Asking for increased salary at a job interview

[Ladybird20201]

Hi all,

Just gathering thoughts and opinions regarding a job interview tomorrow.

I have an interview tomorrow, the pay they are offering on the advertisement is about 5k too low annually to cover my mortgage and bills, so I'm hoping they would be open to negotiating a higher salary if they take me on.
I've never asked for offered salary to be negotiated so I am unsure how to do this and if it's acceptable so looking for experience and opinions.
Would it be unreasonable to ask for 5k more than what they are offering? It will just cover my mortgage and bills. As it's already 5k higher I feel asking for even more would be even more unreasonable, and I'm nervous about even asking for this. Has anyone done this at an interview and is it a completely unreasonable amount to ask for from what was advertised?
Has anyone done this before?
Thank you x

Why would you go for a job that the advertised amount wouldn't cover your basic living? Not being sarcastic, I just don't understand

To be honest if I was the interviewer I would raise an eye given that you knew the salary on offer.

Right now it’s an employers market but if you have really in demand skill set then see if they offer and then negotiate.

No I didn't know, I had emailed them to ask if they had any vacancies then found out later on they had advertised and found their offer on the advertisement

Are you currently on ( barring any furlough or Covid mess ups) or was your last job on a higher salary than the ad?

Ask away
Be prepared for them to say no
Be prepared for them to ask why you merit the extra 5k. Your bills are not their concern

Interview is not really the time to ask. If you aren't OK with the posted salary range you should discuss that before you are called to interview, so that everyone doesn't get their time wasted if they can't go above the advertised top end. The time to bring this up was really when you applied or before. Not a lot you can do about that now, I know, but yes it's possible they'll be annoyed if they posted a salary range for the role and you wait until the interview to announce that the minimum you'll consider is £5k above their top end.

Tbh, your mortgage and bills are not their problem. The basis for asking has to be what you are worth in the market and how difficult they might find it to get someone else with those skills. What's the job? £5k could be chicken feed for a job paying £100k and completely out of the question for one paying £18k.

I am self employed but it won't be feasible any more in the long run so need to find a full time stable job. Yes was on higher pay. @LouiseTrees

15 to 20k is a massive jump proportionally while 155k to 160k is a tiny amount so how much is 5k on the offered salary?.

Is it a role where they will struggle to recruit or is it one where there will be lots of applicants?

I wouldn't bring it up in the interview yourself anyway. Get the job offer first and then negotiate.

They don't care how much your mortgage and bills are - you would need to convince them they'd be better spending 5k on you than getting an inferior employee for less money.

So focus on really aceing the interview. Discuss money when you have an offer

To be honest I would have thought at the moment with people loosing their jobs daily due to covid 19 that they will have a lot of applicants and will be able to find some one who meets their standard for the amount they have offered. Unfortunately this amount doesn’t meet your needs but will most probably meet someone else’s needs. They will choose them over you. Apply for jobs in your price range because by going to the interview tomorrow your wasting everyone’s time.

I imagine this varies quite a bit between different sectors. In my line of work, we don't discuss salary at all during the interview process, but tell successful candidates "we would like to make you an offer" after the interview, at which point there is some scope for negotiating salary. But I'm sure other industries do it completely differently!

Definitely do not ask them at interview. If you get an offer then ask then. They are far more likely to say yes. I interview many many people per year and I am way more likely to say yes if I really like you and have got to the point I want to offer you something. If you put me on the spot at interview then I will probably not offer you anything as I wouldn’t like it: having said that if the job has bands it I cannot offer you more then the offer would be no regardless

I'm a recruiter.
The answer would be no - it's an employers market right now, and companies aren't in the position to be overspending.
Without a doubt there will be a lot of alternative candidates willing to take the offered salary.

£5k is a huge increase, if they could afford it - they'd advertise it. They are advertising for the calibre of staff that fit within that budget.

Also to be honest - it's an employer's market. There are lots of people looking for work.

So you may need to consider cutting your living costs.

If the salary they are offering is representative of what the role pays across most companies and is the "right" level for your experience, then you are going to have to accept that is what it is and focus on cost cutting, sadly.

You said you were self employed at a higher salary but remember that an employee may get various non- salary benefits such as pension, health insurance, death in service benefits etc that you didn't get when self employed and would have been funding yourself

If you knew it was too low then why apply in the first place ??
If I was in your shoes I would be nervous about asking 5k more and if I was the employer I would be thinking wtf why are you wasting my time.
They can pick and choose at the moment, think about how many people are desperate for work. So if it's not going to pay you enough for whatever reason, then move aside and let someone else take it.
So in answer to your question, 5k is a hell of a lot to ask for so, unless the sun shines out of your ears , dont bother.

Dont ask at the interview. If they offer you the job and you like the company then that's the time to do it.

What is the advertised pay?
Personally, if someone asked to increase the pay form the start without a solid reason I.e "you're advertising for a salesman that can bring in 20k revenue a months. I can bring in 100k. So is there potential to increase my pay accordingly" vs. "I spend more than you're offering so pay me more" then I'd cross out their name.

If I was the employer and we had had loads of applicants to choose from and spent a while deciding on the interview list I'd be annoyed that one of the interviewees had wasted our time being interviewed for a job she didn't want as advertised.
I would ask before the interview date if they'd raise the salary by 5k (which is a lot) and withdraw if they said no.

Okay thanks for the replies and advice ...
To answer some questions, I didn't know the pay that was offered when I applied, I emailed them and asked if they had any vacancies, it was only afterwards I did some digging and found an advertisement they posted for a vacancy - then I noticed the offered salary.
And of course I know they don't care about my mortgage and bills!! Obviously I won't say give me more because I spend more money a month, and I feel like I'm being attacked by some. I'm talking about essential bills and mortgage, not monthly shoe shopping!! Which I obviously won't say, I was only saying all that here on Mumsnet

God I hate it when people ask about salary increases at the interview. You lose all your power. If there's two people equally as good and one asks for an increase in salary who do you think they're going to offer to?

At least wait until you get an offer so you know they want you and then negotiate!

I'd do the interview, and then ask afterwards if they offer it to you. You can always say you didn't realise the salary was that low when you emailed them.

I'd wait for the offer. Then explain that you really want the job, think you are good fit etc but can't take the pay cut.

Agree that this is not a question to ask at interview. You have the most leverage when they actually offer you the job.

It’s hard to provide much guidance on how to do this without knowing what percentage 5k is of the advertised salary. For example, it’s 5-10% then they may have the additional budget somewhere and you can just say you’ve had a think about the role and responsibilities and £X+5% is closer to what you’d want. If it’s 25% then it’s more difficult to ask for.

Personally I probably wouldn't if it was a set figure at the time of the interview. When they state it's negotiable depending on experience like they do on some job ads then I would say what I would like to be earning.

I'd attend the interview and pretend I didn't know what the salary was, since they didn't tell me when I enquired. If no mention during the course of the interview, provided I was keen on the job, when they ask if I have any questions I'd tell them what my expectation was.

What Optimist said (and I'm in HR)

The advertised salary is rarely the max in private sector and for the right person, you pay what they're asking for. Just be prepared that unless your skills are rare, there may well be someone happy to do it for less and they may move on to make them an offer. Did it say an exact amount or circa or dependant on experience or what?