Salary help please!!!
- Started
- Last post
- 27 Responses
- needsadvice
Yes I am semi regular member here but I need a bit of advice anon.
Here is the deal:
I'm a designer with about 2 years experience since graduation. I work in house for a company and my current salary right now is 44K. I am in am major metro area.I have applied for a new position with a consultancy in a very different role that will be much more extensive. I have interviewed with them twice. Now they want to talk about my compensation package. When they put out the job listing they were looking for junior-mid level designers.
I really am hoping to make a leap. A big leap. Would 55K be out of the question?
My current benefit package:
44K salary
annual bonus was a grand
3 weeks vacation
I pay 10% of my insurance costs
educational assistance
50% 401K match
65% off product
- OSFA0
Where are you?
- needsadvice0
Boston
- kona0
did you tell them what you make already? always pad. (i do)
tell them you currently make 50k if you haven't already with an annual bonus and the benefits listed below (which are pretty good).
- needsadvice0
No Kona I have not, thank goodness! My current salary is okay but I really need out make more. I also know this job will ask MUCH MUCH MORE out of me.
I have looked at glassdoor and I am not sure how realistic those salaries are.
- It's a negotiation. Start high, don't under-value yourself.spot13
- DeSiard0
I think i've always shot myself in the foot with salary questions by offering up what i would take. If I interview for a job ever again, i'm not going to give any information regarding my current salary or what salary i'm looking for.
They know what job they're hiring for, and if they want you, tell them to make an offer. Once they give you a number then you have to decide to decline, counter or accept.
- needsadvice0
I guess too I am wondering what the upper limit for someone with my experience is? I feel like I can negotiate a decent salary but I am not sure when I get into unrealistic territory.
- pinkfloyd0
I think if they really want you, it's not a big deal to ask for more. They'll say what their budget is, and you can meet in the middle or something.
- utopian0
55k seems reasonable...
- akrokdesign0
how about you tell them 60k, but that your open to suggestions. :-)
- might go down to 55k then. (meet in the middle)akrokdesign
- CALLES0
you dont think i pay you enough?
- dibec0
Aim for 55k, accept nothing less short of 50k. I only say this because the increase from 45k to 50k is about 11%. My justification, average in a corporate environment is about a 5% increase in salary per year. Being two years, I would say your are pretty much on target. This does not include your asset value or work ethic, etc. Just pure simple basic numbers. So 55k is not unreasonable what-so-ever.
Go get them tiger!
- spot130
Don't forget these factors:
- Benefits?
- Profit sharing / bonuses
- Job Security / Satisfaction
- And COMMUTE (The secret to happiness is a short commute).
- pinkfloyd0
65% off product
What kind of products?
- if I tell you I have to kill you. A product that I will surely miss!needsadvice
- I want a discount!pinkfloyd
- my discount is like 15% which pays for deliveryphatwrx
- kalkal0
Go in at 100k and negotiate from there.
- *negotiate up.kalkal
- I wish. I am a long ways from that kind of salary.needsadvice
- cashface0
I always respond with 5k more than I want, and have actually gotten it or have been met half way. You have to negotiate, it took me a couple of jobs to figure this out.
- ntimm0
And when you do take the lower offer, tell them that you accept the drop of salary for the creative challenge this position offers. This way, they owe you.
...And eventually, you can tell them to fuck off with their overtime cause they already pay you under value.
- d_rek0
I was recently asked in an impromptu manner by a potential employer (pre-interview phone conversation I had with the employer) about what i'm currently making or what I would like to make. I chose to give them the former and explain that I would be requesting a salary increase of no less than %20. It did not seem to deter them and I still have the interview (next week - whew!)
I will realistically be asking for about 25%, but at the time did not feel comfortable telling them what I would like to ask for.
I think it is good practice to always aim high - even if you don't think it's realistic. As was mentioned before you can always bargain down to the figure that you think is realistic.
- needsadvice0
I think it is good practice to always aim high - even if you don't think it's realistic. As was mentioned before you can always bargain down to the figure that you think is realistic.
^^^ this is the part that concerns me. I have had companies walk away from salaries that weren't unrealistic so it makes me nervous.
- d_rek0
well, let me rephrase then... obviously, if you think you're worth 55k, it's certainly not out of the question to ask for 60k. It's a 5k difference which is not outrageous. Now if you were to set the bar at say a 10 or 15k difference, I could understand a company walk away from that.
I've only ever worked at one shop where the employer didn't know the current market value of their employee's... and they payed them like they didn't know. In the end they had employee's leave because it wasn't competitive, despite the work being done there.
Employers have to stay competitive or otherwise face employee defection and have to search very hard for new hires who will accept their low-balling.
So... I think you should aim high - but not outrageously so. If you want 55k, ask for 60k. If you want 60k - ask for 65k. It's always better to bargain down than to bargain up.