Can I pop the salary question in interview?

Q: Dear Workologist: I am applying for a position I find very intriguing. I’ve had one phone interview that went well, and now I’ve been asked to complete a “challenge” that will take up to seven days to finish. Once this has been submitted, I am told, the company will call me in for a face-to-face interview.

Here is my concern: All the experts say you should not ask for a ballpark salary until you are certain that the employer wants to hire you. This case seems different, as I need to set aside so much time to accomplish the mystery task.

(I do not have a clue what they will ask me to do.) It seems logical to ask about compensation before going into this commitment. I do not want to seem mercenary. Plus, I love a challenge and want to win every competition. But this is time that I will never get back. I am stumped.

A: A seven-day “challenge” sounds more like a Survivor episode than a component of a job interview. So you must find this position very intriguing indeed.
But, really, you are facing two distinct questions here: When to start the salary discussion, and whether a (presumably uncompensated) weeklong project that may or may not lead to a new job is worth your time.

Your first step is to untangle these issues.

A BAD MOVE

As you point out, many career advisers argue that asking about money or benefits before you have an actual offer — or are at least deep enough into the interview to feel confident you will get one — is a bad move.

The thinking is that if you bring up the subject too early, the company will move on to applicants it sees as motivated by more than money. A job candidate is in a far better position to negotiate when an employer is already impressed enough to have signalled a commitment.

Once the hiring squad has convinced itself that you are the one, it will be more flexible about sealing the deal.

The homework assignment is not a particularly unusual manoeuvre, at least in some fields. (Come to think of it, I had one en route to becoming your Workologist.)

SALARY-TALK TIMING

I think that the tactic is fair if it is a legitimate test of relevant skills — but not if it amounts to doing unpaid labour that the company can actually use.
But I agree that a weeklong challenge is pretty aggressive.

Still, if you buy the expert view on salary-talk timing, the homework assignment should not change your thinking.

I am not convinced that this conventional wisdom is always correct, but in this instance I would guess that a company confident enough to demand that job applicants clear this sort of hurdle before even meeting them in person would not hesitate to vote you off the island.

So if the position sounds so interesting that you would kick yourself for not having given it a shot, you should at least take the step of finding out what the “challenge” is — and then evaluating it on its own.

If it turns out to be unreasonable, you do not want to work for these people anyway. Just say “no, thanks.” But if your intrigue does not flag, you should do your level best to ace the thing.

Then, when it is time to talk about money, you will be in a position to do more than just ask questions.

Q: Dear Workologist: I’ve been unemployed for quite some time and was recently offered a job. But I have also been shortlisted for another job elsewhere. I would much rather get the latter position, because it is in a better location and offers better experience — though each job is probably good in its own way.

The problem is that Company A wants my decision soon, but Company B will not have made up its mind before that deadline, because its position does not start for several months. But I think Company B would let me know before the job at Company A actually begins.

Can I accept the offer from the first company and then — if I do get an offer from the second — back out?

A: Think about the worst case here: You turn down the offer you have, the one you were waiting for never materialises, and you remain unemployed. Pretty bad.

For that reason, I would advise taking the job you have been offered. Do not obsess about how that shortlist will play out: Setting your heart on an offer you may not get undermines you more than anyone else.

You’ve indicated that the position has its good points, so focus on them — and the fact that your worst case just got way better.

Now, suppose that Company B does come through with an offer that you prefer. Will breaking the news to Company A be unpleasant? Yes. Might that organisation be upset with you?

BE PROFESSIONAL

Sure. But is all of that likely to be worse than restarting your job search from scratch? No.

I would argue that this holds true even if you’ve actually started the job you have already been offered. Maybe that sounds rude.

But let us face it: Employers tend not to worry about seeming rude if a hire made with the best of intentions is not working out.

So if the other job comes through, be as classy and professional as you can about breaking the news to the first company.

But focus on your future.