Does anyone have tips on an aspect of recruitment here with which I'm unfamiliar, which is the lack of indicated salary (range) in job adverts?

I'm totally clueless about the protocol for this.

As the (potential) employer, should I only ask them what their salary expectations are if I want to employ the candidate, or is it done as a matter of course during the interview? If I then make a counter offer, common decency says I am bound by this while my offer is still open. Must I be ready with any counter-offer, or is it customary to think about it and write to them with any counter-offer afterwards? Hopefully the latter, as otherwise this breaks the basic flow of evaluating a bunch of candidates and then deciding who to make offers to as a subsequent stage of the process.

I often ask before I even conduct an interview, eg during the salary screening phase - sometimes people are so far off in their salary expectations that I realize they've applied for the wrong job. But I conduct a LOT of interviews and need to save the time.

As for giving them a salary, it's pretty easy, as I have defined salary bands for each position under me; the more difficult part is deciding whether to bump a candidate up or down a grade. Still, I would have a general idea of the rate you're willing to pay ready, and if there's a gap between that and expectations, just tell him or her that you need time to consider it and that you'll call back in a week once you come to a conclusion as to whether you can make that work.

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I'm likely typing from an iPad. Please disregard odd word usage.

In my experience is there not much of negotiations going on. Pretty much as any other business transaction in Switzerland. You as the employer ask for the expecation, make and offer and then candidate will haggle for some details, but not much else.

Just as a car dealer here seriously expects people to pay what is written on the sticker do employers expect candidates to accept the first offer - so don't make a too unattractive first offer in the expectation that the candidate comes back asking for 20% more anyway.

My husband didn't know the salary until he got the job offer. Turn out they were way off. He turned the job down flat and they offered him 2000 more per month.

When I have spoken with recruiters they always ask me what I am expecting, but never tell me the salary of the position, but all these recruiters have been in the UK recruiting for Swiss companies.

Many times in the past the EF members have found this salary calculator to be very accurate, it is on a government website.

http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/e.../salarium.html

many factors are taken into account in the salarium, please take the time to study the first page, and understand which facts are used when calculating the offered salary.

Swiss salaries are being forced downwards by several recent events, the Swiss company profits have been eroded by increasing costs & salaries, and many companies are refusing to pay top salaries to get the best candidate, & today they prefer to take people from inside the company.

After floating the Swiss Franc recently, making a profit today has become even more difficult, as Swiss products became about 20% more expensive, almost overnight.

Yes from my experience the salary is very rarely stated in the job ad and is discussed at a later stage after an interview or your salay expectations are asked for by the recruitment agent when they first contact you.