Is it bad to ask about salary in the first interview?
It is not disqualifying, but it is usually the wrong slot. Public guidance from the Open University is to leave salary, benefits, leave and sickness policy alone unless the employer raises them, and to discuss money at the offer stage.
It is not disqualifying, but it is usually the wrong slot. Public guidance from the Open University is to leave salary, benefits, leave and sickness policy alone unless the employer raises them, and to discuss money at the offer stage. A safer move is to ask when the package will be discussed, which gets you the information you need without spending your closing minutes on the one topic every candidate asks about.
The test for any closing question is simple: would you be glad to hear the answer? If not, it belongs in the offer conversation, not in the last five minutes.
The caution applies to your closing questions, not to theirs. If a recruiter asks for your expectation during a screening call, that is the moment to answer, with a range you have already researched and a line saying you are flexible on the mix of salary and benefits. Declining to answer there reads as unprepared, not as disciplined.