Job offers/counter offer etiquette

Hey all,

I was recently approached by a private sector company looking to hire me out of my DoD Desktop Support role into an IT Specialist position (great move up responsibility wise). I have interviewed 3 times over the phone and 3 times in person.

Anyways, they offered me $4 more an hour than I currently make. Instead of accepting this first offer, I countered with $6 more than I currently earn to make up for what i'm losing if I move (less benefits, no PIP like I currently have, longer drive, no cell phone).

The HR lady seemed to get offended by me not accepting this first offer. I could tell she wasn't happy because "The team will not like to hear this news". Was I out-of-line by doing this? I felt like I was polite about it, and they wouldn't even discuss salary until after I left the last in-person interview. What is your guys's thoughts on first-offers, etc?

P.S. i'm not saying I NEED $6 more to move, I just feel like they would meet me in the middle.

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Comments

networker050184

No you are not out of line. They are out of line for not discussing the salary up front. This is what happens and everyone's time is wasted. If they won't give me a ball park figure on the first discussion I'm not wasting my time.

it_consultant

It sounds like you countered with a reasonable number. Be mindful that they may have thought that they already gave you a fair or generous offer and there is truly no room to negotiate. I have a buddy that does this and he has talked himself out of a couple of very good and career enhancing jobs because he thought he deserved more.

Akaricloud

Maybe her comment stemmed from how you reacted to the initial offer and how you went about asking for an increase. Could you provide some more details on exactly how you went about asking for and justifying this?

Lenniusce

Akaricloud wrote: »

Maybe her comment stemmed from how you reacted to the initial offer and how you went about asking for an increase. Could you provide some more details on exactly how you went about asking for and justifying this?

Sure thing, Akari

1) First off, keep in mind that no dollar amount was discussed until after the last interview. This is about 3 weeks -1 month after initial contact.

2) I had stated in our first interview what my current salary is and that I would, "have to make more than my current salary to consider a move". Here's where I think mis-communication may have taken place. Since I said "more than" I think she took that as any dollar amount more than my current rate.

3) To be honest, I did not react negatively to their first offer because I was happy to have "made it" to the end as their top candidate. I certainly was excited (which is where I might have also sent a wrong signal--Pokerface.jpg) but at the same time I did state that I would have to "think about the offer over the weekend".

4) I went about Justifying my higher salary based on what I said above in parentheses. PIP, distance, Cell Phone, So-Cal Cost of living, etc.

Akaricloud

I'm still a little unclear about how you actually asked for this. There's a big difference between "I need $6 more per hour because of A, B, and C" and a well written letter explaining how you're excited to be able to accept their offer and feel the position is a good match but need the salary to be a little bit higher to match the value you bring to the table.

Think about it from her perspective: She likely now has to go back and try to get a higher wage approved for you and I've not seen where you've provided any additional information she can use to justify that. What you "need" to have the higher wage that you want doesn't really justify why you'll be worth the extra money to them.

MSP-IT

Somewhat related article. I found it to be a good read.

Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued | Kalzumeus Software

Lenniusce

Well I decided to accept after hearing back. It's going to be a good experience since it's a step up from help desk.

Can anyone tell me how working for an actual IT services company is compared to other places? I've worked in offices as the IT staff and also DoD work, but that's about it.

Slithy

MSP-IT wrote: »

Somewhat related article. I found it to be a good read.

Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued | Kalzumeus Software

Very interesting article(also the video at the end is as well).

Syntax

It's probably not up to the HR person how much your salary is anyway so I think she was out of line for getting offended. I wouldn't take anything she said to heart and wait to see what the hiring manager decides concerning your counter-offer.

it_consultant

I don't think she was offended, I think that she may have been worried that you would not take the job and they would have to look for other candidates. Having helped HR recruit for positions, it is really difficult to find a good IT person, especially at that recently out of helpdesk phase.