Asking about salary before applying for job?

Saw a job I might apply for but as I have worked in the same industry for 30 years I am totally unfamiliar with what other industries might be paying. I cannot consider going down in salary so to me it is perfectly reasonable to ask the question before deciding whether to apply. I don't want to waste my time or theirs. Is it rude or acceptable?

Id say probably not the done thing.
I think some of the job hunting websites give indications of salary for different sectors. Or something like wage line might be able to give you an idea.
If in doubt, just call and use a different name!

Sure. You can call up and ask for some basic information. Sometimes they won't give that information out to start with until they start interviewing. Doesn't hurt to ask.

I always ask. Why waste my time, or theirs, by applying for a job that I won't take because the salary is too low.

In my industry it is standard to include the wage bracket and then say "commensurate with experience" or similar on every job ad. Without it, people don't apply, I guess. I wouldn't.

Maybe that's because we are all money-hungry snakes or something :)

I prefer to think of myself as a highly skilled professional worth every damn cent of the ridiculously high salary I command :p ;)

But you may be right OP :lol:

Thanks girls. Think I may put my hand up to be in the "money-hungry snakes" bracket. :D Found the advert on SEEK and while it did not advertise the salary, there must be something behind the scenes that has it, as I used the salary range search thingy and managed to work out that it did not pay what I need. So this highly skilled professional, who really is not ready to go back to work full time as DD is still in primary school, is staying put!!

I find that most jobs I'm interested in advertise a range. It's usually lower paid jobs that don't. I once worked for someone who didn't put in the range and refused to let me tell people what it might be when they phoned. Waste of everyone's time.

These days if it's not advertised, I think they've got something to hide.

I think that's a good point Fionas.

Yes, I think you are probably correct Fionas. My current workplace and the one I was looking (both semi-government) would work strictly within an award structure that determines salary. That makes it difficult for them to attact great employees as in private enterprise they often pay more. So while they are not being deliberately dishonest, they rely on getting people to interview and hoping they can find someone who will take the job at a lower pay rate. But I know they do waste alot of time by interviewing people who say no, because of pay or who get a better offer around the same time they get our offer.

It's always the dodgey ones that don't state the pay rate.

I would definitely ask, your whole life budget is planned around what you earn so it's perfectly acceptable to ask :)