Salary Matters: 5 Ways to Find Out About Pay Without Asking

Discussing salary is easily the one part of the job search process that causes candidates universal anxiety. One of the search terms that job-seekers look  up, before arriving at this site, is “tactfully asking about salary.”

Since asking about salary is such a nerve-wracking experience, here are five ways to find out about salary without asking (or at least asking outright).

1. Refer back to the job posting and see if a “salary range” is indicated. Anticipate that most hiring agents will make an offer between the minimum and the mid-point of that range, with early-career candidates being offered closer to the minimum, and more experienced candidates being offered toward the mid-point. In very few cases should you expect an offer to be made above the mid-point; organizations want to hire people who can grow into the position before their salary expectations outgrow what the organization can pay. It’s a question of value: no matter how good you are in general, they have placed a maximum value on what the work at that level is worth to the organization. If you need more than that, don’t apply for the job.
2. Visit the Human Resources website for the institution and see if there is a section with information about salary, compensation and benefits. In this section, search for the terms “pay scale,” “salary bands,” “pay grades,” “salary grades” and “salary levels.” If the institution has this sort of system, see if you can find level at which the position is classified; this may be listed in the posting. Public institutions are more likely to have this information posted, since many states require that information about employee pay scales be released to the public. If you do find these listed, refer back to the advice from #1 and figure the pay will be between the minimum and mid-point.
3. Ask someone who works at the institution, but outside the hiring circle for the department where you are applying. If you can find such a person in the same department, or who holds (or has held) a similar position (in title or pay band), they should be able to at least give you context about what they make, and may be able to give you some context based on that experience. They may also have access to internal systems where they can see different information than the general public (like new employee manuals, benefit guides, etc.)
4. Call someone at Human Resources and ask what the “typical” hiring range is for a position at that title and grade. Indicate that you believe you may be interested in the position but don’t want to waste anyone’s time (theirs or yours) by applying to a job you can’t afford to take. As long as you say it diplomatically and convey that you are asking for those reasons, you’ll likely be fine, in the eyes of Human Resources. It shows that you are a serious candidate if you do apply.
5. Google it. You never really know what you might find out. Try “salary range” for “title,” and “institution,” and see what comes back. I did this for several positions and the search returned recent job listings, with salary information, a couple of perspective pieces by student affairs professionals about jobs and salaries, and one site called GlassDoor.Com, which lets you search for salaries by job title. (That would’ve been a number 6, I guess, but I didn’t want to change the title of the article.)

Whatever you choose to do, I advise against asking outright about a specific salary number, related to your candidacy, until you have been made an offer. When you are offered a job, a starting point for the salary discussion will be included in the initial offer.  Don’t react to the first number you if you can help yourself. Just ask how they came up with the number, and why they feel it would be a fair offer, given your education, skills and experience. Then take some time to think about whether the offer is fair. If it is, you can take it or maybe see if you could make a counter-offer to see if you could do a bit better. But if you are happy with the salary, there’s nothing wrong with just taking it and getting to work. If you aren’t, go back with a counter offer, but be sure to base it on the value you will create for the employer (i.e., how you will earn the higher salary through hard work and productivity.

What other ways can you think of to “ask without asking?”

Some good resources to help you explore ways to approach salary negotiation:

Negotiating a Job Offer: Do’s and Don’ts

Sealing the Deal: Questions to Ask Yourself When Faced with “The Offer”

Job Search 101 Video on YouTube from USC’s Annenberg School

Interview Tip: Leave the Salary Out of It on Newly Corporate