[ellen364]

Recruitment is bizarre right now. I chat to recruiters sometimes and in the last few months have specifically asked about salaries in the UK. Essentially, “What’s the going rate for a web dev with 5 years experience?” The answers have ranged from “£45k-55k” to “£100k-130k”. The most common response seems to be “£70k-80k”. And everyone who’s answered seemed confident they know “the market rate”. Sometimes people even laugh incredulously if I tell them the ranges given by other people.

Tying in with the original post, what companies pay seems to be as much about the company’s business model and profit margin as it is about the developer.

Thinking about the dreaded “What salary are you looking for?” question, I wonder if it’s worth specifically asking the manager / recruiter about the salary range. E.g. “Other companies I’ve spoken to are offering £n-m. What’s the salary range for this position?”

[DeathArrow]

I get few job proposals per day. If one seems interesting, I am always asking for a salary range first, to not waste time. It worked wonders as I was able to find a good paying position relatively fast, instead of doing countless interviews and find out I don't like the payment. People were receptive in general, I think employers do not like to waste their time either, so talking about salary in the first place is a good thing.

The only company that was reluctant to discuss wages was Microsoft, but I was still able to convince the interviewer to verify that my asking salary was within their range.

[ellen364]

That’s useful to hear, thanks.

[radarsat1]

Not a bad idea, do you think it would come off well in an interview setting to come right out and just get that question out of the way by (politely) beating them to it? Genuinely curious if this could be a good approach.

[ellen364]

In a proper interview, I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable asking the money question first. E.g. I’ve chatted to managers who consider it a sign the candidate is only interested in money, not the company. Though, as I write, it occurs to me that kind of manager and company probably won’t pay well. So maybe asking the money question yourself would filter out the most price sensitive companies? Interesting idea, but not one I’ve tried.

[DeathArrow]

>the candidate is only interested in money, not the company

Of course I am interested in money, otherwise I would work for a charity, not a company.

I don't see anything wrong in being interested in getting money. Companies are not interested in the candidate, but in the amount of money a candidate can generate for them.

Exchanging work for money is business, not a romantic affair. And in a business you optimize for profit. More so when it is your only income, taking a huge part of your time and life and you have a family to take care of.

[abnercoimbre]

> Companies are not interested in the candidate, but in the amount of money a candidate can generate for them.

> And in a business you optimize for profit.

This is why it's in the employer's best interest to say that you're family, or that loyalty is a virtue. It makes it easier to low-ball your salary and keep it from rising too much.

[projektfu]

You might want to use a Wideband-Delphi method of estimating. Have everyone give you an estimate with their reason. Then send each one the list of estimates with the reasons attached and give them an opportunity to adjust their estimate. They will start to converge.