Talking Dirty

The one big difference I find between job advertisements here and those in India is in talking about money.

Let's face it - how much we get paid has a lot to do with why we're doing that job. Here, when a job is advertised, you are told clearly what the grade of the job is (for sectors like government, university, health), which corresponds to a predefined scale, or you are told what the salary offered is - plain and simple. This may be a generalisation, but from experience, I can say it is largely true. In India, however, other than government jobs where the grade is advertised, every other posting reads "salary will not be a constraint for a deserving candidate", "a compensation to match the best in the industry", "salary will be commensurate with experience", or better still, "apply with expected salary", or no mention of salary at all!

The talk of money is considered dirty and unnecessary, and that makes me raving mad! All the subjectivity and airy-fairyness (sic) in discussing wages is a waste of the advertisers' and applicants' time. Is 'deserving' not a subjective attribute? What are the best salaries in the industry? Is 'experience' perfectly commensurable? I could 'expect' the world - would you give it to me? It is hugely unfair to keep applicants in the dark about what the salary set aside for a position is. You could either sell yourself short or be seen as expecting too much and thus not be considered favourably.

I remember looking for a job when I got back from doing a Masters' degree in Australia. As usual, the ad had no mention of a salary. I applied, got called for the interview, and was offered the job, all without any mention of what the salary was going to be. I tried hard to be diplomatic and introduce the delicate subject. They asked me what I 'expected'. When I replied appropriately, I was promptly asked what my last salary was. I was a bit cheeky and asked whether they wanted my last Australian salary or my last Indian one. They didn't think it was funny at all and said "Indian". I told them and they said "we'll offer you four thousand rupees more than that". I lost it at that point. I said, "it's been a year and a half since I earned that salary, and I have since got a Masters' degree, worked the whole time, and I am much better equipped and skilled than I was a couple of years ago. They turned around and said, "but you can't go to a very high salary just like that". Needless to say, I didn't take the job. This wasn't very long ago and I don't know how much it has changed. If the job ads in the Times of India's Ascent supplement are anything to go by, it's still not looking good.

I am older and wiser, and I am all for talking dirty!