An update on salary transparency

At If You Could Jobs we strive to make it as simple as possible to post and find your next creative job opportunity. As with any sector there are a number of themes and topics that emerge and re-occur. One such example is the conversation around salary transparency and the frustrations associated with words like ‘competitive’ and ‘dependent on experience’ used on job adverts instead of a clear salary or salary bracket.

We’ve paid close attention to the developments in this conversation, following the campaign Show the Pay, feedback on linkedin post’s and the recent article of salary cloaking on Intern magazine.

We want to take a more active role in encouraging salary transparency on our platform starting with a recently implemented update which requires all entry level, junior, and internship roles to disclose a salary or salary bracket.

The stories we continue to hear of unpaid internships and talent paid below the minimum wage early in their careers is not healthy or sustainable for the individuals or the future of the creative industry. If we can remove this unnecessary pressure from the application process we believe it’s a step in the right direction.

We believe this to be an achievable step because the vast majority of companies advertising entry level and junior jobs know exactly what they are prepared to pay (unlike, as we are told, in more senior roles).

However, the conversation becomes much more nuanced when it comes to salary transparency for midweight and senior roles and we understand some of the arguments for not fully disclosing a salary or salary bracket (although our recommendation is always to disclose a salary or salary bracket across all levels).

We do see this as the first step in encouraging more transparency around salaries and we’ll update here on our progress, starting with the results of our recent insight report into the experience of job hunters, launching week commencing 11th of October.

Whilst we have listened to some of the counter arguments as to why companies want to continue to post jobs with an undisclosed salary, we feel confident with this first step. We want to continue to listen, so if you have comments or feedback we welcome them – please email us at hello@ifyoucouldjobs.com.