Been solicited for an internal promotion. Need some advice on salary please.

[InternalPromotion]

Have NC'd as it's obvious what my job/location is under my usual NN and I'm also discussing salary.

I have been employed on a temporary contract to provide assistance whilst a vacant role is filled. By the time my contract is ended I will have nine months' experience. The role requires some specialist knowledge, negotiation and relationship building. I have also received quite a few 'pet projects' for things that have slipped whilst the role has been vacant. I am working alongside the other post-holder (there are two of these roles in the company).

The role is, on paper, fairly senior - middle rank in the company, second in command in our team. Our team is very crucial to the business - we create the product. I don't know how much (and wouldn't dare ask - she would be affronted) how much my co-worker is earning but in the industry it can fetch anywhere between £35-50k. She is also much older, 20+ years experience so I expect it is at least £40k. I am doing a watered down version of the vacant role but every week new responsibilities are added. I think I can say, without being boastful, that I have worked very hard, could not have received better feedback and have a great rapport with my manager.

So, enough waffle! My manager has asked me outright whether I would like to apply for the vacant role shortly. It has not been advertised yet but they have written the spec and are advertising it internally with me in mind - my co-worker knows this and has encouraged it. I am reasonably confident that, if I perform well at interview and do a decent submission, I will be successful (purely as it's an internal appointment - the skills and knowledge are very precise and the role is the full-blown manager's role, which you cannot just walk into, rather than my current version).

I have two concerns:

1. The job is advertised at my current rate/not much higher - £23k. It's a good salary but, IMO, doesn't compensate for the amount of extra responsibility, hours and stress. It has been advertised before at £30k and my manager is aware that I know this.
   

1. The job is advertised at £25-28k. Same concerns as above.
   

I am worried that, although this is a substantial promotion for someone with my experience, I will create the wrong impression if I accept a salary below the market rate for the job and that any future salary raises or promotions will reflect this. The business is very fluid and people are seconded (with appropriate salary changes) frequently. On the other hand I have never negotiated my salary before and don't have a clue how to handle it. My company has a reputation for being 'lean' so it's nothing personal but I expect a lower salary to be offered.

Does anyone have any tips please? I expect the advert to be uploaded by the end of the week and it will only be open for a further week so I'd like to have a plan of action. If you are a manager would you be angry/dissatisfied with a younger candidate who wanted the market rate for a job that usually more experienced people occupied?

[InternalPromotion]

Bump... any advice please?

[GrendelsMum]

I'd go straight in and tell them that you're worth £30k, that you know the job's worth £30k. If they want you to do it, they can pay you the going rate. They'll respect you the more for it (yes, really they will).

Would reading this help - it gives you the script to use in this situation -

money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/02/21/the-exact-words-to-use-when-negotiating-salary

[InternalPromotion]

Oh thank you very much! That script works well - easy to remember and not too formal as I think my manager will be interviewing me and it would be weird to suddenly play hardball.

[MistyB]

There are many articles on the web about how women are not great at negogiating their own salaries.

If you have time before hand, go through the job spec and document your achievements against each point, draw on any previous experience you bring to the role and highlight where your personal style / abilities / strenghts makes things work well.

Relationship building in this role sounds important so pull together all the positive feedback you have had from those key stakeholders. Bench mark the role and see if you can find examples of other salaries.

If you applied for a similar external role you would use your existing experience as the basis for your application not the fact that you started with more limited experience.

The salary should reflect your current level of competance rather than that with which you started the job, possibly both you and your manager need to come to that realisation.

In order to achieve your potential and ensure maximum success for the role, it needs to be pitch at the same level as your colleague with some adjustment for experience, but not so much that it appears to be a more junior role.

[Toadspawn]

Definitely try and get 30 though you might need to start at 32 to get that.

[Loislane78]

Whilst a bit American, I would agree with the sentiment of the article ie. assertive but not aggressive and using silence.

Early on in my career I had a manager who I thought was socially v awkward - she wasn't, she just used silence v effectively (as a weapon!). Generally people don't like silence and will start talking so its a very useful tool to use at work.

GL :)