For instance, if the range published in the job description is $70,000 to $100,000 (£56,4000 to £80,550), a new hire may start the job at $85,000 (£68,500), but make up to $100,000 as they earn raises and bonuses throughout their tenure in the role. In short, the company never intended to hire a new worker at $100,000 – that's simply where it caps pay for that position.
She says most companies aim to hire in the middle of the advertised range, which leaves room for raises as employees prove themselves over time, and that "it's not intended for everyone to reach the top of a range", only strong performers.
"I find that anyone who's done some hiring themselves and been involved in compensation-setting, which many hiring managers have, understands this," says Dilber. "Whereas for jobseekers seeing salaries communicated for the first time… there is a learning curve."
Keirsten Greggs, a former corporate recruiter who now runs her own recruitment consultancy in the Washington, DC, area, agrees this approach can be opaque for people who haven't worked in recruiting. It often leaves applicants misinterpreting the figures on a listing.
And now that pay transparency laws are on the books, many workers feel deceived when a job offer is extended that doesn't reflect the posted range.