Salary negotiation

[TheRightToShoes]

After being unemployed for eight months I was offered a job on Friday afternoon. I was thrilled, money had started to get very tight and I was concerned how I would pay my bills in a few months. So it came at just the right time.

The job is the position I was looking for within a growing company, so lots of room for progression in a few years.

The downside, the salary is nowhere near the salary I am used to and I found out today that the contract is actually a 48 hour contract, when I verbally accepted the position and salary I had assumed it would be a 40 hour contract. I know I should never have assumed and should have checked this during the interview stage.

I am thinking of asking them if there is any room for negotiation on the salary, but I really don't want them to retract the job offer or get off to a bad start with then before I even start.

What should I do??

I think I would try & negotiate the hours- talking about what is normal in your industry. And then talk about prospects for progression in a year or so. I suppose it depends on how much you want the job.

Thanks gosh, I think I'll do that. I do really want the job, I'm just not 100% happy with the salary (especially with a 48 hour contract)

It's quite common to have some kind of negotiations before final acceptance of a job, so I'd say courage up and get your point across. Ask questions (rather than make demands) and you'll be fine. 48 hours is unusual so it's perfectly ok to not expect that.

Are you sure it's 48 hours contracted to work? Not just requiring you to sign the 48 hour opt out agreement? The latter is pretty standard in contracts