Fantastic new job opportunity but very uncomfortable with pay WWYD?

[Exemochick]

This week I have interviewed for a fantastic new role that I am really excited about. It is a job that is relevant to my field but in a different area that requires my specific expertise so really a bit of a career change. I have met the team, everything seems great apart from the salary. I am expecting to take a bit of a paycut as I am new to this area but I will be paid 14k less per year than I was getting in my old role, the same amount I was making as a new graduate years ago. I have tried to negotiate the salary but with little leniency as apparently it wouldn't be fair to others who previously have started on the same amount. I am absolutely torn about what to do because on one hand I don't want to let this opportunity go but I'm very concerned about getting into debt and not being able to afford the lifestyle I am accustomed to every month. What would you do?

Well if you haven't got a secure job then take it but be aware that future employers might try to low ball you too.

So you've not got a permanent job and no security, you used to earn 14k more than this job pays but currently work is hard to come by and you've moved from London to Llandudno?

No brainer. Take it. You're at risk of over valuing yourself. Remember to work hard and after 6 months push them for that pay rise.

The £14k pay cut will put the OP at the same salary level as they were as a graduate, however long ago that was (if I am reading it correctly)
I would take it (for security), get as much experience and training is as you can over the next 6 months, keep updating your CV, keep you eye on the job market … and start applying

Really difficult one..however I don't think you should worry about moving on quickly if they don't increase your salary and can do better in 6 months. As you've moved I think a short term paycut is manageable without too much impact - but I would be clear that I wasn't prepared to sit on graduate pay for longer than 6 months.
If you contracting is up and down now - how does you last 6 months contracting pay compare to the pay this permanent contract is offering?

Really depends on how much you're paid now. If you're paid 100k, you're being unreasonable as it's not really much of a massive drop then. If it's 40k, then yeah I see your point and it would be stupid to take the job. If they want to hire someone with experience and knowledge (which is unlike their current employees who started with little in comparison) then they have to pay for it.

It doesn't matter how much less it pays than your old job in the area where you no longer live, because that job is no longer one of your options. The only relevant comparison here is how it compares to what you're currently doing and can reasonably expect in the future if you don't take it.

Have you checked pension contribution? I once accepted a job that was £8k less, but pension contribution on my part 2as much lower, whilst employer was much higher. I couldn't believe when after I worked out net pay, I realised I was on almost the same monthly income. Added that my commute was half and I was no worse off.

I think you put the job first. If you find it's too little money, you move on. And don't worry about future employers - they will have their own salary scales and you have no obligation to ever tell them what you are earning now, you tell them what you think they are worth.

I took a big pay cut a few years ago to take a job that I thought would suit me better. The job did, but the working arrangements didn't, so Ieft after nearly a year. I am now working 3 days a week instead of 4 days a week and earning as much as I did in the original job for fewer hours.

It sounds mad to people but money isn't everything. If you think the job will be good, do it. It doesn't have to be forever, and I repeat you do not have to tell prospective employers what your current salary is.

you tell them what you think they are worth

you tell them what you think you are worth

By High Cost Area, you mean London, yes?

I’m my field, a premium of £14k to work in London = not unusual. BUT you say it would take you back to a graduate wage?? Flipping heck, I don’t know what your graduate wage was, but mine required me to have a part time job as well as FT!

@Exemochick

I have been told there is scope for increased pay after a 6 month probationary period but that seems a long time to wait and no guarantees.

Since you haven't got a job at the moment, what have you got to lose?

A probationary period works both ways.

In 6 months time when you've made yourself indispensable, you ask for a rise. If it's not forthcoming you politely decline a permanent post and walk. Meanwhile you've gained 6 months experience in a wider field (good for your CV) and made more contacts (good for your next job application/contract)

Ok so not a fair comparison - contracting pay is always higher but you need to cover pensions, holiday etc

Were you perhaps on a well-paying grad scheme?

Carry on applying to give you options.

What are the starting salaries for similar mid-career, experienced roles.

If you are not desperate and you have some negotiating position if you are contracting. Covid has caused problems but to some extent, you risk rebasing your career history and salary history to future employers adversely.

