Seen perfect job advertised - top of salary band £2k less than my current salary

[momo142]

I can't take a pay cut at the moment - I'm the breadwinner in my household and it would be selfish to do so, money is also really tight so it would also be foolish.

But I can't stop thinking about this job. It's in a sector I'd really like to work in, probably less prospects but much more rewarding work. I think I'm a really good fit for the role - I think if I applied for it I'd get an interview (I quite possibly wouldn't - but let's assume for now that I would).

I assume that if a company publishes the salary band, they won't go above it?

To complicate matters further, I also only want to work 4 days a week, as I'm about to return to work after maternity leave. There's no way they would go for paying me more for my full time equivalent salary, but actually paying me only 4/5ths of it to work 4 days a week? If they thought I was the best candidate?

Should I :

a) forget about the job (I'm sure this is what I should do!)
b) contact them, explain the situation and see what they say (they think I'm an idiot for even asking, and say no)
c) apply for the job, and ask for more money and part time working at interview / when offered job? (they are annoyed at me for wasting their time, and say no)

I'm sure I'm just kidding myself that they might pay me more money to do this job - but I just thought I'd check what Mumsnet thought!

[strongandlong]

you're not in a position to negotiate until you've been offered the job, so I'd go with C. Depending on the type of company, there may be flexibility. Worth a try. good luck!

[overthemill]

If they have advertised it at £x for 5 day week they may consider for the right candidate paying that for 4 days a week. Happened to me once. Worth a try - but only start negotiating salary when they offer it to you

[NameChange30]

C. Go for it, do you best to put aside forget your reservations, and only negotiate if and when you're offered it. You can always decline if it won't work out.

Is there any way you make up the income shortfall? Reduce your outgoings?

[NameChange30]

Also you said "my household", do you have a DP?

[Effic]

Option a means you are 100% not going to get the job.
Option b & c mean you are less than 100% not going to get the job so a is out!
I'd do a mixture of b & c. Call them, find out more, suss out whether you're what they want. If yes, apply but perhaps mention up front what you current salary is and that you would hope it can be matched or if you can afford it, that they would match it after a short probationary period (3 months?) and then if interviewed talk compressed hours or 4 days

[momo142]

Interesting - I thought everyone would say A!

AnotherEmma - I do have a dh, he is out of work at the moment / a SAHD. If he had a job too there'd be more scope for me to take a pay cut.

[GiddyOnZackHunt]

Partly depends on the sector. If it's public sector there is likely to be less room to negotiate the salary up as the pay scales are set in stone. If it's private sector and you make yourself #1 on their list then it might work. Which matters most? The 4 days (0.8 or compressed) or the money?
Apply.

[NameChange30]

Is he looking for work or do you both want him to carry on being a SAHD? I know it's not always easy but would be great if he could help you take the job you want by finding something.

[FishWithABicycle]

In my experience the top of the salary band is the amount they will allow you to read after 5 years in post. It is relatively rare to start at the top of the salary band - and the one time I successfully negotiated this, I found out after I started that with this "success" I had lost the annual pay increments that would have had me creeping up to the top of the band year by year so I enjoyed wage stagnation and deflation which was miserable.

[FishWithABicycle]

Argh autocorrect changed reach into read for some reason .

[MyBoysAreFab]

Apply. Don't mention pay or working hours at an interview. You will get a feel for the type of company and people they are. Look at negotiating if you get offered the job and make decision then. Go for it and good luck.

[daisychain01]

I'd apply for the role, if nothing else it is good interview experience and will give you the inside view of the organisation

I'd make sure you have our DP fully onside about your plans. If all that is needed is for him to somehow pick up the slack for the shortfall of 2k maybe between you both, you can work through possibilities for him. That's not a lot over the course of a whole year.

Also I would be open minded to the fact there could be additional opportunities for advancement in the company that you are assuming aren't there. How do you know for sure what the future holds. I wouldn't push the matter of the salary level until you've had a fantastic I ter view and they've decided they just have to have you!

[daisychain01]

Sorry autocorrect in overdrive hope you get the gist!

[FinallyHere]

I'd always encourage anyone to apply, otherwise its easy to build up the opportunity in your head so that it becomes the perfect job and no other ever comes close.

Do you have any idea how popular the role will be, what their chances are of recruiting the perfect fit for the job? If it is very popular, and thousands will apply, there may be less chance for your negotiation. If you are the only person with the right skills, or the closest to prefect, they may be more likely to negotiate. All the best.

