In a viral TikTok video, an entrepreneur shares that she added salary information to every full-time job she has listed on her LinkedIn page.
In the clip, Charlotte Chaze (@charlottechaze) screen records her actual LinkedIn profile and shows her career and financial trajectory. Chaze shows that she started as an unpaid biochemistry research assistant, got two internships that paid $12 and €2 respectively, was a research assistant making $28,000-$29,000, got a significant boost to $70,000 as an analytics associate, and eventually worked her way up to $158,000 last year.
“I know this won’t catch on on LinkedIn, but if it did,” Chaze says.
Chaze is the founder of Break Into Tech, a company that helps people launch a career in data analytics “from scratch.” In her LinkedIn bio, Chaze states that the average salary increase for someone who participates in her program is $32,000.
In an interview with CNBC Make It, Chaze said that she was able to save up enough money from her corporate job at AT&T while making $158,000 to quit in the middle of last year and dedicate her time to her building her company. In its first year, Break Into Tech brought in over $200,000, Chaze shared.
“I believe in salary transparency, and I wanted to show others what’s possible,” Chaze told CNBC Make It about why she posted her salary information online. “I’ve gotten huge salary increases by teaching myself new skills online and job hopping.”
@charlottechaze Salary transparency on my LinkedIn for every job I've had* *that's worthy enough to be on LinkedIn. I don't have my time at Domino's Pizza, Smoothie King, Cheeburger Cheeburger, Coldstone Creamery, or Chesapeake Bay Candles on there! I actually *don't* recommend doing this yourself. Showing a potential future employer what you currently make could cause them to lowball you! I'm just doing it because I can and it's helpful for others. Use it to your advantage! #salarytransparency #salary #mysalary #pay #work #job #career #greenscreenvideo #paychecks #receipts ♬ original sound – Charlotte • Break Into Tech®
Her video has more than 750,000 views and over 600 comments as of Thursday morning.
“I actually *don’t* recommend doing this yourself. Showing a potential future employer what you currently make could cause them to lowball you! I’m just doing it because I can, and it’s helpful for others. Use it to your advantage!” Chaze wrote in the video caption.
In the CNBC interview, the business owner added that she thinks it should be on companies to be transparent about salaries.
As of April, eight states have salary transparency laws in place. These states are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington.
“I’m in a unique position to be able to share my past salaries because I’m no longer a W-2 employee,” she told CNBC.
Commenters had mixed reactions to Chaze’s post.
“Making a jump from 28k to 70k is impressive and this is the hope and inspiration I needed to see today,” the top comment read.
“I just wish job listings would at least list a salary range. too many have absolutely no info,” another person said.
“I would be FIRED,” a further user said, predicting what would happen if they publicly listed their salary.
“This is great because recruiters can see how much you’re making and not bother you with a company that can’t match or beat your current salary,” another argued.
The Daily Dot reached out to Chaze for comment via Instagram direct message.
