An interesting conclusion to the interview process regarding pay (long)
I hope to not come off as greedy or self entitled but I wanted to share a recent experience I had.
About a month ago I had saw a position online and applied for it. The posting was listed pay wise between $x-$y. In general sometimes those postings are inflated and with that understanding I still had an interest for the role. During my initial interview with the IT manager he had brought up salary. He confirmed the position paid $x-$y. I made it through three separate interviews and had a good feeling in general. I was then invited for a final meeting with a few high level managers. Going into the meeting I had the mindset of willing to accept $x (minimum on the posting) without any issue. Going into the meeting with this mindset, I had neglected to think about the negotiation process in general.
The meeting itself lasted roughly 90 minutes. During the first hour it was essentially a recap to previous interviews. That they were looking for a Cisco specialist that could complete these important projects due to compliance issues in a timely manner. They brought up the fact that their IT team is extremely lean on multiple occasions and that I would likely have to work with end users at times (help desk) at times. I really did not have any issue with that, im a pretty flexible person. The conversation is going great and i'm feeling pretty excited to receive the offer letter. The director of IT asked me what am I seeking financially as far as compensation goes. I didn't want to offer my number first, but he was fairly adamant about it.
I ended up going in the middle between the initial $x-$y amount that was discussed by the IT manager (also in the meeting) at the beginning of the interview process. The director looked mildly agitated and asked how could I view myself being worth that much given my current experience in IT (3 1/2 years). Given this reaction, I was ready to accept $x as a counter. I replied with stating my current technical skill set, certifications, and how I could apply this knowledge, complete their pending projects and continue to take a proactive approach to improve IT processes. The director replied with it wouldn't be fair to give me a position with that pay, as there are IT professionals with several more years experience than me who have not reached that level or are even near it.
The director then asked me to speak honestly (huh?). He asked me my starting pay at my job when I joined IT. I told him the amount $36k (no degree, no experience, only A+). He then asked me what I was making at my 2nd job. I told him that amount as well. He already knew what I am currently making prior to the meeting. The director said he doesn't understand / believe that i'm making said amount. At this point in time, i'm feeling a bit sour as everything was going so well 10-15 minutes ago. It was also my fault for not being prepared to negotiate as I didn't give it much thought (As I was happy with the previously discussed amount). I explained I'm currently working with a fortune 500 company with a sub division Cisco VAR. I've been studying for 4-5 hours a night on my own time for the past 1.5 years. Obtaining certifications and applying the knowledge in any way possible to my current job. I was asked to leave the conference room for 10-15 minutes as the 3 managers discussed salary.
The director first offered me coffee which I had accepted. We walked down the hallway and told me that that he was glad I said I was flexible on pay otherwise he would have ended the meeting without an offer. I sat in the chair outside a little flustered. At this point in time I figured I would accept $5k-$8k less than the minimum previously stated as I still wanted the job. 8k less would have matched what I currently make. The IT manager who interviewed came out of the conference room and apologized. I sat down in the conference room and the director told me to take into account the companies benefits. The 3rd member of the meeting then gave me a 5 minute overview of said benefits (lol). I'm guessing at this point in time they think maybe I do make said amount but that I was a contractor? I'm a FTE and already have benefits. The director said based off my current years in IT, he made an offer of -15k less than said X amount. This would have been a 7k pay cut.
The moment I heard and looked at the offer, I began to shake my head. I said I would at least need matching of my current pay. At that point in time, I had about 3 or 4 different responses. The first being that the offer is below market value, the second being how they expressed how lean the IT team was and how wide the responsibilities would be (all in the while working on important projects), the third option going into how people who have been in IT x amount of years may not be the best representation of worth (I felt this would come off as cocky and self entitled). Ultimately, I showed my inexperience I suppose on a business level and probably on a personable level as well as I didn't offer any response other than I decline, and sat forward in my chair ready to stand up.
It was an interesting experience. From a technical standpoint I had enjoyed it, it was fairly in depth and tested my current knowledge. When the company created the position, im assuming they looked at the responsibilities and said the skill set for this individual is between $x-$y. For them to agree I would be a good fit for the company and meet the companies needs to fulfill the role but yet subtract 15k due to the number of "years in IT" caught me off guard. If you read this, I want to thank you. I have a tendency to fixate and rehearse what occurs during the day and how I should have responded. I ended up losing a bit of sleep and I feel that posting about it would be better than constantly replaying it in my mind.
Moving forward, I think i'm at about the salary cap of what I can ask for given my years experience and current skill set in networking. In 5 months i'll have hit a 2 year mark working for a well known company as (entry level) a network engineer. I feel even at that mark my value will be the same. Which makes me question am I looking at potentially another 3 years before I would be viewed as worth the pay that I was asking for? Should I be looking at security analyst roles or AWS roles that (seemingly) match or pay better than networking roles in general and require less overall years experience.. I'm just rambling now instead of working. Sleep deprivation, hehe. Thanks for reading.
