Salaries and job ads: how what you advertise affects your ability to hire

It’s common practice for Australian companies to leave wage information out of their job advertisements, a recent study by job search company, Adzuna, has found.

The study showed less than 20% of Australian jobs advertised through Adzuna included a salary whereas 73% of ads in the UK did.

So, should HR managers and business owners include salary in job ads, or not? And how does what you advertise affect your ability to hire?

According to Adzuna, advertising a salary is crucial, with job seekers three-times more likely to click on an online job ad that includes a salary, compared to ads that do not mention pay.

Managing Director of Employment Office, Tudor Marsden-Huggins, agrees stating if hiring managers want their advertisements to be noticed by the right candidates, they need to start advertising salary in job advertisements today.

“It’s as simple as that, without stating a salary range in a job advertisement your ad is far less likely to hit the mark with job seekers. Candidates, particularly millennials, are looking for information which is clear, concise and easy to absorb. If there is no indication as to what an employer will pay, candidates will move on to the next advertisement because they don’t want to waste their time.

“Whether you’re advertising on a traditional job board, on social media, or you’re head-hunting a candidate, as employers it’s our responsibility to be transparent with our potential candidates. At Employment Office we encourage all of our clients to disclose a salary range commensurate with skills and experience. This allows our clients to capture more, relevant candidates, but still have the opportunity to negotiate salary at offer stage.”

Not only does advertising a salary range build an honest and open relationship with candidates, according to Marsden-Huggins your job ad will be more easily found online too.

“Job boards have salary range categories for a reason and candidates are using those search functions to narrow down job listings to avoid having irrelevant results pop up.  If an employer doesn’t choose a salary band when uploading their ad, their job won’t appear in those search results – missing the target audience. When a candidate searches in a salary band and sees the range reaffirmed in the job ad they can self select in or out, depending on what they’re looking for in a new position.” he says.

So why are some employers still hesitant to spill the beans on salary in job ads? Marsden-Huggins says some employers still question whether to add a salary or not because they can be flexible with their salary range, it’s a new position for the organisation, or they don’t want to hire people who are only motivated by money.

“My advice here is to sort all those elements out before you advertise. Employers should only head to market when they have a clear idea of a role, responsibilities and budget, and if any of that is unclear they should speak with a recruitment professional who can discuss how best to position. Recruitment Advertising professionals know how to position a vacancy to ensure all workplace benefits are promoted, so your advertising isn’t focused only around money but you’re still able to capture the right candidates for what package you can offer.”