Find Candidates That Fit By Adding A Pay Scale To Your Job Ads

If you’ve been playing hide and seek with your salary listings, think about how it hampers candidates.

Are you still keeping salary a secret in job ads? Sure, it draws in a broader range of applicants. Maybe one will be that superstar you wouldn’t have attracted otherwise. Then again, it could clog your hiring process with unsuitable candidates.

Openly publishing pay demonstrates transparency and helps job seekers self-filter. There are some glitches, too, so don’t start disclosing lightly.

PROS OF LISTING SALARY RANGES IN JOB ADS

The majority of employers publish pay bands internally only. So why should you advertise your numbers openly?

Attracts Appropriate Job Seekers

With totally open disclosure, candidates can stop playing Sherlock Holmes. They know off the bat if the job pays acceptably.

Hence there is less chance they’ll reject an offer later because it’s too low. Or that you’ll shun them for being too junior. It also shoos away strays who’d apply for the heck of it.

Negotiating Is Less Of A Chore

When attracting good talent, they’ll still shoot for the upper range. Some haggling’s to be expected. Except instead of grappling over unrealistic sums of money, it shifts to perks (which are probably less costly).

Do they want a few extra days of paid holidays? Toss it in. A slightly fancier title? Consider it done—no out of pocket damage, and everyone’s grinning.

Helps Smaller Employers

Candidates may have heard horror stories about small companies that cement you in a low to average pay range. Or where salary’s dependent on favouritism and the boss’s whims. Publicly declaring the pay scale evens the playing field. Applicants have more confidence that merit counts most.

Improves Employer Branding Impact

Someone reads your job ad that includes the salary range. Right away, they can see transparency might be part of the company culture. For those who like that sort of thing, it helps you be one of their employers of choice.

Can Boost Diversity

Published pay is part of a fair comp policy. No more arbitrary income gaps based on gender (or other discriminations). Open pay goes hand in hand with performance-based rewards, which further reduces inequities.

CONS OF OPENLY ADVERTISING PAY

Say a top-flight candidate wants to work for your firm. You’d do almost anything to sign them. Except the pay scales don’t let you sweeten the deal enough. Skirting the rules may be possible, but if word of this exception gets out, everyone will clamour for concessions.

Also, your competitors will know how much you pay. Smart ones will bait candidates accordingly. In addition, your labour costs might be higher: no more lowballing the desperate. 

Consequently, think of it as making your hiring process more see-through. Anyone can glimpse what pay awaits them. Those who apply are much more likely to find the compensation acceptable.