Salary Negotiation Help I have until Monday

So I got the job that I was hoping to land. Little history they have extened me the offer today and the start date isn't until July. Im retiring from the military and moving to that location in July. They don't have to pay relocation expenses because the military covers that. The offer was for 90k base pay. I have had several interviews and have 5 interviews still on the books in the next week. All of those positions have given me a salary range of 90k - 100k. I am happy with 90k but knowing that companies are not going to present you with their best offer right out the gate I am wanting to try and negotiate base salary. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

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Comments

shodown

Unless you told them b4 hand that you were willing to pay moving expenses thats BS. When I separated my relocation was part of the deal. This was after the economy crashed, so I know it can be done.

I"m not sure of the location you are moving too, so I can't speak on there salary, but I would not take the 1st offer. I had one job where they asked me what I wanted and they gave it to me. Others have always come in low and we went back and forth to come to the right number. If you have a number in mind, and they gave you a range you should counter.

iBrokeIT

Are you prepared to walk away from this company if you decline their offer and make a counter offer? I was made an offer that I felt was pretty low and made a counter offer with a range that was 15-20% higher. They declined and rescinded their offer. I have no regrets about making the counter offer because there was no way I was going to work for that rate (ended up accepting an offer from another company was 35% higher than the other companies offer).

Just be aware that by making a counter offer you are expressing that their offer is inadequate and they may not be willing to negotiate on salary although it’s probably rare.

AverageJoe

So, to paraphrase: you received a fair offer that you're happy with, but you're unsure if you should accept because there is the chance they'd go higher.

Since they met your expectations, it seems risky to me. But what you haven't said is whether you really want this job or not. If you liked the people, location, and duty description, don't take the chance of blowing it by being greedy. If you don't really care for or about the job, go ahead and negotiate, but realize it can backfire.

Personally, I think if they only gave you until Monday it's probably because they want to cycle through their candidate list quickly to find the match, which means being able to call the #2 or #3 guy within a week or so, so you're wanting to negotiate may well be giving the job to the next guy on the list. After all, even if they can afford to pay you more, they may well be turned off by the greed factor.

I have a friend who just chose the negotiation tactic even though he liked the work, place, and people... now he gets none of those. He immediately stepped into another position, so he'll be fine, but it still remains to be seen whether he'll like the work, place, or people.

Just my 2 cents.
Joe

wgroom

When I was extended the offer for my current position, they came in lower than the national average for the position. I countered with the national average, but I had experience and an MBA on my side. They countered to that, and I ended up making 22% more than I was making. If you are retiring, and doing something closely related to your MOS / AFSC, and have a degree and / or certs, you are bringing a lot to the table.

If the salary is acceptable to you, and you liked the firm, accept the position. They obviously liked your credentials!

colemic

Bottom line, if you think the offer is fair, and you are comfortable with it, there's no need to try to finagle on it, just for the sake of finagling and never accepting an initial offer. Continue with your plans for other interviews, and if you get a better deal, take it... just let the other company know you are going in a different direction. They will understand.

zxbane

Care to give us any insight about the type of position and where at as far as location?

Bjmach

I ended up accepting the offer as is. Its a Project Manager position in Massachusetts!

gbdavidx

Damn thats good, what did you do in the military?

Bjmach

IT Project Manager

BGraves

^You were an IT project manager in the military? lol....

colemic

@bgraves Yes, they do exist...

and congrats on getting the job!

Bjmach

Bjmach wrote: »

IT Project Manager

Yes LOL why is that funny?? Air Force we tend to be more technical than the other branches

BGraves

Haha sorry, a brief flashback of my time in the Navy was probably leading my previous comment

Congrats on getting the job!

bub9001

"Air Force we tend to be more technical than the other branche"

Now that was funny (coming from a Navy Vet)

I work with a few Air Force vets and they are detail oriented, but more then other branches would be a toss up.

colemic

Bjmach wrote: »

IT Project Manager

What was your AFSC?

Bjmach

3C3 then switched to 3D171, Im retiring after 20 years so the AFSCs have changed quite a bit!!

Bjmach

BGraves wrote: »

Haha sorry, a brief flashback of my time in the Navy was probably leading my previous comment Congrats on getting the job!

Well at least we aren't called seaman....Just joking