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Got a couple of quick questions since I'm being optimistic about receiving an offer soon: I learned that this company does some hiring through recruitment agencies. I was referred by a current employee so I am not represented by anybody. How much should I factor this into any negotiations? Less important, but a commonly recurring theme on this company's Glassdoor page is that raises are pretty infrequent so it is best to push hard for higher pay up front. Should I just counter an offer with +15% or is there anything else to consider for this situation? edit: got word that they want to hire me! Waiting for the official offer now so this is a bit more pressing, particularly my first question. I don't know what sort of cut a recruiter normally takes so I'm not sure how to posture myself for having some of their cost savings trickle down to me. Teeter fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Jun 11, 2015 |
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Jun 11, 2015 05:42
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Teeter posted:Got a couple of quick questions since I'm being optimistic about receiving an offer soon: I've finally received the official offer in writing so I'm quoting myself to get some advice about this question I had. I've been offered $30/hr, with benefit options that are decent but not as good as my current job. I am changing fields so while this is a significant increase in pay overall, it still looks to be on the lower side of average for this position. Inside scoop informs me that others on the team make about $35/hr. I definitely have little experience but there are other factors such as me not being represented by a staffing company, so is there a line that crosses to "too much" when I throw a counter offer out? Should I counter with $35 or shoot for the moon with something higher? Other random things for consideration: This is a huge company compared to what I'm used to, with close to 70k employees across a few states. Glassdoor tips say that raises are infrequent. I will also be moving for this job. It is a short move, not out of state or anything, but nonetheless it will be a big expense upfront since I currently live about an hour east of L.A and will be looking into moving to the city proper. I have never negotiated before so it is a bit overwhelming. I am nearly doubling my pay already but I can't let that interfere with looking out for myself. A big thanks to everyone in this and similar job-related threads as it's been a huge help throughout the process.
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Jul 9, 2015 00:37
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Thanks for all that. What seems like a lot of money for me may not be the case for a large company and it helps to have things put in perspective from their side of things. One thing I want to elaborate on: my current retirement plan is loving fantastic. I have a 403(b) with an employer contribution of 10% gross salary, immediately vested, no match or anything required on my part. Even with my much lower pay currently it ends up being a lot of free money. My new rate of 3% just can't compete with that so I will be paying a lot more out of pocket to get the same contributions. How much of this information do I disclose with them? Beyond just informing them that I'd be leaving behind a better plan, will it help to let them know flat-out that I'm getting that 10% currently?
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Jul 9, 2015 07:09
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I tried negotiating a bit when I got my current job. One of my main points when switching employers was that I would get much better pay but was leaving behind a better benefits package, so I would have to pay more out of pocket if I wanted to achieve the same level of contributions. My hiring recruiter told me that I had an error in my calculations because this current benefit package wasn't a choice between Option A (3% from company) or Option B (50% match up to 3%), but instead that both were included. Cool, I thought, that's an extra 3% that would slowly increase over the years. That was incorrect, however. I do not get the extra 3% contribution until I have a year of service. At my current salary, that is about $2k in pre-tax contributions that I expected to be receiving and did not actually get. Annual reviews are coming up, though I will only be a 6 month employee when mine comes around. Would I have a leg to stand on for being misled about the benefits package? Can I take whatever raise they try to give me and add +$X to make up for the lost contributions? I don't really know what to expect in terms of salary increase (if any), but how do I valuate ~$1k in pre-tax money?
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Dec 10, 2015 00:43
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I am in a similar situation, but unfortunately I have nothing in writing. I was sent benefits information when I was given my job offer, and responded with a counter-offer of higher base pay because I would be leaving behind a job that offered much better retirement options and would need to pay out of pocket in order to make up for it. The HR handler called me up after receiving my email and explained that I was wrong in my interpretation of the plan. He said that the actual plan provides a base employer contribution of 6% of salary with 5 years vesting, along with a 50% match of my personal contributions up to another 3% salary. I clarified with him to make sure that I got it right, and that I'd functionally be paying 6% of my own money and getting an additional 9% from them, with 3% vested immediately and the other 6% in 5 years. 15% total with only 6% coming from myself sounded much better to me so I backed down and accepted a lower base pay on the assumption that I had incorrectly calculated total value when I made my counter offer. Fast forward to working for a bit and I've come to realize that he did not explain any of the benefits to me properly. The 6% base is actually only 4%, and does not begin until I work for a year so I have seen none of that. The matching part is actually only 3% of my salary that they will then match half of for 1.5% employer contribution. He quoted me the benefits of a 10-year employee, NOT the benefits from an employee on day one. I was very clear with getting this spelled out to me so I know that I understood it correctly and he either misled me through incompetence or straight up lied. I have learned my lesson and will get anything like this in writing in the future, though it seems like even that wouldn't help. It turns out that my initial valuation of the benefits package was correct and I believed him when he told me that I was wrong. I have a review coming up and my manager is pretty cool with me so I'll mention that I feel shorted out of 7.5% but I don't expect to get anything out of it. tldr: I was told over the phone that I'd get 9% from employer but turns out I only actually get 1.5%. 9% is what a 10 year employee receives. I'm dumb for not getting it in writing.
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Feb 15, 2016 23:15
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