Lied to during salary negotiationI would love some advice. I took a director-level marketing/communications/PR position with a local nonprofit organization about a month ago. I have 12 years of experience in the communications industry with stellar recommendations, etc. The organization offered me the position and a salary in the 50s -- much lower than what I asked for as my minimum. After two rounds of negotiation they said they were unable to increase the offer at all, because of the need to keep "director level salaries consistent and equitable." Now I have learned from a reliable source that the director salaries are anything but equitable. I am the lowest paid director by more than 10k. Some directors make in the 70s and 80s. I am upset about the salary, but moreso because I was lied to about the reason. I want to address this with my boss (the president of the organization), because any level of trust I had for the organization has been tainted by this information. How should I go about this? What do you do? Either way, it is lose lose for you as I see it. You go to your President and he is going to do what? LOSER..you alienate him and make it hard to do your job, because you called him out. The big guns hate that. You stay silent and then what? LOSER..it #### inside you and you hate your job. My suggestion? Stay quiet, do your job and put yourself out there and keep looking for a different position. Yes, I know, it isn' t easy out there, but what' s a guy/gal to do? By the way, are you a different gender than the other directors. And are their job descriptions identical? Mmm..do I smell legal action here? My 2 cents worth. There' s some information missing here.... First, how long have these other directors been with this organization? If it' s several years more than you, then that would likely explain the disparity. Your salary may be consistent with the starting salaries of director-level positions in that firm. If you' ve only been there a month and they' ve been there for years, of course you' re not going to be making the same salary.... They can' t bring you on at the same $$ as someone who' s been there for years. Now, on the other hand, if those making in the $70s have only been there a few months, then you have a very valid concern. Second, you cannot go to the president and say you know what other directors are making, unless this information is published in the annual report or in budget figures that are accessible by all employees (or at least by all directors). That could cause a huge problem if you are not supposed to have access to those figures. In any event, I would ask for a 3-month performance review (not a performance & salary review), if there isn' t already a policy in place to have one, and--assuming you' re doing a great job--ask your manager what the growth ladder looks like there, what do you need to do to increase your earnings potential, etc. If the salary figures of the other directors is official public knowledge, you could also very tactfully question the reason for the discrepancy and see what they say. If this info is something you are not supposed to have access to, then you' ll have to decide whether to look for another job, whether you are being discriminated against and why and what to do about it, etc. Maybe you were lied to and maybe you weren' t. You' ve only been on the job a month. How long have the other directors been there? If they' ve been there considerably longer, their alleged salaries may be a reflection of outstanding performance over time. Secondly, with no disrespect intended, what the other people supposedly are being paid is really none of your business - unless, as Anne Marie points out - their compensation is a matter of some sort of public record or published someplace like in an annual report. Not every source is reliable. In addition, there' s no way you can go to your boss and express your dissatisfaction for at least all of the reasons stated above. All you can realistically do, as I see it, is ask for a performance and salary review in 6 months and use the time between now and then to prove, based on your performance, that you' ve earned a salary increase. It is entirely possible that starting salaries for positions like yours really are in the mid-$50Ks. Your only other option, is to quietly start a job search and see if you can find a comparable position that pays more. As a matter of fact, if I were your boss and you came to me to express your dissatisfaction about your salary compared to others that you' ve heard about, the first thing I' d ask you is, "Where did you get this information?" And, assuming it' s false, at least one person just might be fired for discussing salaries. In addition to what everyone else has said, the way I see it, if you found out you were making $10K MORE than everyone else you' d be happy with your salary right? Therefore, the salary that you' re getting must be ok for some reason. I don' t know why someone with 12 years of experience took a job with a non-profit for a salary that you felt all along was much too low, but whatever that reason was, it still exists. You either are willing to work for this amount or you' re not. You were willing to do it a month ago, you should still be willing to do it regardless of what others are being paid or why. Keep in mind, it might be a longevity issue, but it also might be a hierachy issue. Some director positions may be more critical to the organization than others or have a greater scope or more staff. I also think that confronting your boss and calling him a liar (no matter how nicely you do it), is a poor career move. Even if you' re right, even if he comes clean, you' re going to corrupt any hope of a good relationship between you two. That' s an incredibly bad way to start out in a job and I' d say chances are good you won' t stay there long. If you feel that strongly that you can' t trust this organization, look for another job elsewhere. Tell new employers that the work enviornment just wasn' t a good fit. Don' t quit this job until you have another one in hand however. It is much easier to find a job when you have one and don' t call your boss and his organzation liars if you want to bring a good or even neutral reference with you. | |
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