Modernizing Your Hiring Beliefs (Specifically: The Green Banner Debate, Pay Transparency, and Employment Tenure)

I recently re-posted my article on the ubiquitous “green banner”. For context, as a recruiter it is a filter I use FIRST when I am looking for candidates. As a job seeker, I used it for the first time in January of 2022 and had over half a dozen offers in two weeks, so I’m a big believer.

But there are still hiring managers and recruiters who insist that the green banner lends an air of “desperation” to a job seeker’s active hunt. Their rationales tend to fall along the lines of “a scarcity mindset” which is crucial for a strong salary negotiation, and the belief that anyone that is not currently employed is somehow less desirable than someone who (at least appears to be) working.

Both of these mindsets show outdated biases, and I’m going to lay out some historical truths for everyone out there.

Let’s tackle the view of someone’s employment status. The last year has shown us the WORST economy and highest job losses in over 20 years. We saw it in 1999-2000, 2008-2010, during the pandemic, and late 2022-2023. Layoffs are a response to “macroeconomic factors”. In this case, I personally believe it is the rebound from over hiring after the pandemic; an unanticipated surge in “quiet quitting” and the overinflated compensation that resulted; and to a lesser extent global upheaval such as the war in Ukraine, middle Eastern and Asian conflicts. When SO MANY people are laid off, and almost ALL for economic reasons, there should be ZERO stigma attached to looking for a job.

The second factor in this that points to an antiquated view of of employment is the fact that the average job tenure, especially in workers under 40, is SHORT – 18-24 months. If you factor in the massive layoffs and then the way some employers are reacting (ie Meta is trying to rehire the recruiters they laid off as 12-month contractors for less money and no equity, or how Elon Musk let go 70% of Twitter’s staff then tried to hire back engineers when he realized he didn’t have the knowledge base to RUN the platform) and the concept of employee loyalty is fractured. So – if you are a hiring manager that thinks anyone with less than 5 years of tenure at one employer is a bad investment – you need to rethink your hiring strategy.

Next, let's address the “scarcity mindset” and belief that a candidate that plays “hard to get” is going to be garner a better offer: you need to look at how pay transparency is sculpting the compensation landscape.

In the US, almost half the states have at least one jurisdiction in them banning salary history requests (meaning it is illegal to ask a candidate what their previous wages were – candidates can OFFER the information.)

What states have salary history bans?

States, or jurisdictions within them, that have salary history bans include:

·??????? Alabama

·??????? California (and San Francisco)

·??????? Colorado

·??????? Connecticut

·??????? Delaware

·??????? Hawaii

·??????? Illinois

·??????? Maine

·??????? Maryland

·??????? Massachusetts

·??????? Missouri

·??????? Nevada

·??????? New Jersey

·??????? New York State

·??????? Ohio (only Toledo and Cincinnati)

·??????? Oregon

·??????? Pennsylvania (Philadelphia only)

·??????? Rhode Island

·??????? Vermont

·??????? Washington

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In addition, four states currently legally mandate posting compensation ranges in all job descriptions: California, Washington, Colorado, and New York. In January of 2024 Hawaii will be joining the list, and in 2025 Illinois. There is also a bill in Congress to make it a federal law.

Colorado has the longest history of this law, and studies are showing that pay transparency DOES level the playing field for women (internationally) and minorities (in the US).

This doesn’t mean that candidates are relieved of the necessity to A) know their own worth and current salary for their jobs and industries B) understand that employers are going to pay a candidate based on their experience, education, skills etc. C) understand the fact that job seekers will automatically be offered the top of any posted/discussed range (see B).

The biggest takeaway, IMO, is that TRANSPARENCY is here to stay. Employers have been embracing transparency (in general) more and more in the last decade, and this is just one major example. Employees demand it, and leave if it is not provided. Simple supply and demand.

So using “scarcity mindset” as a justification to tell people not to advertise their openness to considering new possibilities reeks of not just privilege and bias, but also antiquated thinking. Those employers continuing down this path are basically shooting themselves in the proverbial foot.

*If you are in the US, please contact your congressional representatives and senators to vote FOR the Salary Transparency Act and Pay Equity for All bill H. R. 1588

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