Job interview - Low salary

[Wheresmrpenguin]

I've got an interview next week and I've told the recruiter it's very low for what it is, I'm looking for jobs around £5k more than what's offered. This one would only just cover my childcare costs.Its up to £19,500 and similar jobs for the same responsibilities i've seen are about the £27-30k mark.The recruiter says there is no room at all for negotiation, they were only really recently advertising it for £17k. I find the salary offering quite insulting and it's really making me dislike the job and not want to interview.

BUT the role itself is really good and would really bring forward my career goals.

I'm really trying to get positive thoughts but I'm not much better in this than I would be on benefits (I've made another post about this)

If I was given an offer, would I be unreasonable to negotiate anyway and if they even try to offer me less than then £19.5k to to say no. I'm currently unemployed but taking this could make my money situation in ways worse.

In your situation I would take the first job I was offered.
It doesn't stop you applying for more with a higher salary.

I’d rather this than on benefits, do it for a while then move on.

What hourly rate does that equate to?

When you say only just cover your CC is that based upon any help towards your CC too? I would double check.

Agree with both PPs. Unless you are already employed. Go for the role and carry on looking 👌

Good luck! Hope you get it!

Take the job. It will be easier to get another job once you're in employment. You can work your way up in the company, make a sideways move to a better paying employer or negotiate salary again in 6 months.

Not sure about this. As you say, it would just about cover childcare costs and not much more. There are the added bonusses of NI contributions and possibly some sort of pension, but the pension probably won't be much. Are there any other in-work benefits of note? (like schemes to help with childcare costs etc). If not, the main reason to take this job would be to make you look more attractive to future employers, and you'd probably need to do this job for something like a year for that to happen.

@JayAlfredPrufrock

What hourly rate does that equate to?

On quick Google bout £9-9.50. It's a job in auditing and policy, doing site visits and training. I'd have expected this from a receptionist role, but theres a lot more to this.

@Iloveabourbon2 it isn't when I looked before I'd be entitled to about £11 a week in child tax credits which is nothing especially with the rise of N.I and other general cost of living.

Just to add: you certainly would not be unreasonable to negotiate up to £19.5k, although I would have a pre-prepared response ready for when they say no. ie you should already have decided prior to negotiations whether intransigence over the salary is a deal breaker or not.

I wouldn't interview for it. It sounds like a company that doesn't value people. If more people voted with their feet they'd have to increase the salary. I'm guessing not many men with families would go for it....this is why women with young families are stuck with crappy options.

@TheWhalrus

Not sure about this. As you say, it would just about cover childcare costs and not much more. There are the added bonusses of NI contributions and possibly some sort of pension, but the pension probably won't be much. Are there any other in-work benefits of note? (like schemes to help with childcare costs etc). If not, the main reason to take this job would be to make you look more attractive to future employers, and you'd probably need to do this job for something like a year for that to happen.

Doesn't claiming CB give you credit for ni contributions?

It’s worth interviewing for the practice I suppose.

You could always negotiate pay or reduced hours for the same annual salary based on market rate or some other benefits.

Agencies will almost always says there’s no wiggle room. But in my experience there often is if they really want you.

I once interviewed for a role at the request of a recruiter even though I’d said the salary on offer was too low.

Initially I declined the interview. They interviewed some other people and then came back saying they’d still like to interview me if I’d reconsider.

I went along and they offered me the job. I turned it down. The recruiter had a good go at trying to convince me it was a good move prospects wise. Still said no. The head of HR phoned me to go through package and “found” an extra £5k with some slight of hand. I said ok.

It was the shittest of shit jobs. They had lied about a lot of the other circumstances of the role.

They said it was a new role, it wasn’t there had been two people in the role before who’d either made a bit of a mess of it or been given an impossible task depending on how you looked at it.

They also said there was a certain budget and their wasn’t. Their were also a whole load of responsibilities not in the job description.

I found out later (after I left) from a colleague that the real reason there had been such a rigmarole was that they couldn’t advertise the role on a higher pay grade than the person who was to line manage me. So they secretly “found” the money and tried to keep it a secret from her.

