Desperate for salary negotiation advice!On Wednesday of last week, and member of the team that I will be working for who is taking over the HR position while it is vacant, we' ll call her #2, called me and gave me a salary range for a position that I was not yet offered. On Friday, I was offered the position by the CEO at our luncheon interview. I was told to expect a formal offer letter detailing the salary etc. I received the offer today. When #2 called me she said the salary range for the position was $32-34K. Upon receiving the offer this afternoon, I opened it up, and they offered $31,500! I was so confused! So, I called #2 and asked if there was a mistake. She appologized that she mispoke on the phone last week, and the actual range for the position is #28K-$31K and they decided to offer me $500 more because of my education and experience. I thought about it, and was advised to call the person that would be my supervisor, we' ll call her #3, to see if she knew if #2 made a mistake on the phone, or in the offer. My friend is currently in that position and was started out at $32K, 3 years ago with no degree and no experience. After I called #3, she said she would find out what was going on and call me back. About 5 minutes later #2 called and said she isn' t sure when she mispoke, but wanted to let me know that the salary was open for negotiation if I was unpleased, especially if it was a mistake on her part. So, I thought #3 had talked to #2... turns out, she hadn' t yet. #2 offered this at her own will. SO, about an hour later #3 calls and says she clarified with #2, and that the offer was staying at $32,500, but was open for negotiation. However, she also felt the need to tell me there is another candidate they are interviewing tomorrow evening and they are prepared to offer the job to if it doesn' t work out with the negotiations. I was told I need to have a counter-offer emailed by 12noon tomorrow afternoon, and negotiations complete, with an acceptance or rejection by 4pm tomorrow afternoon!! Now, I' m not sure what to do! Do I say never mind and accept the offer? Do I go in and counter with $33K? $32,500, or what? I don' t want to overstep my boundaries and risk them retracting the offer, nor do I want to have caused a fuss over $500! My original range request for the job was between $35-$40K! Do you really like the company and want the job badly? If so, I would say to take it as is. If you can afford to either take the job or leave it, I would say to answer back with a counter offer in the original range they said, say $33,500. and see what happens. They could accept, counter, or they may just say to forget it, and offer the job to the other candidate. If you decide to counter offer, just make sure you have a figure ready in your head you can live with. I'm confused (as always). You say they offered $31,500 but later you say the offer is staying at $32,500, which is within the range that was discussed by #2 and which, because you didn't object at that time, you gave the impression that you agreed to that range. If the offer is still at $31,500 and you can afford to walk away from this job, ask for the $33K midpoint in your range and see what they say. If you can't afford to walk away, accept at $31,500 or $32,500, where ever the offer stands. If it is already at $32,500 I think you have their best offer. I was told the salary range was $32-34K, then she said she mispoke, and the range is actually $28-$31K. The offer was "over" what their salary range is supposed to be. I agreed that I would be happy with the range of $32-$34K, assuming I would be in the middle or top, but when I got the offer, it was lower than anticipated. I went ahead and accepted the offer, instead of countering. I' m waiting now to get the logisitics of my first day, which should be tomorrow! Your message isn' t clear. How much is the actual offer? $31,500 or $32,500? Regardless, if you want this job, I wouldn' t quibble over one grand per year. That' s less than twenty bucks per week - before taxes! If the position you' ve been offered is an opportunity to advance your career, I' d take the job as presented. Personally, I think this is more about opportunity than it is about dollars - based on what you wrote. | |
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