Most job descriptions do not include the salary range, which is frustrating. If you are applying for a job, you want to ensure your salary requirements are in the right ballpark. Otherwise, it is a waste of everyone’s time.  

Irene Marshall_Tip Call Out -What does it mean when there is a wide salary range on a job description

When I was a recruiter, I would be given a specific salary range that fit the company’s headcount and budget. But the range could be too wide such as $75K at the low end and $100K at the top end. 

I would give advice to the hiring manager:  

  • If we were not finding the right candidate even at the top end of the range ($100K in this case), they would need to find additional budget money to attract the right people. 

Maybe they could find additional money allocated to someone else in the budget. Or they might need to justify a request for additional funds. 

  • If the range was too wide, it was also a problem. The job posting might have drawn in more candidates than expected. I would talk with the hiring manager again.  

What needed to be in place for the person to get a higher job offer? Maybe an industry certification? Maybe being a CPA was very important.   

My advice to the hiring manager would be to set the budget range as no more than $10K or maybe $15K between the top and bottom. Then this would draw in the appropriate candidates with reasonable salary expectations. 

If you are on an active job search, I do know how to figure out information like this from the job posting and about the company. Click this link to my scheduler if you’d like to schedule a no-charge consultation today!