Salary Transparency Is Changing Tech Recruiting Forever
Something happened in tech recruiting over the last two years that nobody can undo. Salary transparency went from "nice to have" to "literally the law" in most major tech hubs.
I've worked for many startups. At every single one, compensation was this weird secret that everyone pretended not to care about while simultaneously caring about it more than anything else. That era is ending fast.
The Numbers Don't Lie
As of early 2026, pay transparency laws are active in Colorado, California, New York, Washington state, and at least 15 other states. The EU Pay Transparency Directive kicks in for all member states by June 2026.
- Job postings with salary ranges get 30-40% more applicants
- Companies that post ranges fill roles 12 days faster on average
- Candidates who know the range upfront are 2.5x less likely to ghost
- 78% of engineers say they won't click on a job post without a salary range
Why Hiding Comp Is Now a Competitive Disadvantage
You're a senior backend engineer with two InMails:
Company A: "We offer competitive compensation and great benefits."
Company B: "Senior Backend Engineer, $185K-$220K base + equity. We're scaling our payments infrastructure from 10M to 100M transactions/month."
Which one are you clicking?
The Recruiter-Candidate Dynamic Has Flipped
Candidates walk into conversations with data now. They know what similar roles pay. They've checked Levels.fyi. They've talked to their network.
The recruiter's job has fundamentally changed. You're no longer the gatekeeper of compensation information. You're the person who has to justify why your offer is worth taking.
What Smart Recruiting Teams Are Doing
- Leading with comp in outreach, first message, first paragraph
- Benchmarking before opening a req
- Having honest conversations about total comp
- Using data to fight internal battles when budgets are too low
- Adjusting ranges in real-time as the market moves
The companies that embrace transparency are building stronger employer brands, hiring faster, and retaining better. The data is there. The laws are there. The candidate expectations are there.