Scroll through any job board today and what's disappointing is that so many of those opportunities still don't tell candidates the one thing they want to know first: What does the role pay?
It's a trend that's becoming more common and one that raises an important question about who actually benefits from keeping salary hidden.
After more than two decades in recruitment working with businesses of every size across Melbourne's creative, digital and marketing sectors, I’ve yet to work with a client who didn’t know what they intended to spend on a new hire.
Whether it's a fixed salary, a salary range or a total remuneration package, hiring managers almost always know what they're prepared to invest before they start interviewing candidates, so why not tell people?
Transparency Builds Better Hiring
Salary isn't the only reason someone accepts a role, but it is one of the biggest factors in deciding whether to submit an application or not.
When employers withhold salary information, candidates are forced to make assumptions. While some assume the salary is too low and don't bother to apply, others will invest hours preparing applications, attending interviews and completing assessments, only to discover the role is well below their expectations.
That's time wasted for everyone, which could be easily avoided by providing a transparent salary range to help candidates make informed decisions before they apply, resulting in applicants who are genuinely interested and aligned with the opportunity.
It Creates an Uneven Playing Field
Salary secrecy often shifts the balance of power away from candidates. By asking applicants to state their salary expectations first leads to anxiety and fear over whether they have priced themselves out of the role or have unintentionally undersold themselves.
One of the most common reasons we hear for leaving salary off a job advertisement is, ‘We don't want to limit ourselves,’ or ‘We want to see what's out there.’
But imagine the reverse. What if every candidate submitted a CV without revealing their experience, qualifications or portfolio and simply said, ‘Interview me first and I'll tell you later.’ No employer would accept that.
Yet we're asking candidates to invest hours researching a company, tailoring their application, attending interviews and sometimes completing unpaid tasks before they'll even find out whether the salary is remotely suitable.
Today's candidates expect transparency and when organisations are open about salary, they demonstrate confidence, fairness and respect for the time and effort that goes into an application.
There Are Better Ways to Handle It
Some employers avoid publishing a salary because they don't want existing employees comparing pay, or they want flexibility depending on the successful candidate's experience which are all valid considerations, but transparency doesn’t require publishing an exact figure.
A realistic salary range communicates the level of the role while still allowing room to recognise experience, capability and specialist skills as well as helping attract candidates whose expectations genuinely align with the opportunity.
Better Hiring Starts With Trust
Salary transparency isn’t just about money, it’s about creating a hiring process where both parties have enough information to decide whether its worth investing their time.
As candidate expectations continue to evolve, transparency is becoming an expectation and if employers genuinely want faster hiring, stronger employer brands and better candidate engagement, publishing a realistic salary range is one of the easiest improvements they can make.