is it OK to talk about Pay Cut at interview?
DoubleD
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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?
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?
Comments
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.
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.
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!
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?
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.
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.
+1! You got rep...
Sadly, I've been desperate recently. Thankfully that recently changed.
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.
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.
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
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