Pay negotiation for new job -is it always worth it?

bakes0310

bakes0310

bakes0310

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Joined
22 Oct 2004
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I have a job interview in a couple weeks that has a pay band that starts and ends with a £1000 a year difference eg 20k-21k (thats not the actual figure, just me giving an example.

Now from looking at the job description requirments and desirables i have 99% of them. with my skills and experience i can assist my manager more than what is mentioned in the job role. First time in my career i think i maybe overqualified, but also this is my first job where i can negotiate the salary as its a proffessional role.

Im in two minds about going straight in and asking for the highest amount, i really want the job so dont want to blow it by being greedy, but surely thats daft as like i mentioned theres only a £1000 in it. But then surely they wouldnt of advertised that salary if they didnt want to pay that.

If i get the job at the lowest end, its still a big payrise for myself, by about £6,000.
 
How much do you want the job vs how many hundreds of other people will be happy to accept the lower amount in the current climate of job losses...
 
A 1k pay band is just bizarre/overly precise IMO... though in that scenario I don't see any particular harm in asking for the top of that range, given how relatively insignificant that is for any company of a decent size vs the fact it perhaps does make a difference to you. It is highly unlikely that it would be a significant part of their decision - ah wel like Bakes but Brian has come in mid range and asked for £500 less... like that's just ridiculously dumb if they even consider that. Hiring the best candidate is way more important than quibbling over what part of the pay range they come in at - especially in such a narrow range at that.
 
They always lowball their offer and their band, expecting you to try to negotiate. So always do it.
 
I would be asking for higher than the top band and have some good reasons ready for why your worth it - it's worked for me before, and it's also worked for people I've interviewed and hired.

Even if you don't get it - you have more chance of them subsequently offering you top of the banding rather than bottom or middle.

Also - apply to other places if your going to be moving anyway - even if you think you are set on this place. It puts you in a stronger position for any negotiation.

Worth remembering that most decent pay bumps over a career will typically come from moving roles - you owe it to yourself to get what your worth, you might not move again for a while and life tends to get more expensive as you get older (to a point). If they won't move on money you can always ask of other things that they might find easier to give (e.g couple of days extra leave, or a commitment to cover some training or professional fees? Or a set couple of days WFH per week etc? )

Whats the field / rough location? Maybe some members have some more specific experiances that might help (its amazing the breadth of people here!)
 
Also, check on payscale and glassdoor etc. to see what the market rates are like for that job in the area. They might be higher than that band, and I'd want to know this sort of info when going into the meeting.
 
Just ask for the full whack if you tick all the boxes, £1k is a tiny differential. I've never decided who to hire based on salary demands as long as the demands have been within the range we've been prepared to pay. Either they will think you are the best candidate or they won't.
 
A £1k pay band is incredibly restrictive, I've never seen such tight banding before.

My issue with this would be if you get the top end of the band, where do you go from there? Whats the incentive for progression?

If ever I'm getting close to the top end of pay banding for my role then I start to consider my next move. I put far too much effort into my job to have my future earnings limited by being at the top of a pay band.
 
It depends on the company, how much or where in the pay bracket they are offering and most importantly your market value.

Some companies have strict banded of positions and it would be a major pain for them to go though all the paper work to offer more pay or move the grade of the job to another band.
Some companies are more flexible and willing to negotiate the pay.

Best thing to do is talk openly about it, I moved from a job that had many benefits; company fuel allowance, mobile phone etc to a job which for the position could only offer more money, so they had to place me at the top of the band, which they did do, I think it was 2.5k more than what I was on. At the time I knew my market value was high but work/life balance and I knew that the hiring manager would have to go though serveal boards if they wanted to up the salary.

It may be wise to discuss progression, i.e. what training you are going to receive, what the career ladder looks like at that place, how annual payrises are done. Those are the things that will likely get you more pay in the long run and it is possible with some companies to actually get "pay reviews" placed into your contracts. GL with the interview..
 
Thanks for all the good advice everyone. I havent forgotten this thread, i just had an update on monday. I had an interview as mentioned 2 weeks ago, they got back to me on monday to tell me that they have it narrowed down to me and another person so i got to back for a final interview next week.
 
bakes0310 said:
Thanks for all the good advice everyone. I havent forgotten this thread, i just had an update on monday. I had an interview as mentioned 2 weeks ago, they got back to me on monday to tell me that they have it narrowed down to me and another person so i got to back for a final interview next week.
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Good luck!
 
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