Pay Negotiations Help / Advice.

Danielh22185

Hi everyone! I have made a few recent posts about my current job struggles, etc, and that I have been out interviewing.

Also I know this is a widely talked about discussion point (I did some forum searching) but I wanted to get some pointers on my specific situation.

So to try and keep a long story short...

I am severely underpaid at my current position I have been in 6 months now, I was promised a promotion which I have NOT received yet (no idea when I ever will at this point). Was frustrated with the job/company prior to taking this position, thought this new position might offer some relief, but found it to be more of the same junk (just more junk now). So I am really looking for a different opportunity all together at this point.

So being in my current position I know through several conversations with colleagues and some online research what I am currently reasonably worth from a salary perspective.

So the last company I interviewed with I got as far as them wanting to extend me an offer. I was asked for a number which I gave and they completely shut me out after. They claimed they don't negotiate pay and tossed me out immediately. So this got me thinking... Did I ask for too much? I don't believe I did though. I did ask for 10% additional to my projected amount I am to make (considering my promotion when finally received). I also did some research and believe my asking amount was fairly still inside the market range, possibly a bit above medium, but fairly nestled in the range. I've always been told / read that you want to start a bit high so you can come in with an agreement with either somewhere between your bottom dollar / your original request or at the bare minimum right in at your bottom dollar.

So now I am cautious. Could that company have just been a one-off and strictly did not negotiate pay (for their own reasons) or was I too ambitious with salary requests?

Now, I have been on another interview for another company and I am getting the vibe from this company's recruiter that they may be ready to move into an offer phase. So with that said I am re-thinking pay negotiations. Should I stick to my guns with my original "starting negotiations number" as I did with the last company and just hope they don't turn me down the same with zero attempt at negotiations? Or should I lower my number a bit? I feel it is still tactically a good idea to start high so there is room for negotiation and hopefully so I can come in a bit above my bottom dollar, or at worst case meet it.


Thoughts?

gespenstern

Just IMO, but as too many technical people who lack enough social skills to be elected as a president in this country, you seem to overthink all social interactions.

I've found for myself that it's best to just dismiss them instead of thinking about it too much trying to find what's wrong with me and potentially fix my outlook because it is an indication that I did something wrong.

Job search is a very frustrating process. I always lose self-esteem and confidence while doing it and at the end feel myself like crap, like a sore loser who can't do anything useful and can only fail. This hits severely and poisons overall quality of life. And I wasn't able to find any meaningful evidence to support the idea that I'm doing it wrong.

So I embraced the "numbers game" approach. I've read about it somewhere and the advice was, basically, to dismiss failures like nothing and just keep digging it. So I keep instructing myself to forget all the failures and keep on searching. If I knock a high enough number of doors -- someone will hire me.

I still don't get paid quarter million which is my goal, but I'm close and I swear, I will be there soon. It worked for me, so I suggest you try if it works for you.

At the end it was just one rejection. I've collected probably hundreds of them before I ended up where I am at now.

Danielh22185

Solid advice! I will continue on my quest! In hindsight I do have the advantage of being picky to make sure I find/land the right job since I do currently already have one.

Thanks!

TheFORCE

There is one key thing and key question you have to ask right off the bat when a recruiter is approaching you, eveb before you go to an interview and that is... what is the salary range or how much does the job pay? If you make 70k and they tell you the job pays 85, then proceed. Of they tell you it pays 70k, then you can say I'm looking for 80k. This way you cut the potential frustration fpr failed negotiations. Many people follow this approach on this forum.

Danielm7

I'd write off your last experience as a one off. I've never seen a company ask for a salary then say they don't negotiate and shut you down, especially if you were asking market rate. Maybe they were just super cheap, chalk it up as weird luck and move forward.

adam220891

All I can say is don't offer a range lower than what will make you happy. Six months into the gig you'll feel ripped off and be searching for something else.