I think I made a mistake!
Dear Group,
Please, someone, help me out there! I have been working at the same temp assignment for the past seven months and despite some difficult patches, I really like what I do and I generally like my boss. Anyway, today I was offered a full-time position at the company. When my boss asked me how much I was to make, I named a figure and then sort of hestited and actually went lower . I suddenly told him that I would I have to go home and think about it! It turns out that based on my qualifications, education and experience, I was worth at least 5 to 10 thousand more than I said.
What should I do? I really need the job and they need a decision, soon. Have I essentially played my hand or could I just tell them that I did more research and found out that the position normally pays more than I asked for.
Thanks in advance!
I would just tell them that you were caught off guard and was not prepared to answer the question. Once you went home, you researched it and realized what the going rate would be if you were on the market. Ask if you can split the difference between what you originally stated and what you found out to be the average salary.
If you really like the place and the people you work with, that should count for something. Trust me, I've worked at companies where the comradery was weak and I really didn't care much for some of the people that I would have to come in contact with. It makes you appreciate a good rapport because in the end, no matter how much (within the norm) you make, if you're not happy it really isn't worth it. Then it starts to show in your work and if it goes too far, it will spill into your personal life.
All I'm saying is don't cut off your nose to spite your face, but in the same token, don't sell yourself short either.
Since you told the boss you needed to go home and think about it, develop a salary range in which you need to be and a range that's reasonable based NOT on the market rate for jobs like this one, but on how well your qualifications FOR the job match the requirements OF the job! Outline specifically the experience, training, skills, past job performance, and education that you have. Then outline your accomplishments as a temp - goals met, expectations exceeded, responsibilities assumed, objectives achieve - anything that will clear show, 1) That your qualifications match the job's requirements and, 2) That your overall job performance as a temp justifies the range you propose. In simple terms, justify the range you propose based on facts that will clearly show that this job will be worth more to this employer with YOU in it. Zat help?
Paul W. Barada
The Negotiation Expert