How Much Do You Think This Job Should Pay? (employee, consulting, applying)

[Jesse69]

I just interviewed for this job today... On the job App I said salary range $46 to $56 K / yr. HR said $56K was way out of league... I don't think so! Companies are being so lowballed and cheap nowadays...

Here is a copy of the job posting:

Company Summary:

Cozzini, LLC., a recognized leader in the manufacture of food processing equipment is seeking an experienced Equipment Manuals Creator/Assembler. With manufacturing facilities in Chicago, Iowa, and Mexico we are an innovative leader within the food industry.

Cozzini, LLC is a member of The Middleby Corporation Food Processing Equipment Platform. The company’s leading equipment brands serving the food processing industry include Alkar, Autobake, Danfotech, Mauer-Atmos, MP Equipment and RapidPak. The Middleby Corporation has been recognized by Forbes as one of the Best Small Companies in 2010.
We offer a complete line of benefits that include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability programs and 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan, along with supplemental programs.

Responsibilities of the Equipment Manuals Creator/Assembler include preparing mechanical manuals for our equipment using drawings, parts lists and other documentation as provided by various departments. Candidate must have excellent grammar skills and demonstrate technical writing ability. This position will also be providing assistance to our Customer Service staff with identifying components on replacement parts requests.

Requirements:
Candidate must be proficient in the following applications:

Microsoft Office
Adobe CS5 Suite
AutoCad

I passed the interview test which was: Take an Autocad drawing, put the machinery pic in the MS Word Cover Page, burn it to pdf, combine 4 pdfs in order using Acrobat X, and save the file. Proper bookmarks and page order is needed. Do it in less than 10 minutes.

I similarly interviewed for a Tech Writer job at Cummins Alison Sept 2011 and their budget for the position was a low $45,000 a year. On my App I said my minimum was $48,000 / yr... I guess I didn't get called for a 2nd interview because I wasn't a "cheap" candidate. There were 221 resumes submitted for their Ad to this job position.

It seems like Mech Engineering jobs aren't paying that much today too. If you're an engineer what's your experience with this job market?

[roadwarrior101]

I'm not surprised that they're trying to lowball you. If you think about it, 3 months ago, there were virtually no jobs available. Now, jobs are coming back and companies are trying to hire people for the lowest possible amount. This is not surprising, given that the unemployment rate is still high and they probably think they can pay bargain basement rates.

For me, I have a decent job, and am mainly applying for an upgrade. I've been surprised in that the jobs I've been interviewing for are a level higher and the recruiters are coming back and saying that they want me to take an offer either at or below my current level. I'm going back with Market data and some of them are biting. I think its key that you hold your ground and are data driven in your response. They're trying to take advantage of you. Maybe they won't come up to your expected level, but if that's the case, the job is not right for you anyway. If a company truly respects your talent and values your unique skillset, they will be willing to pay at least market rate.

[bobtn]

If one sought to offer 45k, and one thought 56k way too high, I believe they have told you where Fair Market Value lies.

[Jesse69]

They want 2 to 5 years experience, and they want a Mech Eng who can write and do Adobe CS5.5 + have good grammer and experience writing manuals. Previously, they hired a "Graphic Designer" who BS'd that he had some CAD / Eng knowledge but he couldn't keep up with the job and he resigned after 6 weeks.

They previously called me for this job but I didn't respond to their calls they say... I messed up because my current answering machine does not beep if it has messages... So I accidentally overlooked calls.

[Hemlock140]

That's not a job that requires a higher paid engineer. In our somewhat high paying area, CAD people are getting an average of about $46,000. I recently hored a technical writer for a 6 month position and we paid the equivalent of about $51,000 and had many qualified applicants to choose from. We've also recently hired a graphic artist to do CS5 work in marketing at about $42,000.

Your position requires some of all those skills, maybe that combination is worth more money than either of the 3 alone, but it's not hard to find. I have one employee now who meets those qualifications doing administrative work
(and not using those skills) getting $52,000.

[maf763]

When you own your own company, you can decide what the job is worth. I guessing one of the 220 other candidates would be willing to take this job for less than $56K.

[tban]

Consulting firms are still paying well for new grads.

[Jesse69]

The job has some good things going for it... I left to drive to the job at 8:30 am, got lost at some dead end roads, detoured and arrived 30 minutes later. So it's a dream short drive from home... even bike-able if I want to save gas.

The person currently doing the tech writing was an engineer for 4 years, then he was moved to doing manuals and now they making him do marketing + other stuff so I would take his position. I assume he was well paid for this job, and this company should be happy if I settle for $52,000 a year which is bearable to me because I pay no rent, mortgage, or student loans.

[TRC2k11]

Originally Posted by maf763

When you own your own company, you can decide what the job is worth. I guessing one of the 220 other candidates would be willing to take this job for less than $56K.

That's it.

I once saw a job listing for $12 forklift drivers with 50 positions available. When 500 people showed up they dropped the pay to $9 hr.

Welcome to our economy.

[imsh0t]

if i were you, id take it as long as it wasnt absymal. A plus is if it wasn't dead end. To me that job is better then being unemployed and having a greater gap in work history.