How to write an ATS-friendly CV that still reads like a person wrote it
What applicant tracking systems actually parse, the formatting choices that silently break them, and how to fix a CV without stripping the personality out of it.
The three pay models
Location-based pay sets the band by where you live, usually against a local market index. It is the most common model and the most contentious.
Location-agnostic pay uses one global band, sometimes anchored to a reference market. It is rarer, tends to attract stronger candidates from lower-cost regions, and is expensive to sustain.
Tiered pay groups countries into a handful of bands. It is the pragmatic middle ground most companies over fifty people end up at.
- Ask which model applies before you name a number
- Ask which tier your country sits in, and what moves between tiers
- Ask what happens to your pay if you relocate
Finding the real range
Where pay transparency laws apply, ranges must be published — and increasingly, platforms simply require them. Where they do not, the range still exists internally, and the recruiter knows it.
Anchor on the role and the market, not on your previous salary. In several jurisdictions asking for salary history is now unlawful; where it is legal you are still not obliged to volunteer it.
If the advertised range is wide, the top of it is usually reserved for someone who already does the job at a larger scale. Position yourself against that description rather than against the midpoint.
What actually moves an offer
Evidence of scope moves offers. A competing offer moves offers. Enthusiasm does not, and neither does need — a recruiter cannot pay you more because your rent went up.
Non-salary levers are frequently easier to move than base: signing bonus, equipment budget, additional leave, a review date at six months, or a title that affects your next role. Ask for one thing clearly rather than four things vaguely.
- Name a specific number, not a range — ranges get read as your floor
- Justify it with scope and evidence, in one sentence
- Ask once, then stop talking
- Get the final terms in writing before you resign anything
Common questions
Should I take a lower salary to work remotely?
Remote work has real financial value — no commute, no relocation, a wider job market next time. That does not make it a substitute for market pay, and companies that frame it that way are usually signalling how they will handle the rest of the relationship.
Is it worth negotiating if the range is published?
Yes. A published range is still a range, and where you land inside it is decided by the evidence you present. The published figure removes the guesswork, not the conversation.