Why You Should Put Salary Ranges in Job Descriptions
Last year, LinkedIn did a study that asked job seekers to review a job description and then tell them what stood out that would make them apply to the job. They then took that information and created this heat map.
Graphic courtesy of LinkedIn
The findings were fascinating. The number one take away may be the one thing most job postings do not even include. Job seekers find that salary range and benefits are the most helpful piece of information on the entire job posting (61%). Wow. However when you think about it, since so many job descriptions don’t have this information, this really would stand out if it was in your job posting.
Why companies don’t include salary ranges in their job postings is still a mystery. Many don’t share it because they don’t want their competitors to see what they pay their employees. Other employers want to build a talent pipeline so they will accept all applications. Some companies have policies against posting compensation in advertised jobs. In most of these cases, employers will usually get more applications and rely on their applicant tracking systems to decline those already making more than they can pay. For the candidate experience, this is not a good thing.
I think that posting the salary range is a huge way to get more applicants. To me, the job title and the salary range are an essential part of the job posting. If you were looking for a talent acquisition manager position for yourself and found four openings in your city with that title, two of which had postings with salaries ten thousand dollars more than what you currently make, all of a sudden you will start reading the rest of job description!
After money, LinkedIn found that qualifications were the next place that the job seekers eyes wandered. This also makes sense since you want to make sure you have the desired experience, education, and technology background even to be considered for the job. This was followed by job details, performance goals, culture, company mission, and company details.
What does all this mean? In 2019, job seekers are using their mobile phones to access your open jobs. They scroll through job titles until they see one that catches their interest. That excellent job title gets them to open your job description. If you listen to the job seeker, the first thing that wants to see is your compensation package followed by the job qualifications. If those things line up your chances of getting more qualified applicants will improve dramatically! Ironically, company culture ranks at the bottom of the heat map range. I guess job seekers prefer a great job with good pay.