Job Interview Wed.. Advice greatly appreciated

Hey everyone, I managed to land a job interview this wed after faxing my resume to a job posting on craigslist. I spoke with the guy on friday and he seemed pretty interested with me according to my resume, i have the certs and experience that he is looking for. However, i slipped when he asked what i was looking for in terms of pay and i told him $22 - $24/hr he paused and said that was too high and was looking in the range of $17 - $18/hr. I currently make $12.50/hr with no Benefits and not paid for my studies or exams. According to him, it would be 18/hr with excellent benefits and reimbursement for any exam and studies. He suggested we talk more about it during the interview on wed. BTW, the job is supporting a trading floor dealing with IBM/Lenovo systems (Desktops, Laptops, Servers). Should i try to negotiate a higher wage? How would i go about Negotiating Pay/Benefits...etc?
I think this may be a pretty good opportunity if the right deal is presented and worked out. I asked him if he was the direct IT hiring Manager and he said he was in charge of the IT dept and the hiring decisions, so this looks to be good. Any advice would be really appreciated. Thanks everyone.

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Comments

sthomas

ITNYC wrote:

However, i slipped when he asked what i was looking for in terms of pay and i told him $22 - $24/hr he paused and said that was too high and was looking in the range of $17 - $18/hr.

I would say if the hiring manager said the $22-$24/hr. was too high then he/she probably won't pay that much. I guess it depends on how bad you want the job vs. how bad you want the higher salary. If you push the issue they may hire someone else who will take the $17-$18/hr. Of course it depends on a lot of factors, it may not hurt to ask and if they say no tell them you would still work for the $18/hr. Like I said though it depends on the situation. Good luck!

BeaverC32

I think it's harder to negotiate your salary/pay rate if you have limited experience, only because there will be others out there that would jump at the chance to land this job. Discuss this honestly during the interview, but don't make it a point of main concern (it might come across that $$$ is all that matters to you).

Going from $12.50/hr with no benefits to $18/hr with great benefits isn't too shabby, either.

drthtater

17-18 an hour is more than I make doing the exact same thing. (supporting lenovo/ibm) I handle around 230 "assets".

so....where is this job at...I may want to take a look....

ITNYC

BeaverC32 wrote:

I think it's harder to negotiate your salary/pay rate if you have limited experience, only because there will be others out there that would jump at the chance to land this job. Discuss this honestly during the interview, but don't make it a point of main concern (it might come across that $$$ is all that matters to you).

Going from $12.50/hr with no benefits to $18/hr with great benefits isn't too shabby, either.

Thats what im afriad of, I dont want to push the "$$" Issue. I think they might be a little hesitant to pay well at the very start though because he did mention some advancement with the position. Hopefully all goes well and i feel confident about this interview.

sprkymrk

I think it will be hard to comand a $22/hour wage when the obvious question of "how much do you make right now" comes up. Tell him you hadn't considered the benefits and that $18 is fine. Best of luck on the interview!

blargoe

Seriously dude... a 50% pay raise plus extra benefits? And it looks like it may be a good "opportunity" job?

What is the problem?

TBLTZ

sprkymrk wrote:

I think it will be hard to comand a $22/hour wage when the obvious question of "how much do you make right now" comes up. Tell him you hadn't considered the benefits and that $18 is fine. Best of luck on the interview!

I second this. Just tell him you though about the benefits and that you are happy with them and will go on for the 18$

shednik

TBLTZ wrote:

sprkymrk wrote:

I think it will be hard to comand a $22/hour wage when the obvious question of "how much do you make right now" comes up. Tell him you hadn't considered the benefits and that $18 is fine. Best of luck on the interview!

I second this. Just tell him you though about the benefits and that you are happy with them and will go on for the 18$

And I will 3rd it...I'd love to make 18/hr with benes

The Prize Is Lobster

yeah Im lost on this.

No offense or anything but if you are making $12 an hour and you have limited experience, holding out for $22 an hour is going to be a lonnnnnnnnnng wait. Sorta like those pie charts that community colleges and tech schools pass out that say the average MCSA is making 70k+

The first IT job I ever had was an internship at a lawfirm making $12 an hour. Several people applied thru a tech school posting, and all but one other guy besides myself turned it down because "I make more delivering pizza" or "I can find a 40k a year job once I finish school"

seriously though it sounds like a good deal, take it and run with it.

