How much money to ask for?

[Stitch]

If I get a job offer from my current search, is there a certain percentage I should ask on top of what I'm getting now? I'm not leaving my current shop for anything less than I'm making and won't ask my current shop to top an offer either.

 

[Rockbottom]

No real way to answer that without knowing a LOT more particulars. PM me if you want my $0.02.

RB

 

[write then drink]

$0.02.

might be a little high

 

[Baron Scicluna]

The old rule of thumb that I heard of a long time ago was 15 percent higher. Of course, it depends on the situation.

 

[playthrough]

And then add another five, maybe 10 percent just because. You only get one chance in this spot.

 

[BTExpress]

At this point . . .


job security > job pay

 

[playthrough]

Yes, but security is such a moving target these days. What was a rock-solid situation six months ago might be mush now.

Money is still important, and if you're in a situation where you have a job but might get another, you gotta be smartly aggressive about trying for more money (being unemployed and going for a job, that's different). It allows you to sock away that much more as an insurance plan if the once-promising new gig turns sour.

 

[SCEditor]

The biggest thing to remember is this: The biggest pay raise you'll probably ever get is from the start. I've been a big believer in this: I give the potential employer the number I think I deserve. It's not outrageous. but it's the number they're going to hit if they want to hire me. When I took this job, the pay scale was $2K to $4K lower than what I wanted. I said hit this number -- $2K more than the most they were "willing" to offer, according to the ad. They offered me the max, according to the ad. I told them, no. You hit this number.

They did.

It doesn't always work like that, but if you're reasonable, you might get the number you demand.

P.S. I also got an additional $2K in raises the first year I was here. Of course in this current economic climate, I haven't seen a raise the second year, but nobody in this business is getting a raise.

 

[buckweaver]

SCE speaks the truth. Be aggressive; you won't get another chance to negotiate (at least until you apply for a new job.)

Remember: If they're going to make an offer, they want/need you as much as you want/need them. Get what you can out of them.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Be willing to walk away if they don't budge like they did for SCEditor.

I had a paper acting as if I were the Golden Child or something some years back. They told me the salary range, with $2K being the difference between the high and low end of the hiring scale.

When they offered $500 above their low end, I asked for the remaining $1,500. When they refused, I turned them down. The publisher called back 24 hours later, offering to pay for some rounds of golf (I really wish I were kidding). I said no.

It ended there. The job was a one-man show and screamed 70-hour-a-week death trap, not to mention a publisher a little too proud of his thoughts on dropping AP altogether. Walking away was not difficult, and it shouldn't be for you, Stitch, if they won't budge.

 

[This is my username]

Redacted ... a little too close to self-outing.

Don't take the first offer, but in this economy don't give them a reason to move down the list. It's a delicate game.

 

[Fredrick]

It's a whole new ballgame today I would think in terms of negotiating.
Hell you could be downsized in 6 months no matter how much you ask for.

 

[Stitch]

Redacted ... a little too close to self-outing.

Don't take the first offer, but in this economy don't give them a reason to move down the list. It's a delicate game.

I'm lucky enough that I can stay where I'm at for quite some time if I wanted to. But I want to move up the ladder to a bigger paper. Money talks, though, if you have kids to raise and student loans to pay off.

 

[forever_town]

Don't take the first offer, but in this economy don't give them a reason to move down the list. It's a delicate game.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with my father's partner the other night.

He told me the story of when he applied for an assistant professorship (?) back in the 1970s with the university where he teaches now. They offered him a salary and he'd wanted a couple thousand more. He asked the guy making the offer, "is there any way you can do a little bit better than that?"

The guy said he'd look into it and call my dad's partner back. When he did, he said he couldn't go higher than the offer. He accepted it. Now he's been at that university for approximately 30 years.

You can ask for more money, but know when to say no and when to accept an offer.

 

[SF_Express]

I don't even know how much this story applies anymore, but I told it to somebody asking about such things the other day.

More than 20 years ago, I was running a sports section at one paper when I got an offer from a place a long ways away, and in a much more expensive place to live. It was an elite paper, and the original offer was substantially more than I was making. I wanted to take it right on the spot.

My wife at the time said there's no way we could do it for that given where we were going and said I had to ask for another astounding amount, to me a week. I said there's no way they'd do that, and no way I could possibly ask. She said fine, then you can't take the job. No way we could do it for less.

So I sheepishly went to the boss offering the job and made the request, and he said they'd look into it and get back to me.

And then they gave me the money. Aside from being thrilled, I felt really stupid for obvious reasons.

Unless you're dealing with complete assholes, I learned, it doesn't hurt to ask. And if they come back and say no way -- or meet you somewhere in between -- then you can make the decision based on a bottom-line offer.

And if they're pissed you asked, that's probably a warning sign.

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

It never hurts to ask for more, as others have said.

After college I had an internship then started to apply for jobs. I interviewed with a few papers and ended up getting two offers. Paper A told me when I was a finalist that X was the entry level wage. That fee was within my range. Paper B gave me a figure when they offered me a position that was $1-2K more than paper A. I liked paper A and its editor better, so I took that job for less money. After accepting the job I asked about possibly getting more money. The SE said that was up to the ME. I told the ME that I rejected an offer for more money because I thought they were the better paper and asked if it would be possible for him to split the difference. He said he would talk to the publisher. It turns out the publisher was thinking about changing the entry level fee. Paper A ended up meeting paper B's offer, and anyone hired within the previous 6 months or so also got a raise because of me. So, it never hurts to ask.

 

[Stitch]

I did get an offer. I gave a number that is non-negotiable (I didn't say it) and the publisher will let me know. If I don't get it, oh well, I like the chance to interview. One of my weak points is the job interview and I could always use the practice.

 

[Ace]

It's not really hard to ask for more money. What's hard is being asked for an initial amount you need -- how high do you go? Do you try to make them make the first offer? That's awkward.

 

[Stitch]

It's not really hard to ask for more money. What's hard is being asked for an initial amount you need -- how high do you go? Do you try to make them make the first offer? That's awkward.

I've heard that you never give the number first. And I try to avoid the subject of pay until I get an offer.

 

[playthrough]

I'm a big believer in never giving the first number. Even with jobs that ask for salary requirements up front, don't do it. If the interviews go well and you get to the money stage, say something like "you obviously have a sense of how much this job is worth, I'd rather hear that from you first."