Salary is where the broken-market feeling gets a number.
Candidates remember peak offers, peer LinkedIn anecdotes, and rent that did not reverse. Employers remember cooling demand, tighter budgets, and finance asking why every req needs a premium. Pay-range laws dragged the fight into the open. That is good for honesty and rough on feelings.
What employers feel
Asks that ignore role scope, location, or leveling.
Ranges that must be posted before the hiring manager has accepted reality.
Lost candidates at offer after weeks of process because the number was always wrong.
Internal equity landmines when new hires clear veterans.
What candidates feel
Posted ranges that interviewers treat as decorative.
“Competitive” language with no floor.
Lowballs after multiple rounds, framed as a favor.
Inflation in groceries without inflation in the offer.
What actually changed
Three forces hit at once: transparency rules, post-boom expectation stickiness, and selective cooling by function. Healthcare and trades can still clear. Some white-collar bands reset. Candidates experience one labor market. Your comp spreadsheet experiences five.
Fix it this week
Post the real hiring range, not the theoretical max for a future principal.
Anchor early. Share the band before the final loop so nobody auditions for a fantasy.
Separate location and level. Do not pretend Kansas City and Bay Area share a midpoint without a story.
Budget the counter. If you cannot move money, move start date, title path, or signing clarity. Do not invent fog.