Salary Offer Less than Expected Help
Hey guys, I just received an offer from a company I'd like to work for. The problem is that the initial salary offer is less than what I expected. The entire package (salary + bonuses which are mostly guaranteed + relocation) is about 10% more than what I make. The base salary is about 10% less than what I currently make. Should I be looking at the entire pacakge or compare the base salaries? My current benefits are definitely much better, too. I was told the bonus structure was set, but the salary and relocation is somewhat flexible. Apparently, they do not offer signing bonuses. I'm wondering how I should proceed with this. I'd like to take the job, but I think I'm worth more than the offer (granted, the move would be more of a "lifestyle" change). Oh, and there is a difference in cost of living, with my current cost higher. Though, if I moved, I'd have to buy a car and stuff (is that worth mentioning?). Anyway, just looking for some advice. Thanks. If I were you, I' d ask politely ask if the salary is negotiable, (even though it was suggested that it is), and assuming that you receive an affirmative response, and assuming you' re asked what salary you have in mind, I' d make the point, tactfully, that their initial offer is lower than you' re currently earning. Then I' d counter with a salary range that represents 10% to 15% more than you' re earning now. Say something like, "I was anticipating an salary offer in the $X to $Y range," and see what they say. But I would be prepared to also state why the job will be worth more to the employer based on what you can bring to the table in terms of relevant experience, training, skills, past job performance, and education - and how your overall qualifications for the job match the requirements of the job - don' t base it on COL differences or needing to buy a car. Zat help? A couple more questions - -should i consider the bonuses and relocation as part of my salary? or should i be focusing on the base salary? while there' s a high probability i will get those bonuses, there is still a chance i won' t. it' s not 100% guaranteed money. from their perspective, they are looking at it all as a salary. at least, thats how they compared it. they said something about how their package is more than what i' m currently making. -also, how should i approach this? should i respond to their email and put everything in writing? or just call them up and start the conversation? just wondering how this was typically done. Another thing - it seems that the offer is more "flexible" than "negotiable" in that I could roll my relocation into my actual salary, but the total offer amount doesn' t have much leeway. should I look into discussing changes in benefits, like adding vacation days? -Nope! Salary is salary. Bonus is bonus. Relocation is relocation. Anyway, bonuses aren' t guaranteed and some companies offer relocation assistance and others don' t . Here' s another way for you to look at it: Salary is an "every week" sort of thing. Bonuses are periodic before tax payments that usually are a function of profitability and/or individual job performance. -I' d start with a conversation to get things rolling in a cordial, pleasant way. When all the details are pinned down you can ask if they' ll be sending out an offer letter. If that' s not how they do it, make your own set of notes on what has been agreed to. It' s tough, particularly in the early stages, to guess at tone of voice, inflection, nuance of meaning or, for that matter, to react in real time with any comments or questions you may have. I think it' s always better to actually talk to another human being if that' s a viable option. Could you be little more specific? It doesn' t make sense that an employer would increase your salary permanently as a way to cover a one-time relocation expense. Beyond that, benefits normally aren' t very negotiable, unless you' re looking at a very senior level position - other employees have a "thing" about equal treatment, so most companies establish what' s in their benefit packages as a matter of company policy. Negotiating vacation time might work, but we need more information to suggest whether or not that makes sense in your case. The offer is already in my hands. i told them that i needed some timeto think about it. i' m not sure why they are offering to roll therelocation into the salary. i guess that' s their way of being flexibleabout it. but, they didn' t seem to have a problem with doing so. as far as the benefits go, i thought that' s something i could look at if they werent willing to budge on salary. Another question - will taking a salary that' s less that what i could find elsewhere hurt me in the future? Whether you consider the bonus as part of your overall compensation comparison is up to you. If you can live on the base salary they offer then go ahead and consider it. But if you cna't make ends meet on their base salary, I think you need to concentrate on only that aspect. I respectfully disagree with Paul regarding the exclusion of the cost of living in your calculations. If you are moving from a high CoL location to one that is lower, you have to consider that. The decrease on the CoL effectively changes your increase in pay from 10% to something more than that. However I do agree with Paul that the need to buy a car or anything else like that should not be considered in a salary comparison (but should in your own "making ends meet" calculation.) And it isn't the company's problem so don't mention it. I don't think taking a salary that is lower than what you think you could get will hurt your future earnings. There may be some difficulty if you return to a higher cost of living location some time in the future but that should not drive your current decision. Probably not. Experience, responsibilities, quality of overall job performance, level of responsibility, and a host of other related factors have much more to do, in my opinion, with future salary offers than the actual amount you were earning. More fundamentally, the reason lots of people switch jobs is because they hope to earn more, so if you' re "underpaid" in this job, the justification at some future point for entering the job market certainly can be because you know that your qualifications and accomplishments have more value than you' ve been receiving. Make sense? | |
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