Pls help with offer...confusedHere's the story.... I was not looking for full-time work but had posted my resume on Monster looking for a contract/part-time position that I can work from home. I have two small children at home. A local company contacted me to see if I was interested in a full-time position and what my salary requirements would be. It just so happens that my husband is going to commission only so another salary in the house would be VERY helpful. I responded that I'd be very interested and my salary requirements would be $68k-$75k. I shot high thinking they wouldn't bite and they did. This was on a Tuesday, they wanted me to come in on a Saturday for an interview and then I had the second interview on Thursday and they started running background checks on Friday and called to tell me they'd initiate an offer this week. In the meantime, a local recruiter called me about this exact job that I had just interviewed for. She said she thought I shot too high for the position so I asked what the salary was. She stated it was $55k-$60k. During this same conversation, she told me about an insurance recruiter website and said I could post my resume out there. So I went to check it out and she had posted a job that matches the Monster posting (the hiring company posted the Monster posting) word for word from title to the punctuation. The salary on the recruiter's posting says $65k-80k. So I'm confused. I get the verbal offer on Tuesday and it's for $60k. The HR lady called on Wednesday to see if I received the package with the written offer and I sort of balked at the salary by explaining what my minimum salary requirement is and she immediately said she's authorized to go to $65k but then said she really didn't feel they'd go any higher than that. She's in California and the company I'd be working for is in Houston and she's the go-between. Is this standard practice that HR can just throw another $5k in there and is this a sign that's the top dollar they'll pay or do I go back and try to get at least my minimum. At this point, it's not really about the money but more about the principle of getting my bottom requirement. I'm thinking that the HR person never told the local ppl about my salary requiremetnts. Am I just being greedy? Should I call the local recruiter (she did NOT help me find this job) and ask her again about the salary and see if her posting is a mistake? Do I just shut up and take it or do I ask the HR lady if there's anyway to get to $68k? If I do this, what do I risk? For what it's worth, I do plan on taking the job at $65k but I want the best salary I can manage and appreciate any guidance. Stop talking to the other recruiter. She' s got no stake in your case and has nothing to do with you. Whatever the range is, the OFFER to you is $60K which has now been bumped to $65. The question to you is, do you want this job or not. You' ve been told they aren' t likely to go any higher. Are you happy with a job that pays $65K or not? You can' t put principle in the bank, so you need to decide what' s most important. The difference between $65K and $68 is about 96 cents an hour. If you want the job and you want to bulk up your stability when you husband goes to commission, you should take it. The risk is that they will come back and say that you' re too much trouble and move on to someone else. Since you picked your range out of a hat and acknowledge that it is pretty high anyway, I recommend you take it if you want this job. I agree with Tess, particularly since you wrote, "I shot high thinking they wouldn' t bite..." That statement makes me believe that the salary range you "shot" out there wasn' t necessarily a reflection of a salary level you absolutely require to justify accepting the job. In most instances like this, the prospective employer has a budgeted salary range for jobs to be filled. My guess is the HR person made a salary offer to you that' s within the budgeted range and, apparently, has been given some latitude to negotiate within that range - which is exactly what it sounds like happened. She offered $60K, you countered with your $68K to $75K range, she came back with $65K. The only question now is whether you want the job or not. My expectation would be that $65K is as much as this employer is willing to pay you to do the job. If I wanted the job, I certainly wouldn' t quibble over three grand per year on the basis of principle! As Tess wrote, you can' t put "principle" in the bank! Thank you both for your responses. Although I' d take the job at 65k, I just wanted to make sure I was getting the appropriate salary for the job description and because of the 65k-80k posting by the recruiter which may have been an incorrect posting, I was confused. Thanks again. As a corporate recruiter I don't post salaries because it always leads to problems. On occasion a manager will tell me "Go for $60K but if they balk I will go to $65". Like all consumers employers want to pay the best price. If you want the job at $65 take it. At my current employer have low mid and high salary levels for each job title and grade. When I first started the person that posted my jobs to the staffing agencies was listed the high salary level instead of the midpoint. Everyone wanted that higher salary even though they didn't necessarily qualify. | |
|
Career Tips
|