Salary Ranges in Adverts
The discussion
Sofia: Employers should be required to publish the salary range in every job advert. I've spent whole weekends preparing applications only to learn at the final interview that the pay was below what I already earned.
Kwame: I run recruitment for a mid-sized firm, and we leave salaries off because a wide range looks dishonest and a narrow one stops us hiring an exceptional candidate who's worth more. Flexibility benefits applicants too.
Yuki: The evidence from places that introduced the rule is that pay gaps narrow, because people who were underpaid, often women and younger staff, finally see what the role is worth. That alone justifies it for me.
Kwame: The gap research is persuasive, I'll grant that. My worry is really about ranges so wide they're meaningless, which is what happens when companies comply reluctantly.
Sofia: Then set a rule that the top of the range can't be more than, say, thirty percent above the bottom. Even a rough figure saves applicants hours of wasted effort.
Yuki: A cap on the range width makes sense, although I'd also want existing staff told the ranges, not just outsiders. Otherwise you get current employees discovering new hires earn more.
Kwame: If the rule includes a reasonable range width and we can still negotiate above it for unusual candidates, I could live with it.