is it OK to talk about Pay Cut at interview?

DoubleD · May 2010

I am going for a job that I want and I will be taking a pay cut. When they ask me why they think they should hire me do you think its OK for me to mention some thing like this?

I really want the job and Im prepared to take a pay cut to come and work at your workplace. I will be taking a pay cut to come to this job and I dont mind becuase I really want to be working here and im really excited about working for you.

would it be OK to mention the pay cut as a way for me to proof that Im keen to work for them make a point of it so they see that im not all abiut money im more interested in my career and job prospects and not just money hence the pay cut. or would that reflect badly on me if i mentioned it?

erpadmin · May 2010

DoubleD wrote: »

I am going for a job that I want and I will be taking a pay cut. When they ask me why they think they should hire me do you think its OK for me to mention some thing like this?

I really want the job and Im prepared to take a pay cut to come and work at your workplace. I will be taking a pay cut to come to this job and I dont mind becuase I really want to be working here and im really excited about working for you.

would it be OK to mention the pay cut as a way for me to proof that Im keen to work for them make a point of it so they see that im not all abiut money im more interested in my career and job prospects and not just money hence the pay cut. or would that reflect badly on me if i mentioned it?

ABSOLUTELY NOT! First of all, from all of the interviews I remember, I never brought up salary, UNLESS they bring it up first. I would focus on what you are bringing to the table more than taking a paycut. Otherwise, they may see you as a short-timer and look for someone else. Plus, they may question why you would want to take a paycut if you were "that good." The safe bet would keep your mouth shut about salary. Salary is usually never discussed at the interview.

Don't be the first one to mention salary. If they do mention it first and specifically question why you would want a pay cut, tell them something along that lines that you are looking for stable employment, nature of the current economy, blah-blah-blah.

MeanDrunkR2D2 · May 2010

Not only is that a bad idea, it's a very bad idea. It reeks of desperation and that company will sense that and avoid you. Talk about how the position is what you want to do and that you are qualified for the position. If your argument is that you are willing to be paid less than you are right now it takes the focus of why they want you for the position. Your skills. Highlight your skills to show how you match the position and how you would be a good employee. Taking a pay cut is not a good selling point of yourself. It just shows that you may end up mentioning over and over and over again how you took a pay cut to get the job and not be about you and your skills. Sell yourself, not the pay cut.

networker050184 · May 2010

Agreed with above. I wouldn't bring it up. Can go both ways really. Someone might see it as you are dedicated, while someone else might see you as desperate will move on shortly for more money. Just use your skills and experience to sell yourself.

Devilsbane · May 2010

I also agree that it is a bad idea. You don't want to pretend like you are God and that they would be stupid not to hire you.

If it comes up and they specifially ask "Why are you wanting to do this job making x when you are making y" tell them this is what you passion is. I doubt that question comes up though.

pml1 · May 2010

Hmmm...If I were the person interviewing you, I would appreciate your wanting to follow your passion, even at the expense of taking a lower salary. You don't, however, know if the person interviewing you will feel the same way, and from the way others have responded so far, it sounds like I may be in the minority!

That being said, I think the safe bet would be to not bring it up, but be prepared to give a good explanation if the interviewer brings it up. If you do a good job of selling the fact that you aren't taking a pay cut out of desperation, I think the interviewer will respect that, and I think it will leave a positive impression.

Good luck!

DoubleD · May 2010

well whats wrong with being desperate for a job? I am desperate for a job and if I acted like I didnt give a monkeys they woulnt give me a job? so why not be desperate for a job? If they hired me I would apreciate the job more than most other people as well and I would work harder for the company as well I would be prepared to take a pay cut! and that says a lot about the way I feel for working for the company.
I am desperate for the job and I dont see why being desperate would be a bad thing.

Devilsbane · May 2010

Nobody likes a desparate person. This applies to both job interviews and to relationships. People want confidence.

networker050184 · May 2010

DoubleD wrote: »

well whats wrong with being desperate for a job? I am desperate for a job and if I acted like I didnt give a monkeys they woulnt give me a job? so why not be desperate for a job? If they hired me I would apreciate the job more than most other people as well and I would work harder for the company as well I would be prepared to take a pay cut! and that says a lot about the way I feel for working for the company.
I am desperate for the job and I dont see why being desperate would be a bad thing.

If you are desperate you will just pick any job. Employers want someone that wants the job and wants to keep it long term. Taking a paycut might make you look like you really want the job or it might make you look desperate. Why risk it?

erpadmin · May 2010

Desperate=unstable

If I were part of an interview team [and I have been, twice], and a "desperate" person came across my path, I would definitely not recommend hiring. An unstable person could be untrustworthy, unreliable, and just plain not-worth-the-trouble.

People are understanding that the market is tough right now, and there is a great deal of competition for any job. It can be frustrating, I think I speak for a good deal of us when I say we've been there. But that's all the more reason why you want to put your very best foot forward. You want to leave an interview with a good impression with the people you are dealing with, and write a brief thank you e-mail after the interview is over to them. You want to have a great poker face showing extreme confidence but not confusing it with arrogance. Extreme nervousness/desperation will not get you the job.

