it's an employer's market right now, so you gotta play the game.

I applied for a job that listed the range as $19-21/hr. I interviewed and got a job offer at $19/hr, I asked if they could do $20, and the recruiter rescinded the offer lmao.

Consider it a bullet dodged.

Better is coming. I'm not spending 2 hours of my life on an interview I'm not compatible with Money is a huge reason for me getting a job so I want to know upfront how much I'll be making. Save everyone the trouble The ones who won't tell you like this company was a waste of time and was going to lowball you anyways

I don't even bother applying to jobs that don't list a salary range. If they offer a "competitive" salary without actually listing it, they are going to low ball you 15%+ below going market rate for that position. I've never once been made an offer for such a job that wasn't laughably low. You dodged a bullet. Ignore it and move on.

If an employer isn't interested in a candidate because they want to know how they would be compensated, they're shitty or shady businessmen. Neither of which is worth working for.

You did the right thing. Sounds like the people you were dealing with wanting someone who was going to be controlled. You dodged a bullet!

I think it's becoming less taboo to ask about salary early on. Being able to self-eliminate early when needed saves you and the employer lots of time. If they ghost off of that, chances are you would've been underpaid anyway.

I live in a state where companies are required to give you the salary range in the job ad. Just makes sense. But before that law came into effect, I wouldn’t ask about salary until I had an offer from them. 

People are petty and they’re looking for excuses to weed out applicants. I tried not to give them one. Is that “right”? No. Fuck them for not saying what they’ll pay. But I’ve been broke and desperate before and I didn’t dare ask about money until they said the job was mine. 

That’s so weird. I’ve always been told the salary range from the recruiter upon first contact even if it isn’t in the listing. I think it’s a fair question as long as you are respectful. Otherwise everyone is wasting their time if you weren’t going to agree to it anyway.

If they don’t do it at first, they usually have a salary discussion at the end before sending you out the offer of employment. It’s good to know the range they offer before you apply for the job so that it saves time on both ends.

In your case, I can think of a few possible causes of them delaying the response or ignoring you.

1. Your query about the salary has rubbed the hiring management the wrong way. I’m not saying you did anything wrong, but maybe the person didn’t take it well. People can be emotional for so many different reasons that we can’t even think of.

2. They are doing something shady when it comes to salary and don’t want to discuss it till the end.

3. The person handling your case has some priority task and has pushed your recruitment to backlog. That doesn’t mean your hiring isn’t important to them, but sometimes people have too many things going on.

4. They decided the role isn’t needed anymore

5. They hired someone else.

I hope the outcome is something in your favor, but I’d suggest you to move on and keep trying in other places.

Depends on how desperate you are for a job. But then if you are that desperate, it doesn't really matter how much they are going to pay you.

It really depends how in demand/sought-after you are.

If you are not and you are desperate, then wait til the very end.

If you are and can wait, set a bottom offer really early to have them bid for you.

Transparency in salary is the law in most states. I never disvlose my previous salaries its none of their business. I will ask for clarity in their salary for the role it shouldnt be a secret your not working for free.

I think that it’s important for you to ask about salary, but I also think you should ask this in the interview.

If I was hiring, I would absolutely expect this to be asked (in the interview). Asking this prior to attending the interview would give the impression you only care about the money, so why should they dedicate resources responding to you if you might just dip after their response?

I think this one is on you.

You are entitled to ask for salary rates, especially if it is a job that is not going to meet your standards and confort of living. If they ghost you, they did you favor by not recruiting you to that job. Also, probably because they probably were expecting you to make comments about salary increase, wish is normal too. But overall, you are not wrong to ask for salary rates.

I ask about salary before taking the first interview

There's risk any way. You don't know it until it happens.

You could also think of the interview time as a commercial cost. Be your own professional salesperson and invest that time into getting them to know you and love you, and only close the deal after you've established some form of relationship with your prospect? Salespeople don't start with money, that comes after the qualities of the service/product have been established.

Woo them first. Who knows, perhaps they'll even reconsider their range after knowing you.

It all depends on the role and how valuable you’re going to be at a company. For my roles, the people that asked about salary during the interview tended to be very poor performers if we hired them.

The ones that were more focused on moving up from an entry level role tended to be the best.

Sorry... Salary is an HR function/position following an accepted interview and offer letter. Never talk money at an interview, especially before you can review benefits, etc.... in short yeah.... you messed up Bro

EDIT:

I wrote the comment below assuming that OP had applied to a job that had been posted somewhere, and had some sort of a salary range attached to it.

If it truly was the case where there was NO indication whatsoever of at least a range, then yes, it would be appropriate to ask about it, and I would do it BEFORE the first interview (unless OP was desperate and needed to take whatever is available as long as the company was a good fit for them). In this case, you still want to do your homework and figure out what a similar position would pay within a similar area and for someone with the equivalent level of experience.

My original comment which assumed that some sort of salary RANGE had been indicated:

I’m coming at this as someone who’s been on both sides of the table- as an interviewer and an interviewee. I would’ve eliminated you too, and I explain why below.

For a company, every single interaction with the interviewee is a chance to size up their skills and experience, but even MORE importantly, their people skills and character traits. For example, are they a giver or taker? When the office floods by an act of God, will they pitch in to help no questions asked (especially if it’s a small company or startup, stuff like this actually happens), or will they only do things when they know there’s some direct and immediate payout for them in it? Asking about the salary early in the process answers this question. Remember- every word you utter, every move you make, is being judged.

Also, asking about salary too early makes you look completely self-absorbed and only concerned about YOUR needs. Remember companies and employees enter into a MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL exchange- it’s not one sided. Interviews are about both parties sizing each other up, and deciding if they’re a good match. It’s about weighing you out amongst the others- what do you have that’s better than the others, and what do you have that’s less attractive? Candidate selection isn’t a black and white science- it’s as much an art, with a little bit of voodoo thrown in, and ultimately, a roll of the dice. No one knows for sure how the awesome person from the interview will ultimately translate to the person behind the desk.

Finally, this question looks arrogant because it’s as if you’ve already assumed you’ve gotten the job! For many companies, the salary will be very dependent on the candidate selected, and some other factors such as how many other candidates there were and their quality. It’s very supply-and-demand driven, and often won’t even be determined until the offer stage. It is NOT a fixed number (unless you’re applying to McDonald’s) and there is almost always room to negotiate a mutually beneficial salary. You’ll know what the job’s worth based on careful research on your part. If what they offer doesn’t jibe with that, and no intangibles such as in-office flexibility make up for it, then you walk away.

PS- Remember that neither party is compensated for the interview process but it should never be considered a waste of time/money- it’s just a necessary cost of doing business. Consider it like going on a date- it’s a gamble and time spent that could have been really worth it (or really not), but there is always something to be learned to help you hone your strategy for future interactions.