take or notI have a question, that I need help on. I have currently been offered a position with a small company, in desperate need immediately for a quality person to put together a corrective action plan. The concern that I have is that the salary is 1/2 of my previous income. They know I am in the job hunting stage and have several applications currently submitted to other jobs. I can take the job with a mutual understanding that I will continue looking for a higher paying job, while they continue to try and find a permanent quality employee. It would only take me a few weeks to put together the plan and help them move forward. They are a small company and cannot ever meet my salary needs. As a hiring manager would this seriously affect my chances at getting a job with my previous income. I know on a most applications you have to enter your current income and that would not reflect my previous higher salary. Any guidance you could give me would be appreciated. I have never really been in the looking for a job market before and not too sure of the logistics or ins and outs. I do not want to make a bad move. Any Help out there?
Here's exactly what I'd do: I'd accept the job, but I'd ask them to hire me on a "consulting" basis or as a contract employee rather than as a short-term regular employee. If you need benefits, I'd make sure that I was at least covered under their health insurance plan as part of the consulting agreement. Since you're still looking for a permanent position, and they know it, I'd highly recommend that they hire you as a "consultant" to develop their corrective action plan. This approach has the extra benefit of making it clear to future prospective employers exactly what the deal was with this employer. In subsequent discussions with prospective employers you can also be totally honest about the fact that you were doing consulting work while continuing your job search - and that will explain the salary issue, too! That's exactly what I'd do if I were you. Hope this helps. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert
Thanks for the response. I do not need health benefits. Not sure how a consultant works or the difference between that and a contract position. Who pays social security and taxes?
In either instance, you would be responsible for paying self-employment taxes on your earnings. I don't think there's a whole lot of difference between being hired as a consultant or being hired as a contract employee except that being a consultant implies that you have more than one client, while being a contract employee implies that you're only working for one employer. But based on what you wrote, I'd be inclined to offer my services as a consultant on the project if for no other reason than it will be a little easier to explain to a future employer. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert If you work for this company through a temp agency, the temp agency will handle the taxes issue for you, although they will also take a cut for their work. I agree with Paul however, you're never going to be a full time long term employee for this company so there's no point in being hired as such. Tess | |
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