should I ignore job postings that don’t list the salary?

A reader writes:

I am currently looking for a new job because I am currently being taken advantage of … again (being given more and more work because I am skilled enough I handle it, but no pay increase so underpaid for my experience and the world we live in right now).

So pay is the main factor for me in this job search. My first instinct is to just completely ignore the job postings without the pay listed because I don’t want to waste my time. A job may look perfect but if it’s for the same amount I’m making now (or less!) or not that much more, I don’t care what it is. (I also don’t care what it is if the pay is right. If I think I can do it, I’m applying.) But with no way of knowing right off the bat, why bother?

Is that a mistake?

Potentially, because some of the jobs that don’t list what they pay could turn out to pay enough that you’d consider them.

On the other hand, you’re not wrong that it’s a waste of time to apply for jobs that don’t pay enough. So ultimately this comes down to whether you feel like you’re getting enough interviews from your current strategy or not. If you are, then great — no need to change anything. But if you’re not happy with how your job search is going — or, maybe, if a job looks really interesting to you — play around with applying anyway, and then ask about pay early on.

In fact, it’s reasonable to ask about the pay as soon as you’re invited to interview. When a company reaches out to set up an interview, you can say, “I’d love to talk more. Before we confirm an interview time, can you share the salary range for the position? It wasn’t listed in the ad, and I don’t want to take up your time if we’re not in the same ballpark.”

Not every company will give you a straight answer to that, but a lot will. (And fortunately it’s no longer considered an outrageous faux pas to ask, like it weirdly used to be.) If they won’t tell you, you have the option of saying, “I’d need at least $X to move from my current job. Knowing that, does it make sense to move forward?” Not everyone wants to do this because naming a number first means potentially giving up some of your negotiating power later, but given your particular set of priorities (where you’d consider passing up the job altogether otherwise), there’s an argument for doing it.

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