Hi, guys. I thought these sorts of things were purely exaggeration, but I just had a frustrating phone call that reminded me of the reality behind the anecdotes. I'm in the process of looking for work, and I saw an ad that looked decent, if a little too light in information (specifically no pay listed). The following is a summary of the conversation I had with the manager on duty:
Me: “Hi, I'm calling about [position]. Could you explain more on the nature of the job and the compensation?”
Them: “It's basically just [echoes job post].”
Me: “Right, but could you elaborate? Also what's the hourly or salary rate?”
Them: “I notice people always ask about pay. We don't really discuss that until after the interview.”
Me: “Okay… Could you at least give me a range?”
Them: “Again, we don't discuss that over the phone. Is that the only thing on your mind? And is that honestly the first impression you wanna make on a potential employer?”
Me: “Okay. Well, have a nice day.”
Maybe people wanna find out what kind of employer you are, and that's why they're calling up beforehand and “always ask about pay.” The irony is this person is saying plenty simply by how defensive they got, even without spilling whatever trade secret compensation package they presumably offer. (SarcasmFont.) Glad I called rather than waste time interviewing for someone who was guaranteed to low-ball me.