lower level position and negotiation tipI had an outstanding interview for a position that I' ve been looking for for awhile now. I' m anxiously awaiting a call-back this week and a job offer. However, during the interview I was asked about my salary history/desired salary. It pretty much just led to me revealing what type of money I had made in the past. I was made aware of the fact that they had another candidate that they WANTED to hire, but that his desired salary for the position was just way out of hand. When I revealed my former salary, they told me that wouldn' t be an issue. I took that as "Damn, this guy is cheap". I definitely didn' t want to lie about my salary history, nor price myself out of range as apparently this other guy had. However, I of course want to get paid as much as possible. I have no clue what kind of money they' ll be offering me, nor do I know what their benefit package will be. At my former job, I had 3 weeks of paid vacation but no sick time. If I' m indeed offered this position, what would be the best way to negotiate either some more money and/or some more vacation without pricing myself out of the offer? Since this is a lower level position (but one that I' m VERY qualified for), I' m sure that they won' t be offering a ton more money or anywhere close to 3 paid weeks of vacation. I' d really appreciate any and all feedback on this as I' m expecting a call this week. The first "rule" to keep in mind is that it ordinarily makes no sense to switch jobs unless you can increase your income by AT LEAST 10% to 15% above what you' re earning now. With that in mind, if you receive an offer that' s at least 10% to 15% more than you' re earning now and it' s an offer you' d otherwise be happy to accept - accept it! Never try to negotiate more money just for the sake of negotiating. On the other hand, let' s suppose their initial offer is, let' s say, 5% more than you' re earning at present. The thing to do is politely ask if the offer is negotiable and see what they say. If it' s not, then it will be a simple matter of "take it or leave it." If the offer is negotiable, however, you need to be prepared to counter with a salary range that' s AT LEAST reflective of that 10% to 15% increase by saying something like, "I was anticipating an offer in the $X to $Y range," but you also have to be prepared to state WHY the job will be worth that much more to the employer based on how well your qualifications for the job match the requirements of the job - based on things like your past job performance, experience, training, skills, and education. Moving on, the content of most benefit packages is pretty much set in stone, so if you only get two weeks of paid vacation, I wouldn' t make a fuss about insisting on more. The amount of vacation time you had in the previous job has nothing to do with this employer' s policy about the allocation of vacation time - not to mention the fact that to most employers it doesn' t sit all that well for a candidate to ask to be paid for NOT working another week per year before they' re even spent ten minutes on the new job. That doesn' t mean, however, that you can' t politely ask if the vacation allocation is negotiable and see what they say. My point is, if it' s not, I wouldn' t push for more. The general idea here is to reasonably advance your career in steps that are appealing to you, not trying to jump up the stairs three steps at a time. Hope this helps. Thank you very much for the reply. As for my current situation...I was laid off of my job in January due to budget cuts. Yes, it' s a permanent lay-off. I' ve been working for a friend of mine in what we both term as a "temporary" position. He knows that I' m looking for another more permanent job, although I know he' d love me to stay on permanently. However, I' m driving 70 miles round-trip to this job and making straight commission (something I' ve never done) to boot. It' s just not what I want to do long-term. As for the 10%-15% over my current salary, that' s not difficult to do. :) I' d love to be making 10%-15% over what I was making at my last job though. I' ll just have to see what they come back with. As for the vacation topic, it' s certainly not a deal-breaker. It' s of course something that I' d love to replenish to it' s previous level (3 weeks), but it sounds as if that' s a little more set-in-stone than the salary. This position is definitely what I' ve been looking for. It' s in the field that I want, in the company that I want, and it' s close to home. I' m certainly willing to give a little on different things in order to get the job. I just want to make sure not to give it ALL up JUST to get the job. Again, thank you very much for your response. It' s exactly the information that I was hoping to find here. | |
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Career Tips
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