Counteroffer HelpI received an offer today for the following: $50,000 base Right now I currently make $46,300 and get 26 days of PTO. Vacation is really more important to me than more $, but I am thinking of going back with the following: $52,500 Normally employees do not receive the 3rd week until 5 years with the company, however, I am 7 years into my career and have earned my time off. I hate to give it back and take a step backwards. Does this seem fair? (A little background - my experience completely matches their job description and I was told by all 3 interviewers that I am a perfect match, making me think that I have some leverage as a candidate). 1. The $2500 difference is less than 80 cents an hour after taxes. That' s really not worth going after. The current offer is a bit below the usual 10-15% increase that is usually recommend however, so you might want to bring your counter up to that point. That 10-15% increase is what covers the inconvenience of starting over with vacation time and other similar benefits. 2. Vacation policies are usually set in stone. If you have a very unique skill set and lots of years of service you might be able to see if there is an exception, but with 7 years in your field, I don' t think you' re in that category. 3. You' re also comparing apples and oranges. The new company is offering vacation. The old company has PTO. Vacation implies you also get some sick days so you may not actually be behind the curve much. 4. You' re assuming that they' re even willing to negotiate. You have to start with asking that question and before you do that, you need to decide how much you' d like the new job. If you' re happy where you are and can afford to pass on this one, then you can push a bit harder than if you' re not. Thank you for your reply. Maybe just a little more background would help: 1. When I was speaking with the HR manager in the interview I asked about vacation & sick time. She said that there is no sick time for salaried employees...if you are sick you stay home. Honor system sort of as long as it is not abused. 2. On vacation, she said "we usually start people at 10 days. Anything beyond that is negotiation. But just so you know, we can' t go any higher than 15." She sort of opened the door to me then that it would be a possibility. I agree that PTO is not apples to apples. But to someone who is hardly ever sick, I do end up with darned near 26 vacation days, because they are RARELY taken as sick time. So to me, it does seem like a step back. If I were you, I' d start by asking if their initial offer is negotiable and see what they say. If it' s not, and you' re relatively happy where you are, I' d politely decline the offer and stay put. If the offer is negotiable, I' d start by saying I was anticipating an offer in the $53K to $56K range and highlighting how my qualifications for the job were a near perfect match for the requirements of the job. If you reach an agreement on salary, then ask if the proposed amount of vacation is negotiable. Most companies have vacation and/or paid time off policies firmly set in order to treat their employees equally and fairly, but it won' t hurt to ask. If the vacation allotment is fixed, then it will be simply a matter of deciding whether you want the increase in earnings or the days off you already have. Vacation is a little different than PTO since paid time off includes sick days, personal days, and vacation days. I suppose it would make sense to ask about their policy regarding sick days and personal days before assuming they don' t allow for any. But get the salary issue settled first and you should get a sense of how flexible they' re going to be on the paid time off issue.
OK, this is a really weird follow-up. Since I submitted my counteroffer, the employer has gone incommunicado. After I submitted my counteroffer, of $52k+, they contacted their headhunter that I was working with about it. Come to find out, apparently the range the headhunter told me - $52k+ - was higher than the ACTUAL range for the position). The actual range topped out at $48k so when I requested $52k, they were upset. It turns out that the $50k they offered me was already above and beyond the salary range by $2,000. Since that time, they have cut off all communication with the headhunter (won't return their calls or voicemails) and have never responded to my counteroffer by email or phone. I left a voicemail for the HR person today and she never returned my call. I have a written offer in hand but no follow up on their part. Am I to assume the offer has been withdrawn? This situation is just strange! Help! If it has been a week or more and they won' t even talk to the headhunter, then I' d say, yes, you' re done. Hence my point #4 above.
Isn't it strange though that they wouldn't come back and say "that's our offer - take it or leave it?" I find it hard to believe that they would just ignore someone altogether? Well, did you ASK if the offer was negotiable, as Paul recommends, or did you just assume it was and go ahead and submit a counter offer? It seems to me if you neglected to ask either the headhunter or the firm itself if the offer was negotiable, you have reaped what you have sown. If you asked first, I assume you would have been told that the offer was already above their maximum range. It sounds to me that there was a lack of communication all the way around here, and yes, it appears as if they have taken a real burn and have dropped both you & the headhunter like hot potatoes. I don't want to make assumptions here, but if you forged ahead with a counter offer without bothering to find out if the offer was negotiable, which obviously it wasn't, that was unprofessional on your part. Apparently the vacation time could have been negotiated, based on what you were told, but clearly the salary wasn't. If you really want this job, and you really feel that you were misled by the headhunter as to the salary range, I would write a follow-up letter directly to whomever you interviewed with (obviously you won't get anywhere going thru the headhunter), explain as briefly and tactfully as you can that you were led to believe that the salary range for the position was what you countered with, that it wasn't made clear that the offer was already maxed out, you apologize for the assumption you made that a counter was acceptable, and that you would be happy (if indeed you would be) to accept the position as offered. Some humbleness on your part is required here, to offset what they may have taken as arrogance on your part to counter an offer that was already over their max. But don't be surprised if they do not respond.
Thanks for the advice. Luckily I do have the incorrect information (salary range) in writing from the recruiter. When I had asked for more money, I referenced what the recruiter had told me via email and had asked for the low end of that range. I didn't think I was coming across as greedy or unprofessional, simply asking for the bottom of the range that I was given, as I thought that the initial offer was actually BELOW range, given the information I was provided. (Bottom line: based on the information I had, I thought I was low-balled). While I agree that in hindsight it was a gaffe to not ask if the offer was negotiable (although that just seems like a strange question to ask someone point blank), I think that the headhunter screwed this one up for me big time. He was retained by them and works for them. When I said in my previous follow-up that they were "upset" by my counter-offer, I meant this: I got a call from the headhunter and was told that he got chewed out by the company for telling me that range and they were wondering what the heck was going on with me asking for more. They assumed I had been told the right range - and I had too. Now I'm either pretty much screwed or left to clean up his mess. I think that this is a lesson learned for me - I won't be working with a headhunter (either mine or a firm's) again in the future. This has left a bad taste in my mouth. Bad taste in your mouth or not, I' d follow Anne Marie' s advice and send a short well-written letter making it clear that YOU misunderstood - even if you think the headhunter is to blame, don' t try to shift the blame, accept some responsibility for the misunderstanding, assuming you still want the job. In addition, with all due respect, we told you to ask if the offer was negotiable before attempting to counter-offer. It' s possible that by not asking, and presuming that a non-negotiable offer was, in fact, negotiable, you knocked yourself out of further consideration. If that' s the case, you have nothing to lose by sending a note expressing regret for the misunderstanding and your continuing interest in the job. | |
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