Today'sjobseekerswanttoseeapayrange, not"competitivesalary"
Foralongtimenow,hiringteamshavetriedtoboosttheirjob adsbystatingtheyofferacompetitivesalary.
It'sastepupfromignoringpayaltogether,butthe term"Competitivesalary"actuallyworksagainstthe jobad. Includingitislong-standingpractice,buttoday's jobseekerswantsomethingnew-pay transparency.
Using“competitivesalary,”“paycommensurate withexperience,”orasimilarphrasecandeter qualifiedjobseekers.Itcanreducethesizeand qualityofyourapplicantpools,anditcanputyou outofcompliancewithpaytransparencylawstoo. Theterm“competitivesalary”is problematicforanumberof reasons.
First,itcansignalbelow-marketpay.Behindthescenes,companiescan dotheirbesttomeetorexceedtheindustryaverage.Butthateffortis underminedbyusingtheterm.
Second,itdoesn’tfollowthecurrenttrendofpay transparencylaws.Morecompaniesarepublishing payrangesallthetime.(Includingrangesthataretoo broadtohaveanymeaning,unfortunately.)Andmore jurisdictionsareenactinglawsrequiringpayrangesin jobposts.
Thirdandmostimportant,it’snotwhattoday’sjob seekerswant,whichisinformation.Today’sjobseekers wanttoseespecificsinjobposts.Apayrangeistopof thelist,sotheydon’twastetimewithunnecessary applicationprocesses.
Andit’snotjustaboutpay.Theywanttoknowwhatit’sactuallyliketoworkatacompany.Specifics onhealthcare,paidtimeoff,retirementplans,stockoptions,andmorearealsoimportanttothem. (Theyevenwanttoseeastanceondiversity,equity,inclusion,andbelonging.)
Today'sjobseekerswanttosee specificsinjobposts.Apayrangeis topofthelist,sotheydon'twastetime withunnecessaryapplication processes. It'sinemployers'bestinterestto offerapayrangetojobseekers, evenbeforelocalorstatelaws requireit.
