How to give salary expectations for an unskilled role when current salary is very low

Monkey61

Okay so here is my problem,

I am an arts graduate, working in the UK in a minimum wage retail job. I am bored out of my mind, poverty stricken etc and thus am in the middle of a massive push to find a new job.

I work for a well known high street retailer and a job as a Customer Service Advisor has just come up for a new head office based team. I have ten years experience in retail including management experience so am definitely well qualified for it...the only problem is that they ask for my current salary and my salary expectations.

Now I have been applying for similar jobs in the public sector and the salaries range from £21-£24k. In the private sector the average seems to be £19-£20k. Now at the moment I get paid £15k (which is minimum wage plus weighting for the city I live in).

Can I say that my expectations are £19-£20k in line with the industry? Or will my application be ignored because it is equally as unskilled a job as the one I am doing now (and a lot less stressful by the sounds of it) and someone else would probably be happy to do it for minimum wage? To be honest I would actually still want it if the pay was less than £19/£20k but I don't want to undersell myself at the first hurdle.

Help! I have to put this down on the application form and I don't know what to do! I am going to ask my line manager at work today, although since my expectations are actually higher than what he gets paid in his current role I have a feeling that he will tell me I am being ridiculous as well.

gollem_1975

Monkey61 wrote: »

Okay so here is my problem,

I am an arts graduate, working in the UK in a minimum wage retail job. I am bored out of my mind, poverty stricken etc and thus am in the middle of a massive push to find a new job.

I work for a well known high street retailer and a job as a Customer Service Advisor has just come up for a new head office based team. I have ten years experience in retail including management experience so am definitely well qualified for it...the only problem is that they ask for my current salary and my salary expectations.

Now I have been applying for similar jobs in the public sector and the salaries range from £21-£24k. In the private sector the average seems to be £19-£20k. Now at the moment I get paid £15k (which is minimum wage plus weighting for the city I live in).

Can I say that my expectations are £19-£20k in line with the industry? Or will my application be ignored because it is equally as unskilled a job as the one I am doing now (and a lot less stressful by the sounds of it) and someone else would probably be happy to do it for minimum wage? To be honest I would actually still want it if the pay was less than £19/£20k but I don't want to undersell myself at the first hurdle.

Help! I have to put this down on the application form and I don't know what to do! I am going to ask my line manager at work today, although since my expectations are actually higher than what he gets paid in his current role I have a feeling that he will tell me I am being ridiculous as well.

go for the 19k - the reason you are going for it is you need more money otherwise you would stay in the one you currently are doing because "you like it and really get on well with your colleagues etc."
at least you still have the 15k job to fall back on.

looksee

Ask for it, because if they want you for the job they will offer it at whatever they think anyway.

Trashbat

Average wage for graduates in the UK is circa £18k, and presuming your in London (by the "weighting" comment, correct me if i'm wrong), then your be advised to look at that as a bare minimum.

Customer service advisors in my company earn £20k, which is about the base of living here.

Remember, being an Arts graduate doesn't carry the same stigma as it would in Ireland. I know someone who's with a major accountance firm earning in the late around 28k, with an english degree.

If I was you I'd put down £19-22k

Thats realistic, but not excessive. You need to show ambition, but also that your serious.

These questions are designed to weed out people who want £40k for stacking shelves

gollem_1975

Trashbat wrote: »

Remember, being an Arts graduate doesn't carry the same stigma as it would in Ireland.

but in the UK there is more importance attached to where you did it!

Arts degree from Oxford,Cambridge,Durham or Bristol != one from the ex-polytechnics.

we're much more egalitarian here

Trashbat

gollem_1975 wrote: »

but in the UK there is more importance attached to where you did it!

Arts degree from Oxford,Cambridge,Durham or Bristol != one from the ex-polytechnics.

we're much more egalitarian here

Or we don't we don't have the prestige (also read snobbishness )

Any NUI degree here is going to be treated with just as much prestige as most UK places, although you might have to explain more in Interview stage.

Either way, the module structures and assignments of an Irish degree are going to be better than most UK universities.

Monkey61

Ah cheers guys, will put down £19k I think. Yep, I'm in London, so you can imagine how far £15k goes!

My degree is from Trinity, so at least they may have heard of it. This company aren't particularly into rewarding education or experience though, but we shall see. I asked my line manager yesterday who said think of what I want, think of what I am on now and split the difference...but asking for £17k-ish just seems silly.

Right, sending the application in today so...fingers crossed!