Negotiating Salary in NoVA Am I Wrong to Think This (employment, living)

[ChristineVA]

If this is your only offer, take it. I know you feel peeved about it, but now is not the time. You are unemployed, which puts you at a huge disadvantage in hiring process.

Take the job, GET employed, and start looking for more work. When you have another offer in hand, you can start to negotiate with this company.

[NOVA_almost_native]

joiseygirl, how long have you been looking? Is this the first offer you've gotten since you lost your last job? Are there a lot of opportunities in your line of work, or is what you do very specialized?

If you've only been looking for a month or two and aren't struggling financially, you might be able to justify passing up the offer if it seems likely that something better will come along soon. At the same time, it is very, very dangerous to make assumptions when looking for a job. It's only "likely" that something better will come along if you're getting lots of interviews... and even then...

If you've been looking for at least six months, this is your first offer, and you aren't getting many interviews, I think you should take it. You wouldn't be the first person in the world to leave a job after a short time for something better.

[breakingfree]

I feel if you're in dire need of employment, take it. Anything is a pay raise coming from a period of unemployment.

[finecognac]

Originally Posted by terrence81

My advice is to look at how many offers you've gotten and go from there. Know your worth but also realize that its a tough job market and another opportunity may not present itself again.

Pretty self evident from her posting that how many is one !

[ejay]

You could ask for an evaluation in three months for a raise. I am working with a guy who got a raise and then got it taken away in the same week. He told me he was glad that he did not get laid off like the other people in the company did. And was willing to do what he had too to keep working. Things are tough for everyone right now. If they are offering less it could be because they are having less work to do. Or maybe they just can't pay right now. It's a tough job market right now. If you can hold out and think you can do better go for it. If you can't take the job and prove your worth. Employees need to remember that if they work harder the company makes more money and if the company makes more money there is a good chance they will give a raise. If everyone slacks off people get laid off and paid less cause productivity is lower. When the economy recovers you will surely get paid more. If not you can always go to another job. Good luck!!!

[DCmum]

Take the job and look for a better one. You don't have anything to lose

[joiseygirl732]

So the recruiter contacted me and told me she's going to try to get a higher offer (prior to sending out the actual offer letter). She wants to know if I will accept at this higher amount. I still haven't seen the entire compensation package. I'm trying not to use hard numbers, but the new "offer" is my starting salary from over a year ago.

I guess my question is, would it be wise state a higher salary that I would ABSOLUTELY accept the offer at, or wait until I see the entire compensation package they are offering. In addition, I think it would be better for my salary history that I take a salary that's higher than the last (if I can help it). Even if its only 2 or 3 percent higher than the last salary, its better than a decrease, right?

Hope that wasn't too confusing. I just worried that I have some bargaining power here, and I don't want to miss this opportunity.

Here is an example to better illustrate what I'm trying to say:

Company A ending salary = 30,000
Company B starting salary = 40,000
Company B ending salary = 43,000
Company A offer = 35,000 - 40,000*

* My counter would be around 44,000

[DCmum]

Sometimes if it just a few thousands of dollars that you are negotiating on, trust me it is not worth it, as the change in your after tax take home would be around $50/paycheck if that much. In a case like this, if you don't have that much of a bargaining power, its better to get the job, stay for a year or so and at that point you'd have more bargaining power to either ask for a raise or start looking for a new opportunity and add more to your salary than trying to negotiate for something that will only add a couple of bucks to your take home pay

[joiseygirl732]

^ you're right. I'm treating this like a numbers game, where i should be excited about not having to work in a dreadful work environment like I was earlier this year. Another company wants to interview me, however, I have my reservations about it...it's not "me." I already went to one interview and they want to bring me back to talk with another team. I just think I should follow my instincts and not the money.

[oneasterisk]

My last contracting gig I negotiated a bump in pay after 6 months. I took their lower offer, but in 6 months I got my 8% pay bump when I went permanent with them. They got to try me out at a lower rate, and I got the salary I wanted after a few months. I had another offer lined up, but that job had a further commute than I wanted so I was hoping the 1st company would accept my counter and thankfully they did.