Dear Sam: I am interviewing for jobs only to find out that the compensation is not even close to what I can afford to accept. Can I bring this up earlier in the interview process to save time? – Sunni

Dear Sunni: It is best not to bring up salary during the first interview. The purpose of the first interview is to “sell” yourself to a hiring manager and to learn more about the company. Shifting the focus to salary can be considered presumptuous and can give the appearance that you only care about the money. Wait until you receive a job offer to start discussing salary, or at least until you are further into the process and the interviewer brings it up.

To try to mitigate this circumstance in the future, ensure you are doing your due diligence on websites like glassdoor and salary.com to know if the compensation level is in your desired range. At the very least, consider every interview the opportunity to build your network and open doors to other potential opportunities. You never know what could come of an interview, even if it doesn’t mean you land the job you’re going for at the time.

Samantha Nolan is an Advanced Personal Branding Strategist and Career Expert, founder and CEO of Nolan Branding. Do you have a resume, career, or job search question for Dear Sam? Reach Samantha at [email protected]. For information on Nolan Branding’s services, visit www.nolanbranding.com or call 888-9-MY-BRAND or 614-570-3442.