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If a company refuses to negotiate a salary offer does it mean that they don't value what you bring to the table? Well thats how I felt. I interviewed with my dream company (4 phone screenings followed by a day of in person 1:1 interviews) and got the job. However it was for a lower title and a lot less money (15k) than what I previously earned. Not to be strayed I tried to negotiate the salary since glassdoor, salary.com, indeed, payscale and all the other sites confirmed that even at the lower title I was being low balled. The firm wouldn't budge a cent. So I declined the offer due to the salary. After the failed negotiation I felt like I lost and wasn't being valued. That was yesterday. Today Im wondering if my pride got in the way. Should one be willing to take a step back to move two steps ahead in order to get a foot in the door of their dream firm? Or would that be career suicide since all future promotions and salary increases will be based on where one starts? Should salary really be ignored when deciding whether to accept or decline a job offer? If one declines an offer due to salary and then sees the "bigger picture" of what the offer represents, can he/ she call the firm and ask for the job after initially declining without looking like an indecisive fool? Yesterday I felt like if you dont want me enough to pay me what I deserve than F*** You but today I feel like I should take the job gain some new skills, work hard, network, and try to set promotion goals to get back to my prior salary as quick as possible. Is it to late to do what I just described. Just thinking nothing beats a Fail but a Try. For some of the more seasoned subscribers what do you think? Anyone who works in HR your advice would really be appreciated....
Last edited by jbskr2012; 02-08-2012 at 03:38 PM..
You just asked this same thing in your other thread. Several people responded and told you to move on. You gave them a deadline to get to back to you with your salary demands, and you didn't hear back from them. That was your answer.
Your mistake was in not asking for more money, but putting a deadline on them. That's why you didn't hear back from them. That came across as very obnoxious.
You no longer have a job offer with these people, learn from your mistake.
A lot of unanswered questions. Are you currently employed? If you are unemployed then taking a job with your so called..dream firm, even for less money, would be a no brainer for me. If you are currently employed, then it depends on how much you like your present situation.
What are the future prospects at this company? Is there a lot of upward mobility and chance to climb the ladder? If there is ample opportunity to move upward and onward,then I would take it..especially if it was my dream firm.
Can you make it on the salary they were offering? Again, if you could survive just fine on the salary and had the chance to move up, then why not take it, if it was your dream firm?
Just depends on your present situation, if you can make it on the salary they were offering,and the opportunity to move up. If you are unemployed, then there should be no question. You take it. At least it`s a job.
I would call them and let them know that after sleeping on it, you realized you had made a mistake. Eventhough it was less than what you were expecting, you really like the company and concluded that if you worked hard to prove yourself, you could take advantage of other opportunities within the company. Let them know that it is a firm that you would love to be a part of for a long time.
Don`t be surprised if they say they have already hired someone else for the position. But you never know. Obviously they liked you. You jumped through a lot of interviewing hurdles to get the offer. Maybe the position is still open and you can convince them how much you would love to work for a firm like theirs.
Here's how to negotiate a higher salary and NOT turn down the job.
Once offered the job at $80,000, you ask, "Can the salary be increased to $88,000?" Then you remain silent and wait for an answer. If they say it cannot, then you can still decide whether to take the job with the lower salary. After all, you never declined, you simply asked to see if they could increase it. Sometimes they can, sometimes they cannot. Often they will get back to you with an answer. You wait. You do not give a deadline.
You should always wait a day to decide if you are thinking of declining no matter what. This allows you to settle down and think all things over. It is very common for folks to think things over for a day or two when they get a job offer. google on the proper wording for this if not sure what to say when wanting to wait a day or two to get back with an answer.
Last edited by sware2cod; 02-08-2012 at 04:49 PM..
If they are a very professional organization with very high standards, they are probably inundated with other candidates and probably won't have a strong need to reconsider you.
Frankly, if you call back and tell them you've changed your mind, they'll probably question your judgment. If you're this flip floppy with something as important as your career (we're talking within 24 hours if i understand you correctly) what will you do day after day at work if presented with challenge after challenge? That's what they'll think. I know it's not what you want to hear. We all make mistakes. Move on and maybe reapply at a later time.
If one declines an offer due to salary and then sees the "bigger picture" of what the offer represents, can he/ she call the firm and ask for the job after initially declining without looking like an indecisive fool?
Piossible, but highkly unlikely.
Salary negotiations are just that negotiations. You and them are talking and nothing has been finalized. You can decide to accept what they offered, or you can try for more, they can decide to now offer you less and you can scramble and try to get what they initially offred before the negotiations. Or they may agree to some of what you asked but not all. Thats negotiations and on going process until you reach a deal. But it sould like you DID real a mutually accepted deal with them. They made and offer, you countered, they didn't agree, so you declined the job offer. Thats it, its over now. To come back seeking the job, you have to know you are coming back from a much weaker position in terms of job possibility and salary. The worst thing to do is stop negotiating and draw a line in the sand because you basically issued an ultimatum, and you may not like their response.
It's over. Move on. Yes giving a deadline was a bigger mistake than counteroffering salary. Realize until counter was met, based on way you presented it, there was no accepted offer. So I suspect quite frankly any offer from them is past tense now. Hopefully, you will find something soon, but whenever that occurs, if it is for more than they offered , do the following, and I will use fake #s since you used percentages.
Take salary you get at offer you take, lets say its 85k. Subtract offer you declined, lets say its 78k. Calcualte how many months of the higher salary are needed to offset the time lost from work that would not have occured had you taken the first offer. If you stay at the new job to come long enough to offset the lost salary by declining this offer, you did well. If you do not last long enough to recover lost salary, you messed up.
So if one makes 85k for 3 years, that is 255k gross. If they could have worked 3.5 years at 78k, that would be 273k gross. So unless they collected 18k unemployment for the 6 months not worked, they lost money by holding out. Now perhaps 85k would lead to 110k, while 78k would lead to 100k, but in this economy, banking on the unknown is not smart.
This is one of those cases where it really depends on where in your career you are at. If you are early in your career I've always believed that getting into the right career track (position / company / growth opportunities) was most important. On the flip side, once you have been hired, it's very hard to get movement within a payscale - so later in your career this becomes an issue. If you were hired on the low end of a scale, as you are promoted, you will often stay on the low end of the next scale. If you love a company but are paid on the low side, you often need to leave the company for a few years and then come back in order to correct your salary - so your best and only time to really negotiate compensation is at the initial offer stage. If you are going to negotiate, you need to make sure you have leverage - but remember that the company did pick you as the best candidate and wants to hire you - you just have to weigh / figure out how much better you are from the other candidates.
You turned down the offer so it very likely is too late to reverse course on this one - but you should still try if you value the position more than the salary. Emphasize how much you want the position and the growth opportunity. Show that you are hungry but also explain your original decision (it was 15k less than your last position). Be also aware that they may not have been in a position to increase your offer out of fairness to their other employees in the same position / same level who were working in their current field.
nctecchie, Based on the companies response, its obvious the OP did not figure out how much better you are from the other candidates in the companies opinion.
Its the old "Got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em". Yesterday the OP sounded sure of himself. Today just the opposite. Obviously, the company is sure of its position.
I do think the deadline was far, far, far over the top. Short of being a high level exec, in this economy, to assume one has that amount of leverage is delusional.
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For some of the more seasoned subscribers what do you think? Anyone who works in HR your advice would really be appreciated....
