Before we start, let us tell you: there is no right or wrong answer. There are, yes, pros and cons of displaying salary ranges in job ads.

Salary is a big factor to take into account when someone considers a change in their career. It should meet their expectations and perceived as fair. During our IT recruitment experience, we’ve seen that salary can be a huge block point. Also, it can be the main reason why professionals don’t jump to a new challenge when they have the opportunity to.

Pros: Why you should display salary ranges

1. Transparency – We are advocates of transparency in the recruitment process. It brings a credible image of your company and candidates to know exactly what to expect. It’s a win-win situation where both recruiters and candidates are one step closer to making the time invested in the process worth it;
2. It’s more efficient and saves time – By informing potential candidates about the salary range, you will immediately filter them. This way you avoid spending time in interviews that will lead nowhere. We bet you know at least one case where the candidate went through the recruitment process and quit at the final interview when the offer was made;
3. Attract more candidates – Everyone loves to see a big number and tend to be attracted to apply. This will enrich the number of candidates potentially available for a given position.

Cons: Why you should not display salary ranges

• Company HR policies and job descriptions – Job description tend to be more a wishlist than a checklist. This means that companies tend to write a job description that is only fitted for Superman. Of course, they will hire the “normal John”, and the salary will be based on the company’s HR policies – taking into account the degree, years of experience, category, etc. In our opinion, salaries should be based on skills and responsibilities and not based on age, but that depends on each company internal policies.
• Possible start with the wrong expectations – One thing we know for sure is that you never know who will see the job ad. Also, we’ve noticed a common and interesting pattern: when professionals see a salary range, they will look out for the higher value. It’s very time consuming to explain to someone why they don’t fit in the higher salaries ranges, which can lead to a loss of trust, especially in the first interview;
• One size doesn’t fit all – one thing we noticed is that, just because you advertise a daily rate (for example 500€/day (10.000€ month) or 600€/day (12.000€/month) ), usually the price reference for freelancer positions, people that prefer an employee contract don’t understand immediately what is the net monthly salary. Or vice-versa. In IT, it’s usual that salary packages are customised to each single person, which means that is really hard to predict the salary range.

Our point of view

Salary remains a very sensitive and complex matter. Here at Sprint CV we always thought that displaying the salary range in job ad was a good idea. Nowadays, we see that the market is still not ready for full transparency on this. Also, we believe that is much more interesting for both parts if the candidate applies based on the job position and the challenge ahead, instead of applying only for the money.

We want to be ambassadors of the best practices with a focus on helping the market to be more transparent and efficient. We recommend IT recruiters and companies to be transparent with the salary range. More than asking how much the consultant wants to earn, they should tell to the candidates, at the end of the first interview, how much they can pay them. This avoids wasting time and helps to create a much efficient recruitment process, leading to a truly win-win situation.

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