MeanDrunkR2D2 · May 2010

DoubleD wrote: »

well whats wrong with being desperate for a job? I am desperate for a job and if I acted like I didnt give a monkeys they woulnt give me a job? so why not be desperate for a job? If they hired me I would apreciate the job more than most other people as well and I would work harder for the company as well I would be prepared to take a pay cut! and that says a lot about the way I feel for working for the company.
I am desperate for the job and I dont see why being desperate would be a bad thing.

You aren't desperate for the job. Until you've been unemployed for a year and fighting to find interviews and worrying about picking up whatever crap job you can because your unemployment benefits are running out is desperate.

What you are is someone who is passionate about the job and the company.

Not discussing your pay cut to go there doesn't make you look like you won't appreciate the job or wouldn't give a flying monkey's heiney about it. You have to sell yourself to the interviewer with your skills and work ethic. If you come off as Jo-Jo the meth smoking badger because you really want the job, they will eliminate you immediately. You have to be calm, collected and be smooth.

While you may appreciate the job, they may see a basket case if you would happen to make a mistake. Companies don't want basket cases.

Now, do you believe that you can sell yourself (work ethic, knowledge) to them without bringing up that you are willing to take a pay cut? And if they do ask you about what you make now, don't make a big deal about the money difference, just explain how the position is what is driving you and not the pay. So again, don't bring up the pay cut with them and you should explain to them why they should hire you.

How will you feel if they turn you down and hire someone else? It's more likely to happen and you'll set yourself up for disappointment if you go into the interview stressing yourself out and psyching yourself out that you end up bombing the interview.

Good luck though on the interview and I wish you luck.

erpadmin · May 2010

MeanDrunkR2D2 wrote: »

You aren't desperate for the job. Until you've been unemployed for a year and fighting to find interviews and worrying about picking up whatever crap job you can because your unemployment benefits are running out is desperate.

+1! You got rep...

MeanDrunkR2D2 · May 2010

erpadmin wrote: »

+1! You got rep...

Sadly, I've been desperate recently. Thankfully that recently changed.

erpadmin · May 2010

MeanDrunkR2D2 wrote: »

Sadly, I've been desperate recently. Thankfully that recently changed.

(HALLEHLUJAH in my most non-sarcastic voice possible!)

7 years ago, I was ALMOST desperate. Unemployment was just about to run out, and an extension was NOT guaranteed. At the last possible second, I got the call that I was hired for my position, a position that would teach me how to be an ERP Admin because the current guys wanted no part of it because they didn't know how to spell E-R-P...as a tech I used to install SAP clients and I had heard PeopleSoft was going web based (at the time...they were still client based until around early 2000s). The rest was history. I went from one public sector job to another.

I totally feel where you are coming from and I wish you nothing but the best. Sincerely.

xenodamus · May 2010

MeanDrunkR2D2 wrote: »

If you come off as Jo-Jo the meth smoking badger......

One of the first things I read upon arriving at work this morning...good laugh...

MeanDrunkR2D2 · May 2010

Another thought here, but in the past year that I've been interviewing I've always tried to avoid answering the pay questions that they may have with jobs that I have had in the past. I do my best to either highlight the pay I received at my last career position and not the low pay jobs that I've had to help make ends meet recently. The last thing I want them to think is that they can lowball me and that I'd be grateful to take that offer because it's slightly more than I was making with the lower level work.

Now, to do that you have to shift the focus off of what you are currently being paid and explain to them why you are worth being paid in whatever range of pay that you are looking for.

Sure, if you really want the job you could price yourself lower than their range, but I'd advise against that. I'd recommend that you try to hit the lower half of their pay range so that you don't look desperate for the job and are willing to take a pay cut now for experience, only to jump when you have the experience and get a hefty pay increase when you leave.

Paul Boz · May 2010

Pay really isn't that big of a concern for most hiring managers. Obviously if you want something crazy like 20% more than the maximum offer for the position that's one thing, but if you clearly fit the role they're hiring and you're competent with good experience and certifications the pay won't matter. It's not like most hiring managers go into an interview thinking "how can we screw this guy out of as much money as possible?"

Most hiring managers go into an interview just hoping to fill the position with someone that is competent. There's generally an understanding that the more necessary the position is and the more qualified the candidate may be that money will be a very small factor in the negotiation process.

You also have to look at the job they're filling. If you're applying for a tech support job and you know you'll be working with 10-20 others doing the same job you can bet your ass you're not going to be making much more than the folks already doing that job. On the other hand, if the company is hiring a high-level security officer or network engineer the pay will be much more flexible.

I would never mention taking a pay cut because I would never take a pay cut

jtoast · May 2010

Don't discuss pay at the job interview as the person doing the interview may have no authority over your pay. A better idea is to bring that up with HR when you get your offer letter.

Ashenwelt · May 2010

Pay comes with the offer letter. It doesn't normally get discussed in an interview. Additionally, if someone told me they would take a pay cut in the ineterview: I wouldn't hire them. That would just throw up red flags about the person.

is it OK to talk about Pay Cut at interview?

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