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!

Wow lots of responses, thanks!

Yes, being thought of as a time waster was worrying me, if I don't get or go for this job I will be keeping a close eye on their website for future jobs, and I wouldn't want them to not consider me.

I don't know if its their internal salary bands or not, it's just what they've put on their job advert.

Not getting any pay rises for years is also something to consider!

"If there is a gap that can be addressed at interview, then I would say it would be a bona fide application."

I agree with you daisy. As I said in my first post, applying and then using the recruitment process to gauge what flexibility (if any) might be available is an idea. Or it might be worth doing depending on the type of organisation it is. But once someone knows that the salary bands are not flexible, then if that's a deal breaker they should bow out IMO, not carry on and wait for an offer before then turning it down.

There's a fine line to tread, and how worthwhile it is applying will, I think, largely depend on the kind of organisation it is.

My time waster declined the job because it was based in London, when it was always based in London and it was made very clear to the candidate it was London only.

Agree it is a two way process but don't give the rationale for declining a role as something that was clear and un-changeable at the outset. And I think being offered the job at the top of the advertised pay range then saying 'that's not enough' falls into that category for me.

It's all about the industry and type of role, aka how many well qualified applicants there are likely to be.