As a recruiter, one of the questions I always asked my clients when taking a new permanent job brief was what salary they had in mind for the role.
Of course I was always hoping their responses would reveal a salary at or ideally above market rate since that would always mean an easier ‘sell’ to prospective candidates.
Running a busy temp desk, the equivalent question was what hourly rate the client had in mind. Naturally the higher the hourly rate the more likely it would be that I could find a temp ready to jump in and start immediately.
I cannot tell you how many times a client would ask, “Do you think we could get away with paying the minimum wage?“.
That was usually my cue to run.
Whilst I had absolutely no interest in working with such clients, every now and then I would ask them if they even really knew what the minimum wage was. This would usually result in an awkward silence and when I would reveal the numbers they would be quite shocked.
Don’t worry – I still refused to work with those clients.
My first job was working in a petrol (gas) station. At the time I knew I was earning the minimum wage. At the time I had friends working at McDonald’s or in supermarkets and we would all compare what we were being paid.
Minimum wages vary drastically throughout the world. The minimum levels are usually based on local costs of living and general governmental policy. Recent amendments in some US cities will make their minimum wages some of the highest in the world right up there with Australia, Luxembourg and France.
The team at CashNetUSA have recently published an interesting infographic comparing the minimum wages in several US states and cities compared to the rest of the world.
How does your market stack up?
Author
Paul Slezak
With over two decades of experience in the recruitment and human capital industry, Paul Slezak has established himself as a transformative force in the realm of leadership and career coaching, group facilitation, and talent acquisition. His unique perspective, drawn from his early career as a leader in global recruitment firms and his entrepreneurial success with his own start-up, has enabled him to make a significant impact on leaders, teams, and organizations across the world. Paul's passion for helping others achieve success and high performance is evident in his commitment to transforming leaders and their teams at local, national, and international levels. He specializes in promoting the importance of human-centered intelligence, focusing on soft skills such as authenticity, transparency, and trust to complement business-centered acumen and drive better workplace outcomes. As an impartial facilitator, Paul brings his expertise to team offsites and strategy days, ensuring alignment on goals, values, and culture while keeping participants on task. His engaging and energetic presence, coupled with his unique "entertraining" and "edutaining" delivery style, enables him to connect with audiences both large and intimate, sharing personal and professional anecdotes that inspire and energize.
