According to a recent Harris/Glassdoor candidate poll, American job seekers named the top three factors in searches: salary (67 percent), benefits (63 percent) and location (59 percent). Yet, the majority of descriptions on job boards do not include a salary range. Why, when salary is the top deciding factor for applicants?
There are many positive or negative reasons for including or not including salary specifics – and sometimes they fall into a gray area of pro AND con. Here are a few that bubble to the top:
Pro: Evaluate the individual
Staffing agencies, Techneeds included, generally have an old-school approach to including salary ranges in job listings. We mostly do not. The reason is our in-house recruiters would rather talk to candidates to determine skill sets and find the right fit for a variety of jobs. While a candidate may begin the process talking to us about one position, there may be several other job opportunities that the job seeker wasn’t aware of. Additionally, some of our Client’s are willing to consider a candidate at a higher rate of pay if they have other valued skills that are not necessarily required but helpful to support other areas within the company. We also like to discuss other reasons to consider working at our Client other than just the rate of pay such as culture, available overtime, work schedule, etc.
Con: False salary information
Some job boards, such as Indeed, allow job seekers to search for positions based on a salary expectation. Specific jobs may not include a pay range in the description. However, those jobs get tagged based on the algorithms built into a search engine. Factors include available pay ranges for similar job titles, geographic areas or years of experience.
Job board searches can also be misleading. We’ve seen job descriptions posted with false, inflated salaries, which drags out the hiring process and creates headaches for all involved. Our longtime clients know that Techneeds will not include any information in a job description on our site that has not been approved by the client.
Pro: Easier recruiting process
Including a salary range in the job description makes it simpler for recruiters to sort through the applicants. Job seekers see what the pay range is early in the process. If they’re not open to accepting a job at that pay range, they likely won’t apply. This saves time for the job seeker and recruiter, who won’t go through a lengthy interview process before the salary range is disclosed.
Including the salary in the description also helps the recruiter explain the range. For example, if the job description says five years’ experience preferred, and an applicant only has two years’ experience, that would be the reason for the offer being on the lower end of the salary range.
Pro (and con): Working environment
Transparency with salary ranges in job descriptions means existing employees know the monetary value of (some) positions at your company. Your team generally appreciates transparency across the board. However, knowing how much someone else gets paid can also create negative feelings.
Con: Informs your competition
Including salary information gives your competitors access to your pay range for a project manager, for example. This opens the opportunity for competition to lure away top candidates by offering a slightly higher pay range.
Not including a salary range in the job description can lengthen the hiring process in some instances. However, because Techneeds’ recruiters already know the salary expectations of our job seekers, we can quickly provide you with qualified candidates who will not be surprised when salary is discussed.