Of course she found out and she was such a bitch to me. Whilst I had no clue what was going on. And the general culture of the place was so toxic with bullying and institutional racism etc.

I lasted a bit less than six months before I absolutely ran for the hills.

Basically if they tell you they don’t respect people, believe them. The first time.

Don't be insulted - it's not personal and make it so is making you lose the much needed rational approach to getting another job. Decide whether it's worth apply and under what terms you'd accept. Interview and salary negotiation are good skills to practice on jobs you don't want (unless they step up). Your skills will be in demand at the moment, so no need to sell yourself short and feeling stuck for a year or two so you don't look flippant. Think it through. In general I think poor payers often make shitty employers and sometimes you have to take that as it's your only option.

I've taken a job with a shitty salary before.

The positives were I got into a new area which then propelled me on to better things. I learned new skills and had a good name and good experience on my CV. Because the pay was bad, I had absolutely 0 guilt in doing my job to the letter only and buggering off at 5:02 every single day. I also was v "flexible" on my wfh days lol.

The negatives were that I couldn't afford a great lifestyle whilst I was there and the salary gave me the rage each pay day.

In the long term it was worth it because I got my job now off the back of it.

If I were you, I'd go and see what you think of them. Do the interview as practice. You could always take the job and keep applying once you're there. (You'll have to change recruitment company because the agents don't get paid if you leave after a few months).

Also worth noting that you can use a tax free childcare account via .gov to make your Chikdcare money go further please look into this.

@CatKittyCatCatKittyCatCat

I once interviewed for a role at the request of a recruiter even though I’d said the salary on offer was too low.

Initially I declined the interview. They interviewed some other people and then came back saying they’d still like to interview me if I’d reconsider.

I went along and they offered me the job. I turned it down. The recruiter had a good go at trying to convince me it was a good move prospects wise. Still said no. The head of HR phoned me to go through package and “found” an extra £5k with some slight of hand. I said ok.

It was the shittest of shit jobs. They had lied about a lot of the other circumstances of the role.

They said it was a new role, it wasn’t there had been two people in the role before who’d either made a bit of a mess of it or been given an impossible task depending on how you looked at it.

They also said there was a certain budget and their wasn’t. Their were also a whole load of responsibilities not in the job description.

I found out later (after I left) from a colleague that the real reason there had been such a rigmarole was that they couldn’t advertise the role on a higher pay grade than the person who was to line manage me. So they secretly “found” the money and tried to keep it a secret from her.

Of course she found out and she was such a bitch to me. Whilst I had no clue what was going on. And the general culture of the place was so toxic with bullying and institutional racism etc.

I lasted a bit less than six months before I absolutely ran for the hills.

Basically if they tell you they don’t respect people, believe them. The first time.

Well that all sounds shocking! Glad you didn't manage to stay there too long in the end. It's funny how your intuition knew there was something wrong deep down.

This is kind of my thing, and referring some p.p, is a lack of respect thing.
It''s either the jobs being well over sold on duties. and 'assist writing policies' could actually mean doing the admin work, typing up printing or the employer doesn't care much for it's staff.

@IceLace100

I've taken a job with a shitty salary before.

The positives were I got into a new area which then propelled me on to better things. I learned new skills and had a good name and good experience on my CV. Because the pay was bad, I had absolutely 0 guilt in doing my job to the letter only and buggering off at 5:02 every single day. I also was v "flexible" on my wfh days lol.

The negatives were that I couldn't afford a great lifestyle whilst I was there and the salary gave me the rage each pay day.

In the long term it was worth it because I got my job now off the back of it.

If I were you, I'd go and see what you think of them. Do the interview as practice. You could always take the job and keep applying once you're there. (You'll have to change recruitment company because the agents don't get paid if you leave after a few months).

This is the thing i'm trying to focus on. On paper, the job is perfect for what I'm wanting to do long term and would be a great side ways step. But we're really stressing as a family over money, i'm having to use savings some months to keep us going, anything over what would be better than benefits would be to make up for those savings if that makes sense.

