Benefits August 31, 2005

Can You Leave the 'Desired Salary' Blank on Job Apps?

August 31, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - An online poll conducted by HR.BLR.com and Compensation.BLR.com found that only 3% of HR managers automatically disqualify job applicants who don't give a 'desired salary' on job advertisements or applications.
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In an HR.BLR.com news release, its managing Web editor Kevin Flood said the results of the poll show realism on the part of HR professionals. “They know that most applicants don’t want to answer out of fear that they’ll under-price or overprice themselves. Besides, an HR manager who really knows the job market probably has a pretty shrewd notion of what that person makes anyway,” he said in the release.

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The news release listed specific findings from the 953 respondents of the poll asking if it matters if applicants didn’t respond to the question:

  • Yes, but it’s a minor factor – 25%
  • No, it’s just nice to know – 25%
  • It depends on the position – 25%
  • Yes, it makes us think twice about proceeding with them – 15%
  • No, and it wouldn’t matter if we did know – 7%
  • Yes, they’re disqualified – 3%.

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