Salary after layoff/school
3 1/2 years ago I was laid off from a position where I had a very good salary as a technical writer. Since I was suffering job burn out I went to school and got a certificate in another field. Now I am looking for a job in the original field and don't know how to negotiate a salary with 3 1/2 years out of the job market. Recruiters call me because they like my resume but don't call back. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to request 10% to 15% more than I was making, and actually would be happy with the same salary. Most recruiters offer less. Any advice?
The first thing I would do is look at the same or similar jobs in your area that require the same or similar education and experience that you have and see what they are paying. That will tell you what the market value of the positions are. From that point, you may have to take a haircut based on being out of the workforce for 3 1/2 years. It is possible that your previous pay may have been inflated during a better economic time (the dot-com boom) and that salary, along with many others, are no longer that high. So, come up with the realistic market value for the jobs today, expect to come in a little less than that for not working, and see how that shakes out. I think you face two issues here. First, is the amount of time you've been out of the workforce. Obviously, the gap is easily explained, but I think you need to state what you've been doing between jobs petty early in the process - in any cover letters you send with your resume or someplace actually within your resume where you list jobs held in your job history - so there's no question about how you've been spending your time. Second, if I were you, I'd be expecting a salary pretty much equal to what you were earning before the layoff, not more. The idea, at least at this point, is to get back into the workforce, so I'd be willing to take less to get a job. Then, you'll have the chance to prove that you're worth more based on your performance. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert My situation is similar. I was laid off due to Y2K downsizing. Decided to stay home for a couple of years (newly married) to raise my daughter then decided staying at home was not for me. I returned to school in 2003. I worked in IT for 20 years, and now am almost done with my BS in Accounting. I want to be an IT Auditor. I am taking the certification test this saturday. My old Salary was $48,000 but I have not worked for 7 years. 4 of which I was a full-time student working part-time as a bar manager/bartender/server. I feel that my salary should go up since it is a higher paying field. (However, I have no real auditing experience) I recently was asked about salary at an interview and skirted around the 'final' number. I do have a second interview tomorrow, and know this will come up again, I'm nervous. The guy told me I was the only one they are calling back for a second interview. The company offers alot of training and feel that this position will make me more valuable eventually, but I don't want to work for less than before. I've always taken jobs just to have a job and have never negotiated salary. I don't want to do that this time around. Also, I have talked to head hunters, and I am qualified to pretty much do any IT job. They always want a solid number...the lowest I'd accept. I think it depends on the job and location, being on call 24x7..etc. I usually just tell them that, then never get another call from them. Thanks in advance for your help! Your problem seems pretty clear to me. You have tons of IT experience, but no auditing experience. Unfortunately, your wealth of IT experience probably won't translate into a substitute for no auditing experience. What you need to do is figure what level of income you require and below which you cannot go and still pay all the bills, make ends meet, at at least maintain your present standard of living. Figure out what it costs you to make in financially over the last several months and come up with a monthly average income you require. Take that monthly average times 12 to come with an annual income that YOU know you have to have. Call that amount $X. Add about $10K to $X to come up with the top of a range you need to be in. Call $X + $10K your $Y amount. Then, when you're asked about your salary expectations you can say that your anticipated salary is negotiable within the $X to $Y range. I'm afraid you probably won't be offered $48K with no experience in IT auditing, but you should expect at least to be within your $X to $Y range - at least to start. Your goal, as I see it, is to get your foot in the door and gain some experience, but jobs that provide a lot of training usually don't offer a lot of money to people who are still learning how to do the job. Your secondary goal then becomes learning as much as you can as quickly as you can in this new field. Make sense? Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert | |
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