Sacramento's Economy's influence on salary negotiations

[GLS]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

So I once again had ANOTHER interview. I should probably be grateful I get interviews. But I need to make a certain amount to sustain the lifestyle for my family, and I am the only breadwinner.

In WA we do not have state taxes, so you get more disposable income on your paycheck. So 100K up here is worth more then 100K in Sac. And Sac has always had lower wages and I know that.

But I'm wondering is how to negotiate salay in the state of the economy. I had a recruitor tell me she sent two qualified people to a job, and one asked for 90K and the other asked for 60K. Guess who got the job?

Well, the interviewer on Friday asked me back for a second interview and then asked me what I wanted as a salary - now I did the same BS of "I can negotiate depending on the job, what is your companies budget?
"blah blahblah..." everything you can do without giving a number- well, we finally got to the point of numbers, and I gave my range which they said is WAY over what they wanted to pay...I actually brought it down to my current WA salary which as explained - in California would be LESS disposable income.

On the second interview they brought up money again - and said my bottom number was STILL too big...well, I told them I was at a disadvantage not knowing what they had in mind.

We agreed to discuss it Monday. And I never got a phone call.

Seriously - I could guess a bunch of other people would take another 20K paycut, but can I?? Do I??

I am an independent contractor in process of re-bidding a 2 year contract with the State. Competitors are coming in lower for the next two years than I charged last year. Work is out there, but accept the fact that fees have dropped in this competitive marketplace. Good luck.

[CityGirl72]

To update everyone,they counterbid me. I'm getting 20K less then I was looking for this time last year, and 10K less then I put on the table. But I still have to make it through the background search

[AlohaSnail]

Maybe this summer I also will go to Sac to take a job. But don't know the tax rate there. For example, If my annual salary would be 70K, after excluding all kinds of deduction, such as taxes, how much I would get actually. Actually, I'm single and have no house there, would I pay more tax than anybody else. Hope someone could give me some answers. Thanks in advance.

[Mossy]

Funny...I applied to many state jobs and never heard anything..

[CityGirl72]

Expect anywhere from 27% to 32% ( or more) taken from your paycheck, and depending how you fill out your W forms

Even though I'm married with two kids, I still say Single 1