Wierd... MaybeI have interviewed with a company twice now. It's for a newly created position within their company. I have had a measurable amount of verbal reassurance in regards to being selected. A few questions. 1. The company wants me to fly to another state for a week to the corporate office to "train" BEFORE commiting to an offer. Salary has not been discussed with the exception of my providing them a range at the beginning and them telling me that it's "not a problem". Of course they will cover hotels, flights, expenses, however isn't this free training on their part? They don't have to pay me for my time? I am under the impression that they wish to see if I like the position before making an offer. Although I understand that they don't want to offer the job for me to decide I don't like it and quit, I am somewhat reserved about COMMITTING MY time without at least having an outline of what they're planning to compensate me if awarded the position. 2. After having *thought* I lost a job interview as a result of requesting what I thought was too high of a salary range, I lowered it when asked by this company. I have since scouted several salary calculators for the position and area to find that my salary requirement was severely low-balled on my part. Should I come back and note an adjustment of my salary requirements based upon these calculators or is it possible they're not accurate? Is it too late to make an adjustment to my salary requirements or would it be a bad move to do so once it comes down to salary negotiation? Please advise/comment. Thanks! 1. While what you're describing is a little unusual, I don't think you have anything to lose by going through the week of "training" before the deal is finalized. Actually, in many respects, it makes a lot of sense for them and for you. The fact that you're concerned about not being "paid" for that week makes you sound, frankly, a little greedy. Both you and the prospective employer are investing time to make sure this is going to be a mutually beneficial relationship before finalizing a hiring decision. I think, however, it would be appropriate for you to politely ask them if they can give you a sense of what the budgeted salary range for the position is, before committing to the week of training, just to be sure that both parties are in the same salary ballpark, so to speak. The training they're offering you isn't free to them. They're paying somebody to do the training, they're paying your expenses, and they're paying for training materials - so it isn't exactly free training. Your investment is your time. How much that investment is worth depends on whether or not you're working at the moment. 2. The generally held belief is that most salary calculators tend to run high, sometimes as much as 25% higher than real-world salaries are for comparable positions. I would wait until an actual job offer is made before adjusting your anticipated salary range. If you decide to go for the training, you'll then be in a far better position to make a realistic decision about their initial salary offer, too. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert | |
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