I would put the ball in their court again. The rationale about fairness to other recruits will not pay the bills and is just a hook to negotiate, unfortunately.

Even in the public sector where the notion of fairness is embedded, there is often scope to offer higher starting salary within a range where appropriate.

Repeat your point about your salary of 14 years ago when you have a broad skillset and experience. And tie them into a firm commitment to a further payrise after a 3 month probation rather than a vague promise. That shouldn't be impossible from fairness.

This is your main opportunity to negotiate and to impress them with your brokering skills. Once you are there, they probably won't magically become a kind and generous employer and, even if they do, that won't pay the bills for the next few years. I suspect this notion of fairness across the team will be selectively applied.

Good luck.

I wouldn't take it, they're hardly going to give you a decent pay rise after the probation period either.

If they need your expertise then they need to pay you for it.

Objectively, what makes this job fantastic OP, rather than a good job. If it requires your specific expertise then doesn't that make you a fantastic candidate than the role fantastic?

I think that fairness to other employees doesn't come into it. You should be looking for market rate.

@gobackanddoitproperly

I think that fairness to other employees doesn't come into it. You should be looking for market rate.

This ^ That is a rubbish justification.

What was the high cost area? Id guess that if 14k takes you back to a graduate salary you've gone from something like 44 to 30k. If you moved from say, london to slough, 14k is a big drop. If you moved from london to the north, midlands, south west, or wales, it probably isn't.

Can you ask around in your industry and find out what the going rate is locally?

@IcedSpice

apparently it wouldn't be fair to others

Yeah, I wouldn't. You pay is for you, and shouldn't be judged against the others
You'll struggle getting decent pay rises too.

I was headhunted, paid more to cover loss of benefits from previous role, and then told at pay review time "you're paid more than everyone else, so lower bonus and payrise"

Spot on.

I’ve been in a similar position OP - negotiated a slight pay rise but they were not prepared to pay what I was actually worth, because “it wasn’t fair to the other members of the team”. The salary offered was under market rate (please, btw, do your research on this and see if your offer for the area is fair!)

It turned out to be a horrifically cliquey environment with very poor, under skilled staff. No chance of a significant payrise, ever. I was hugely overworked for the paltry salary because the other staff and management cared more about their clique than actually getting any work done.

If the offer is under market rate then it’s a huge red flag because they’re likely to attract poor staff who can’t find better work! After my experience I wouldn’t make that mistake again…

As a contractor though you’ll be on an artificially high salary to compensate for no holiday pay, no sick pay, no pension and no job security. I’m not surprised at all that the salary for a permanent job is so much lower. You need to weigh up what you want OP.

'Fairness' is a hook to negotiate. They need a reason. They don't want to say 'we're cheapskates'. Have they achieved equal and fair pay across age, sex and ethnicity and disability, by any chance? LEt's see the evidence of this exemplar. That's wonderful. Most organisations have a sex imbalance to pay where men chance their arm or value themselves or push harder - pick your stereotype.

It's for you to balance your priorities but don't accept what they say at face value.

Good luck.

If you don’t have any other work I’d take it but keep looking for other jobs. If you get an offer it at least puts you in a strong position to request a pay rise.

I don’t think I would, you’ll find it really hard to then get a increase with this employer and if you look for a new post they may only offer just over your current salary. I’ve had it happen to me many years ago; was on around £11k as a receptionist, applied for a finance assistant that was advertised (in the paper - it was a long time ago!) as C15k. I was successful but they offered £13.5k as “well, it’s more than you’re on now”. Never got a raise and made a sideways move to a role that was shift work, so the base pay was less but with allowances for nights etc. I was on a decent wage.

These days most applications require you to state your salary, applications on line won’t go further if you leave anything blank.

*As a side note, I asked for my reception post to be re-graded. I worked in education and my employer was self-funding and therefore outside local authority control but all receptionists at other locations were grade 2 and I was grade 1. I was also told it wouldn’t be fair on other and if I was re-graded then they’d have to re-grade everyone. I left soon after.

I would look at it as a step onto a lower rung of the ladder, which may lead to career progression in the future. I value job satisfaction over money, but only if it’s affordable for you to live. The experience you gain could lead you to other job opportunities, better paid, in a similar field.