Negotiating Pay?

Cherry Blossom

I had my first interview in a very long time last week. Its a support position for a professional practice of sorts. I got a call from the senior partner to tell me they were very impressed with my interview and want me to come in for a chat and to see the lay of the land. So I'm thinking if they offer me the position part of the little chat is going to be re salary. Have never been in a position to negotiate salary before, I've just been told how much it is and that's that. How does one go about this?

Cherry Blossom

Meant to post in Work and Jobs :rolleyes:

RentDayBlues

They will ask you what you are looking for, you'll tell them.

Was the job advertised at a certain salary range?

dvpower

They'll already have a range that they are willing to pay. You need to try and name a figure that is at the top end of this range, without being ridiculous.

I wouldn't undersell yourself at this point in the process. It sounds like they want to hire you and usually a couple of grand here or there isn't going to be a dealbreaker from their pov. I'd look at salary surveys for similar roles/experience and base your number on that.
Remember that you're not likely to get an opportunity to increase your pay again for a good while (and every increase from now on will be based on what you negotiate now).

I wouldn't stop at pay either. This is also an opportunity to negotiate your annual leave allowance. Most jobs start low and add a day a year up to a maximum. It would be well worth it to try and get a few extra days here.

Cherry Blossom

Well the job title is Financial Controller which in my experience salaries ranges from min wage to about 40 grand per year hence the dillema. Due to the nature of the business the job would include weekends on a pro-rata basis and every bank holiday. I'm thinking i'll put this to them with my qualifications (post-grad) and ask what they think would be a fair deal all round, I would have no problem starting off on a fair basic salary with reviews and performance based increases. Just not sure if any firm can be trusted to keep their end in the current climate. Don't want to go overboard either as I want to stay fairly close to home and it's probably the only position thats come up in the last 6 months I feel I would be reasonably happy in long term. I'm of the personal opinion that worst is still to come regardless of opinions and claims that the start of the end of the recession is already here :rolleyes: and this particular industry would be less at risk than most.

dvpower

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Well the job title is Financial Controller which in my experience salaries ranges from min wage to about 40 grand per year hence the dillema. Due to the nature of the business the job would include weekends on a pro-rata basis and every bank holiday. I'm thinking i'll put this to them with my qualifications (post-grad) and ask what they think would be a fair deal all round, I would have no problem starting off on a fair basic salary with reviews and performance based increases. Just not sure if any firm can be trusted to keep their end in the current climate. Don't want to go overboard either as I want to stay fairly close to home and it's probably the only position thats come up in the last 6 months I feel I would be reasonably happy in long term. I'm of the personal opinion that worst is still to come regardless of opinions and claims that the start of the end of the recession is already here :rolleyes: and this particular industry would be less at risk than most.

That's supposssed to be their negotiation positions, not yours. Its a negotiation concerning money; you're suppossed to try and get as much as you possibly can and they're suppossed to try and moderate your demands.

Starting low in the hope that you'll get more in future reviews would be a bad idea IMO; you're future payrises will be off the base of what you start from.

I would have thought that trying to get the best deal possible would be a positive attribute of a financial controller.

Cherry Blossom

dvpower wrote: »

That's supposssed to be their negotiation positions, not yours. Its a negotiation concerning money; you're suppossed to try and get as much as you possibly can and they're suppossed to try and moderate your demands.

Starting low in the hope that you'll get more in future reviews would be a bad idea IMO; you're future payrises will be off the base of what you start from.

I would have thought that trying to get the best deal possible would be a positive attribute of a financial controller.

I have been away from this type of work for 3 years though and I'm in Donegal where minimum wage isn't minimum wage its just what everyone is paid. Most employers round here have no clue, most have inherited businesses or have started one up with a lot of outside help, it would be unusual to find a small business owner with any sort of third level education. Financial Controller is considered just a fancy term for secretary, it is usually the company's external accountant that does the interviewing. This is not the case with this particular firm but they will be well aware of what these jobs are paying locally. They have said they are looking for someone they want to invest a bit of time and effort into so I think I may be in a better position to negotiate in this case once I have a foot in the door and they see what I can do. Or do you think I should still try to get the best deal possible straight off the bat?

finisklin

I have a related query on negotiating pay/remuneration when offered a job. This is private sector. If you agree on a salary, how are future pay increments decided? Do companies,in general,have an automatic scale attached to the positions that increase over say a five year period?

Or is it a case of negotiating increments in line with inflation? Any pointers on the best way to approach this at the negotiating stage would be appreciated.

premier10

finisklin wrote: »

I have a related query on negotiating pay/remuneration when offered a job. This is private sector. If you agree on a salary, how are future pay increments decided? Do companies,in general,have an automatic scale attached to the positions that increase over say a five year period?

Or is it a case of negotiating increments in line with inflation? Any pointers on the best way to approach this at the negotiating stage would be appreciated.

This is an area that should be covered in your contract stating when or if you will have an annual review of pay/work/performance.

In general companies in private sector don't operate a scale unless one imposed externally. It pretty much varies from co to co depending on the sector/ profession you are working on.

You could a year down the line request a review when you are settled into the job and maybe you could do some bargaining if your employers entertain your request.

Talk about work load, added responsibilities, sector peers pay - all these things can work in favour. let me know how you get on. Unfortunately i have no more useful without knowing what kind of sector/job your in.