[FinallyHere]

I meant perfect, but maybe prefect does apply, too.

[flowery]

I'm not sure I agree with everyone. If they are a company who has salary bands for roles, it may be extremely difficult for them to appoint above that, if not impossible. Depending on internal policies it may be almost as difficult to appoint at or near the top of a salary band as well.

If them going above the band for the role is a dealbreaker for you, don't wait until offered the job before saying that. That will be extremely irritating for them.

You could apply for the job, and during the process see if you can get a feel for whether there's any flexibility there, and also start making your case for being paid more (which will be because you meet all their criteria and also bring x,y,z other skills/experience which will be valuable to them and which other candidates don't have).

I'm just trying to be realistic and also pointing you to Fishwithabicycle's experience.

Having worked in HR in a charity (one which paid towards the highish end for the sector), there were several times where candidates from the private sector arrived in a cloud of wanting to "make a difference" and of course were happy to graciously take a bit of a paycut to do so, but then started kicking off when salary review time came and they didn't get a big payrise. On more than one occasion I got told that they used to earn x amount more, therefore... Not my problem sunshine!

I'm not saying at all that you have that attitude, but if you do either take a bit of a cut or at least no rise, be aware that big payrises are unlikely to be on the horizon for a fair while afterwards.

Can you tell us what kind of organisation it is?

[Shutthatdoor]

If they are a company who has salary bands for roles, it may be extremely difficult for them to appoint above that, if not impossible.

I have to say I agree.

[Chewbecca]

If you were offered role but at quoted money, would you take it?

We had a situation recently where we offered someone a role (internally but huge organisation). Candidate then declined. She won't be considered for another role in the dept as is considered to be a time-waster now. & we did waste a lot of time getting approvals, offer together etc. The reasons given for the decline existed at the time of applying for the role, the candidate had just not thought through the reality of taking the role.

Be careful not to burn any bridges is the moral of that story!

If it is a perfect role, I'd consider going for it still but not with the thought in mind that you'd only take it at a salary above the upper limit quoted. (Flexible working, yes)

[daisychain01]

agree re salary bands being difficult to deviate from, but IME Recruiters would never advertise at the upper ceiling of that band as they would want plenty of elbow room and contingency such that if a particularly strong cadidate comes along, they could secure the person without deviating from the band, plus they have to think about annual reviews and increments for the successful candidate. Depends how wide the bands are, as I expect public and private sectors have very different scales.

All this is unknown, so best thing is to see how interview goes and how well suited to the job you feel.

[NameChange30]

I still think the OP should apply. If her DH is actively looking he might find something between now and her being offered the role which would allow her to take the job even with a pay cut.

I also disagree about being a "time waster" if you turn the job down after being offered it. The recruitment process is two-way, it gives candidates chance to find out more about the company, the role and whether they want it. They are perfectly within the right to decide they don't want the role after being offered it.

[flowery]

"I also disagree about being a "time waster" if you turn the job down after being offered it. The recruitment process is two-way, it gives candidates chance to find out more about the company, the role and whether they want it. They are perfectly within the right to decide they don't want the role after being offered it."

It is a two-way process however if a candidate turns a job down because they are not happy with the salary being offered which they were fully aware of before applying that's slightly different IMO

[daisychain01]

I still wouldn't say it was time wasting flowery. Time wasting would be claiming to be a project manager when you have no expertise, or applying for a job when you know you are moving 50 miles away a month after starting the job a d wouldn't be able to get to work.

Applying for a role where everything looks 'up your street' but you aren't 100% happy with the salary level, may be a ligitimate thing to do provided you pick your time to talk about salary. Similarly there was a thread on here where someone wanted to work a 4 day week, instead of a 5 day week. Sometimes there isn't a 100% match of expectations. If there is a gap that can be addressed at interview, then I would say it would be a bona fide application.

Or maybe I've just got a brass - neck and don't mind pushing the envelope!

[NameChange30]

If you're going with the "time wasting" argument, you could also say the recruiters are wasting the time of every candidate that is invited to interview and not selected

[titchy]

I work in an environment where we have pay scales and annual increments. Before any vacancy is advertised HR will look at the job description and evaluate the job grade. There is absolutely NO room for manouvre. The job description is what determines the grade, not the candidate.

[AalyaSecura]

Depends on the kind of organisation. Are you sure it's a salary band (usually v hard to go above), or have they published a salary range in the advert (signalling what they expect to have to pay for the experience they want, but more scope to push it up?). Also, if it's a really perfect role, and you need to earn well, is full time really out of the question?