Should I not have negotiated?
I interviewed three times at company that I wanted to work for....during two of the interviews, they asked me my salary requirement and I told them. They agreed, acted like it was OK and never mentioned the company's maximum salary allotted for the position. The salary I gave was $10K less than my previous permanent position. But when I received the offer letter, it was $5K less than what was agreed at the interview. So I asked about it (maybe it was an error or did the salary change)....I was told that was the budget for the position. I tried to negotiate and mentioned that nothing was said to me at the interviews that my given salary was out of the range. I tried to negotiate $2K - $3K less instead....but after my suggestion, I received an email that the offer was being rescinded. And an apology for the confusion but they decided to go in another direction. Later I sent an email apologizing if I was too forward with my negotiating skills and explained that I was still interested in the position. I have never negotiated for any of my previous positions....but I have been told that you never accept the first offer - you negotiate. And especially since the salary being offered was $5K less than agreed at interviews....I did not want to just accept what was placed on the table. I guess negotiating is not a good idea in this job climate.....but I didn't want to take a $15K paycut. Wrong move....
My dear Natalie, when you are asked in the interview what your salary requirement is they just want to see if you are in the ball park. The fact that you gave a salary requirement does not mean that you will be offered the job at that level. The actual offer letter is where you see exactly what the position will pay. You are free to accept or decline if you don't like the offer. I don't know what position you were interviewing for, but I always thought that you get to negotiate your salary if you are on a management or higher level. I was an admin assistant, and never negotiated. I was just thrilled to be offered the job. I made $61,000 at my last position and now have to exist on social security (half of what I made) while still supporting 3 other people. If I could get a job, I would be willing to take almost anything at this point. However, at my age no one will hire me.
Always negotiate with any and all companies that you've applied for and interviewed a 3rd time with and never short change yourself worth because it's like being in a relationship between 2 people your self worth is important just as good is important to your body because your body needs the energy to properly function
No, you were not wrong in negotiating. You just have to listen to what they say first and find out what they have to offer first then work with them. I've had some offers before but never had what I'm worth. So never knock yourself down. Be patient and hear them out and let God handle the rest.
You should take whatever was agreed on at the interview as solid. NEVER quibble about it after the interview, they will think you are flaky.
I am surprised you say the offer came back 5k less than what was negotiated at the interview. Possibly you should have nailed hat down a bit more at the interview? Though you may have just been undercut by a competitor who also had a good interview.
In general I think people who quibble too much about salary are likely to remain unemployed. One thing you should consider is that if you DO take a salary lower than the job merits, if you still do a good job, often your supervisor will make it up to you on your first performance review. In that case your employee profile starts off strong, with a nice raise, and such sentiment can continue for years.
But in general, having interviewed many people myself, I might point out many managers are totally sick of applicants who fight after every penny. Not only do they dislike haggling, but they maintain that particular employee, if hired, will be off in an instant the first time someone offers him/her a dollar more. It's a real turn off for many managers.
Since even one month of continued unemployment costs more than the salary difference you are trying to make, I would be cautious about "negotiating" for the top dollar. In your case the 5k probably amounts to only 2 weeks of work, so if you just took the job you would be better off than remaining unemployed for an additional 2 weeks. In reality you may be out for months.
The old idea of negotiating for the top dollar, never taking the first offer, only makes or made sense if you have 2 or 3 firm job offers to choose from. When you have only one I would advise a more cautious and more accepting approach.
Were you out of line? Yes and no. If salary really wasn't that important, then the answer was yes. If you really wanted this job that badly, then negotiating was just "greedy" even if it was the standard practice in times past. If the salary was important, which is reasonable and not unexpected, then the answer is no. What you did was appropriate. Sending the e-mail response that you did just made you sound desperate. While it shouldn't matter, I doubt that you will ever be employable at that company from now on. In the future reply with a polite and respectful "Thank you for your time" and move on. That will/might leave the door open for employment there in the future. Else you didn't really do anything wrong. And what you did wasn't morally or ethically wrong even if strategically wrong. Know the supply/demand situation for the job before thinking that you can always negotiate. Also get an idea of what is currently being paid. Many have taken pay cuts. That doesn't help you any more than illegal workers help at the bottom...they don't. Things might not pick up in truth for a couple of generations. We really were looking at our equivalent of the "Great Depression" even though none are calling it that. Many families didn't recover until AFTER World War II.
Good Day Natalie Scott,
The nowadays practice of multiple interviews is wrong. When the company has HR, twiddling their thumbs, should make sure we are a good fit with a chance. You seem like me and cow-down cause we need a job. If their budget could not manage you, they will get what they pay for. Their budget would afford you once you got in there and showed your talents.
Happiness!!!
All I have to say is you get what you pay for. If they are paying for 2000.00 less then they will get 2000.00 less than they paid for. I am facing that too. I keep getting you are over qualified. Which means they don't want to pay for what you are worth.
Natalie you know what you are worth. The company lost out and the hiring manager was protecting his/her bonus or was threatened that he or she might not be as good as you. So I say screw that company and it was for the better, that you didn't get the job! The right company is around the corner that we'll appreciate your skills.
Taking a paycut is hard, But it is never a good idea to overnegotiate before you actually begin a position. Let them see you at your best then take up the issue.
Well if they had you back 3 times which is pretty rare at least in my experience but I'm not as well trained or school probably As You Are. So they wanted to see your resolve. So the next time there's a time and we give you an opportunity to do that again don't I might be off for you benefits unless that already came the original package. I was a pretty gutsy move on their part as they and their mind already hired you after the first interview so when it comes time for other negotiations now vacation pay day whatever that already came with the original offer but never been like that my humble opinion of course