ITNYC

Please dont come at me like a pack of wolves lol, J/K but seriously, it sounds like a good job and im going to wait till i discuss all the details of the job/pay/ben...with the Hiring manager. Thanks to everyone for the advice. Greatly appreciated.

royal

I've been working in the field for 2 years and I bust my ass with learning stuff and doing the best job I can. I always offer to help out on the weekends, stay Friday nights to test, and all that kind of stuff. I always try to learn the brand new stuff so that the other engineers and senior engineers actually come to me for Exchange 2007 help, etc... Why am I telling you this stuff? Well because I only make a little over $18/hour ($40,000/yr) but with great benefits. The thing is, in this field, from what I have learned, you cannot command a good salary until you hit around the 4-5 year mark of relevant experience with what you are directly working with. Gone are the days of an easy 6 figure salary by obtaining your MCSE in NT4. I would definitely take the job and learn as much as you can, especially since it's a pretty big jump in salary with benefits which you don't even have now. Go for it.

ITNYC

royal wrote:

I've been working in the field for 2 years and I bust my ass with learning stuff and doing the best job I can. I always offer to help out on the weekends, stay Friday nights to test, and all that kind of stuff. I always try to learn the brand new stuff so that the other engineers and senior engineers actually come to me for Exchange 2007 help, etc... Why am I telling you this stuff? Well because I only make a little over $18/hour ($40,000/yr) but with great benefits. The thing is, in this field, from what I have learned, you cannot command a good salary until you hit around the 4-5 year mark of relevant experience with what you are directly working with. Gone are the days of an easy 6 figure salary by obtaining your MCSE in NT4. I would definitely take the job and learn as much as you can, especially since it's a pretty big jump in salary with benefits which you don't even have now. Go for it.

Thank you royal for that great positive post. I feel much more positive about it now.

ITNYC

Well, Had the interview today. Lasted about 3 hours and finally, Landed the job at the investment bank. I am very happy at this point because there seems to be great potential for growth and advancement. According to the Hiring manager, Lack of Certifications held me back from a higher wage BUT he did say after 6 months of good work and some certs, i would get an increase of $4. I was shown around and it was very nice, met some nice people also. I'd also be heading to LA, Miami and NC for couple of days to do some work with other Techs, all paid for by the company. Workout gym and pool on the upper floors was very nice too. Id like to thank everyone here for positive input and advice i recieved. Well... Off to study for some more Certs.

sprkymrk

I am very happy for you!

I remember your first few posts here and the trouble you were having at your current job with the boss hiring relatives and what not. Glad you got a good break finally.

cgrimaldo

That is great to hear! Glad it went well and please keep us informed of the new job.

drthtater

that is truly awesome

congrats, and start hammering away at those certs...

ITNYC

Thank you guys. Im really going to try and do the best i can. I feel blessed to get an opportunity like this. And to think, I was not going to apply to the job because i felt was not qualified enough. I'll let you guys know how my first day goes.

ajs1976

congrats

mgeorge

Well first off, if you have a myspace, facebook or any other public networking profile then MAKE IT PRIVATE

Alot of employers are using network communities to get an edge on candidate selection, while this is allowed, it does seem to be intrusive and can cost you your shot at being offered employment.

Personally I feel that this should be illegal since such profiles provide information that can be used violate discrimination laws such as orientation, religion etc... But besides the fact, alot of employers will judge you on your personal life such as if you like to drink on the weekends they might get the ideal you'll come in with a hangover. etc... I'm sure you get the ideal...

sprinkl3s

Congrats to you!

sthomas

ITNYC wrote:

Well, Had the interview today. Lasted about 3 hours and finally, Landed the job at the investment bank. I am very happy at this point because there seems to be great potential for growth and advancement. According to the Hiring manager, Lack of Certifications held me back from a higher wage BUT he did say after 6 months of good work and some certs, i would get an increase of $4. I was shown around and it was very nice, met some nice people also. I'd also be heading to LA, Miami and NC for couple of days to do some work with other Techs, all paid for by the company. Workout gym and pool on the upper floors was very nice too. Id like to thank everyone here for positive input and advice i recieved. Well... Off to study for some more Certs.

Congratulations and good luck with the new job!

garv221

mgeorge27 wrote:

Well first off, if you have a myspace, facebook or any other public networking profile then MAKE IT PRIVATE

I agree, make it private.

mgeorge27 wrote:

Alot of employers are using network communities to get an edge on candidate selection, while this is allowed, it does seem to be intrusive and can cost you your shot at being offered employment.

Personally I feel that this should be illegal since such profiles provide information that can be used violate discrimination laws such as orientation, religion etc... But besides the fact, alot of employers will judge you on your personal life such as if you like to drink on the weekends they might get the ideal you'll come in with a hangover. etc... I'm sure you get the ideal...

ewwww, I would have to disagree. Anything that is put on the web is there for the purpose of the public to view. It is no different than someone getting drunk at the Christmas party, making a fool of themselves and then having to pay the consequences at work. Its a choice that the user makes.

manic

lol matt

matradley

Congratulations! I am sure you will impress your new employer with your initiative as you study your certifications.