Not Your Father’s Job Market

We’ve all seen the job posts. Great job title, desirable location, endless bullet points of job responsibilities, the required and preferred qualifications, and the benefits. But where is the salary?

I post or repost, on average, three to five job listings on my LinkedIn page every week. Like many of us, we all have the same connections, and we are all in the same industry. So, if I can help a colleague find that next adventure, promotion, or the next challenge they are looking for, then I am going to post that amazing opportunity! But I’ve made a resolution for 2024. I will no longer post jobs that do not have a salary, or a salary range, listed.

Why? Because this is not your father’s job market. Long gone are the days of applying to jobs with your fingers crossed, hoping that this opportunity will be the increase in pay you are looking for. And yes, pay matters. The idea that in this economy, with this level of inflation, that anyone wants to come work for a company just for the experience is laughable. You have a positive company culture? Great! Snacks in the break room or fun annual gatherings to boost morale? Excellent! But your company culture is not going to pay off my student loans.

What could possibly be the reason for a company or organization to not post a salary, or even a salary range? You know what the first thing that comes to mind is? They are trying to low ball a candidate to save money. Ask anyone looking for a job right now and odds are they will agree with me. I cannot even fathom the amount of time, resources, and money that is spent in the hiring process, only for the employer to be rejected when all they had to do was make the candidate aware of the salary in the beginning of the process. As a matter of fact, according to SHRM.org, the average cost per hire is $4,700 and takes about 44 days to fill a vacancy. So, what happens if you get to the one-yard line but can’t get the ball in the endzone because the salary didn’t align with the candidates requirements?

List the pay.

Save everyone time and money and just LIST THE PAY. If you cannot get the quality of applicant that you are looking for at the rate you are offering, then increase the pay. It’s not that hard. If you want quality, you need to pay for it.

I have also read that not posting a salary range allows companies to stay competitive. For example, Parking Company A posts an Executive Vice President position for $120,000. Parking Company B can post for the same or a similar position and offer $130,000, ensuring that they get the most qualified candidate. Again, this makes no sense. Positions vary based on market, location throughout the United States, and $120k salary in one job market may not mean as much as $120k in another.

And what does “competitive” even mean these days? Frankly, we don’t care about company perks anymore. We care about paying our bills. We care about keeping up with rising medical costs and education, childcare, and this insane housing market.

In another example, a university is hiring a Parking Director with a starting salary of $90,000 to $95,000 a year. Okay, that’s a little low for that position. Where is it located? In a city where the housing market is so inflated, a three bed/two bath 1,300 square foot home is over a half a million dollars. Can we guess why this position remains unfilled after almost a year since its first posting? A $90k to $95k a year in Kansas, however, will go far.

Municipalities and public universities are different in that they are required to post the salary range with the position (typically), or it is posted online somewhere as required by law, so pay transparency is not an issue. Why is this such an issue in the private sector? Job seekers need the information up front so they can make the best decision for them and their families. LinkedIn recently posted that about 40% of job applicants skip applying to jobs that do not have a salary listed. That’s 40% of the available job market bypassing your open position.

We can all analyze the current job market a thousand ways and come up with many reasons why job seekers cannot find jobs, and employers cannot fill positions. I don’t even want to get into the disaster known as the recruitment process. But the first step in hiring is always the job posting. And don’t get me wrong, I appreciate companies that work hard on their culture, to be inclusive, and really want to develop talent. And I love a good bonus as much as the next gal. Just like the cover letter is the first impression of the employee, the job posting is the first impression of the company. It feels like something is being hidden when benefits and perks are listed but pay isn’t. Most importantly, potential employees are starting to not apply to jobs that don’t list the salary.

Just post the salary. ◆