If you've asked this question while working on your ad, you're not alone. It can be tough when you're stuck between what's too much to offer, what isn't enough to attract someone to the job, and what if it depends on the individual you hire. Luckily, with job board regulations and guidelines, that question gets a lot easier.
First off, if you are unfamiliar with the salary range feature, it looks like this:
You can change the setting for your salary on the drop-down menu on the right where you see "per year" to show hourly, monthly, or yearly but for job seeker preference we recommend yearly.
Now, let's break down exactly what to put in there. Job boards define the salary range as an amount that should be easily obtainable within the first year of employment. So, what you will want to put in there is a low range of what a job seeker can make in the first year, and then a high range of what they can make in their first year. But remember, it has to be easily obtainable! Can someone come into the office as a salesman and knock it out of the park and make $80,000-$100,000? Yes. But is it likely that a first-year employee will? Probably not. To address that concern, we advise against putting in that type of high value.
Next, major job boards (such as Indeed) heavily advise business owners to keep their range within $20,000 of each other. This means between your low range and your high range, it should not exceed that difference. For example, a range of $30,000-$50,000 meets that requirement and generally is a safe range for all first-year employees who have commission opportunities. However, putting a range of let's say $30,000-$90,000 would not meet the requirements because it's over $20,000 difference, and a range that high would not be considered easily obtainable. With ranges larger than $20,000 we risk hurting our ad in two key ways.
Applicants understand that large ranges are likely, to some extent, misleading and are therefore less likely to apply. If they do apply, you’ll likely find that you receive ghosting at a much higher rate than normal.
Indeed realizes that applicants don’t like ads with such ‘liberal’ ranges and will reduce the visibility of your ad or can even remove it entirely.
What if they really can make much higher numbers than the range allows?
We suggest including extra salary information in the job description to advertise your pay plan fully.
Check out this article You Can’t Afford to Forget about Salary Transparency!
Summary
With this information, our advice to all clients posting a job is to keep the range easily obtainable to something around the $30,000/$40,000-$50,000/$60,000 range and if you do hire a rockstar who is going to come in and crush it in your office, that's great! Let them know that's just a range and they can absolutely exceed that with hard work, motivation, and results. But while creating the ad, keep these tips in mind to ensure the best chance for it to post and attract top talent!
If you have any additional questions regarding this tutorial please feel free to reach out, we are here to help.
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