Job Offer!

[rebel100]

Well,

I have been offered the job!

But I haven't accepted it yet, The offer is $5-6/hour lower than I dreamed, and $2-3/hour less than I really hoped for. Deflating in a way.....but I got the job!!!

I have asked them to take one more look and see if they can bump the pay. They did offer another $0.40/hour once the MBA is official so there is that.

I'm happy and frustrated at the same time. I feel blessed to have a job and blessed to have been offered the position. I think my Boss and the local HR are on my side, good to know you have friends.

The difference between what I hoped and what they offered is small, yet significant.

[sanantone]

Congratulations!

[Daithi]

Congratulations, Rebel.

It seems shortsighted of the company for whom you work. It is almost begging you to take the job and then leave a short time later for more money --- and possibly with a competitor.

[ironheadjack]

I have been offered the job!

As if there was any doubt. :p

[cookderosa]

YEAH!!! I think you were right to ask. I read once, years ago, that it's easier to negotiate money in the beginning than in the middle of a job. Besides, what amounts to only $1 more per hour starts to add up when you consider the potential "standard of living" increase of a few percent each year compounded. Either way, that's VERY good news!!

[taylor]

Congrats! But 40 cents per hour for an MBA is insulting imo. I'd tell him, "Yo necesito mas dinero. Tu eres muy estupido." Just make sure he doesn't understand Spanish. Nah scratch that, take the money and run.

[Getiton1]

I KNEW you would get it! I would say you did everything right! Listen, you didn't get the amount of money you wanted, but hey...your other worry was being unemployed while you finish your MBA.

Now you 1. have income while you finish school, 2. Let them know money is a factor (and you got the .40 raise). so that 3. When you do get your MBA, that will likely be close to your next evaluation and guess what...if you are doing well...they might surprise you knowing that you want more more money...and thus give you more than .40 or they might throw in more benefits (the SAME situation happened to my husband and it took a while but he got an extra few thousand bucks just for putting it out there). 4. Once you have your MBA, if they don't bump up the salary to your liking, the will know why you were interested in leaving.

You did a GREAT job on this one Rebel! Even though it's a little lower than you wanted, it's not that big of a deal compared to how comfy you are going to be sitting for the next few months. And when you are ready to make your next move you will be in a position of better leverage than you are today.

Congratulations!
Tara

PS What ever happened with the degree mill person?

[publius2k4]

Congratulations!!

[burbuja0512]

I never doubted it for a second!! Great job!!!

Here are my suggestions when it comes to negotiating salary, and there are various options/outcomes.

Best case scenario: They agree with you on $$ and manage to find budget to increase your pay to an amount you both agree upon.

However, it's more likely that they won't be able to exactly meet your expectations and if this happens here are other options:

1) Create a series of measurable goals along with a timeline that includes pay increases that correspond to attainment of each goal. It might span a year or two, but would bring you up to your desired hourly wage assuming that you meet what has been agreed upon. Of course if you do this, you'll have to include very aggressive targets in your plan. You'll have to show that you're going to increase departmental efficiency or have some other metric that shows how you're saving them time & money while simultaneously taking the department to a whole new level. If you do this, be prepared to work your a$$ off, but I'm certain you'll do this anyway, so why not have a plan to follow that will result in pay increases?

2) Agree to the best pay that they can offer, but negotiate heavily on title. If you look at my LinkedIn profile, you'll see that this is my strategy with my present employer. (Note that I just got promoted to Vice President of Global Sales! Why? Because I'm doing a great job, but there wasn't budget for the raise I deserve.) This is a great strategy and has worked very well for me, but depends heavily on the HR policies of your organization. Some companies absolutely will not allow you to have a higher title if you don't meet certain criteria. For example, if you don't have at least x number of direct reports, you can't be called a director. There is a way to circumvent these inflexible policies - create a new title. I know I'm starting to ramble here, but here is the concept: If your hospital HR has pre-determined protocols for manager, director, VP, etc, you simply create a title that doesn't exist and therefore has no rules surrounding it. So, if you don't like the title "manager" let's say, but they won't allow you to become a director, just ask to be called "department head" or something like that. This way you can at the very least show progression on your resume and use the title to get a better job if you're not able to get the $$$ you want within a year or two.

3) I have heard of people negotiating other benefits such as an extra week of vacation in lieu of extra pay, but since I have never attempted this, I can't say anything about it. However, it doesn't hurt to think of other ways to get something you want in exchange for the money you're not obtaining.

4) If they're not willing to work with you on anything, which is entirely possible, especially if the other candidates for the position are very well qualified, then you just have to suck it up and take the job. I just looked at your LinkedIn profile and you've already been there for 2 1/2 years, so you could just accept the promotion, modify your resume accordingly, and then start looking elsewhere if you're really unsatisfied. Don't jump ship quickly if you can survive on the salary.. really give it a shot to see if there are ways that you can use your results to boost your income, but I can tell you from experience that in some cases, when there is no budget, regardless of how well you're doing, there isn't anything that they can do, in spite of the best intentions. If this is what ends up happening, you'll just have to weigh the good and bad and decide how underpaid you really are compared to industry peers and how much you like your job. Ask yourself whether it's worth it to make a little less $$$ if you're really happy where you're at. Maybe you have a good work/life balance in your current job that you'd have to sacrifice if you went elsewhere.


I hope this helps somewhat. I've had a lot of experience with this and overall, I can't stress enough how much my aggressive negotiation with my employers regarding title has helped my career. The jobs I'm being recruited for are SOOOOO much better now and even though I'm not currently being paid what many of my industry peers make, the recruiters that have sought me out recently are approaching me with other VP positions that pay up to double what I'm making now. You already know about some of the stuff I've been working on, and it looks like my strategy is paying off. I'm still working out details, but will email you next week to let you know about what happened in Chicago.....

[rebel100]

@ Burbuja

Yeah, unfortunately the system that acquired us is having some difficulties specifically related to compensation. The stumbling block is indeed HR policy.

They are talking it over as we speak, I had a chance to make my case yesterday and they are presenting that back to corporate (I think). We will see.

If the result is less than perfect I have a short list of items that are outside of direct pay that I will try for. Unless I piss them off and they withdraw the offer I plan to accept regardless...I just realize that there won't be a better time to attempt an increase. even a small uptick in the offer will continue to pay off years down the road. Perhaps HR even lowballed thinking I might just jump at the chance, they may even expect my counter...things are still so new with the acquisition that no one really knows.

I do have a plan hatched to alter the duties and potentially re-name the position and I think that should come with another pay raise over and above the annual review amount. I will keep working it.