A reader writes:
I’m in the process of hiring a new staff person, and I’m struggling with our HR team about salary. For some reason, our HR is very reluctant to provide any firm information at salary to applicants, and doesn’t want hiring managers to do it either (probably because our salaries are pretty low for the market). So we get applicants asking us about salary, and we aren’t supposed to actually tell them until we make an offer. Yet at the same time, our application system asks them for their salary history and their desired salary. So I can see in the applications that a candidate is currently making more than she would in this position — and wants way more than what this position pays — but when she asks us the salary, we can’t tell her until we make her an offer. When she inevitably turns down the job due to the pay, everyone has gone to an awful lot of trouble for no result, and we have to start the process over.
What can I do when applicants ask, “What is the pay?” We usually say something about checking with HR and not disclosing until the offer, but I feel really badly that we’re being so evasive and, essentially, deceptive. I’d love some wording that could say “don’t get your hopes up about the pay” without actually saying it.
This whole situation is extremely frustrating and disheartening, and I’m sure it’s even worse for people who are looking for jobs with us.
I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.