Pay wise, i'd be going back 7 years of pay progression for this, but I could use it to get myself somewhere better in 6 months.

Also this would be my 5th interview since i've started looking so don't need the practice 😣 I've today had another rejection, I was hoping i'd get the one from today so i'd avoid making this decision. All feedback has been i've been really good but missing out by tiny marks that can't be improved on.

I would take it to be honest.
In the current climate it may just be that they don't have the finances to pay more than that and they are being sensible with money to ensure their long-term future. Better that than earn lots only to discover your job isn't secure.
Also as a PP mentions, a lower salary often comes with the guilt-free leaving of work on time!
My company pay me enough to own my soul basically and it sucks on many levels.

The current climate is an employee's market - companies that are struggling at the minute and can't pay their employees market rate imo are to be avoided!

@Alonelonelylonersbadidea

I would take it to be honest. In the current climate it may just be that they don't have the finances to pay more than that and they are being sensible with money to ensure their long-term future. Better that than earn lots only to discover your job isn't secure. Also as a PP mentions, a lower salary often comes with the guilt-free leaving of work on time! My company pay me enough to own my soul basically and it sucks on many levels.

As someone who needs to pay their bills, them being sensible to not pay enough money isn't my concern 😅 i've also worked for £4k more than they're offering and still got to leave guilt free.

I've decided to turn it down. I've been doing extra things that weren't on my CV yet and the recruiter told me the company don't like it when they say they want to progress into other areas and to not mention those bits.

It seems like they want to pay poorly and expect people to keep quiet and stay in that role.

BUT the role itself is really good and would really bring forward my career goals

This.

I accepted a 19k job after 5 years out of the workplace. It was a totally unqualified role, i have a postgrad degree and was previously on 40k+

However it was an area I was interested in and thought I’d be good at. It got me a foot in the door, and I spent 3 years learning the role and applying for and interviewing for anything with a vaguely higher salary.

I took a punt at a 40k role about a year ago, thinking it would help me clean up my cv and interview practice. They really liked me, although I didn’t get the job, and helped me with role familiarity, site visits, and interview practice. The role came up again in a different company recently and I got it.

Unless the company is shit or some other reason it’s always best to apply for new roles from employment.

@Nomoreusernames1244

BUT the role itself is really good and would really bring forward my career goals

This.

I accepted a 19k job after 5 years out of the workplace. It was a totally unqualified role, i have a postgrad degree and was previously on 40k+

However it was an area I was interested in and thought I’d be good at. It got me a foot in the door, and I spent 3 years learning the role and applying for and interviewing for anything with a vaguely higher salary.

I took a punt at a 40k role about a year ago, thinking it would help me clean up my cv and interview practice. They really liked me, although I didn’t get the job, and helped me with role familiarity, site visits, and interview practice. The role came up again in a different company recently and I got it.

Unless the company is shit or some other reason it’s always best to apply for new roles from employment.

I have honestly considered this loads, but I wouldn't be able to pay my bills if I took this, especially as it seems all bills and taxes are going to be shooting up. I mentioned to the recruiter, i just wanted an extra £1-2k but she said it wasn't possible and the company won't budge. I worked out my hourly rate after tax would be around £7.50per hour. I'd be better off by about £70 a month.

She also said they don't want anyone looking to progress, which i said as soon I'd go in i'd be looking for my next move. I know I could have hidden that, but at the end of the day, i'm talking staying for a few months and moving on. I don't like the sound of a company that don't want people to progress. At this rate, I might as well just keep looking whilst on my benefits (which will run out in december) and work on my volunteering and qualification.

@Nomoreusernames1244 They sound backward and cheapskate - sure always better to look for a job in a job but by taking a job you don't want you create a different problem - how do you move to your next job quickly - I don't think we feel any more positive about employing someone who has only been in a job for a month or two, in fact, I think we'd feel more negative about them... but everyone's different.

@PostItNow. I suppose it depends on the organisation :). I was asked on my first day how long I planned on staying, and was sent a job ad on my second day that was relevant to my old experience!

It’s completely normal to ask other depts if you can shadow to see what the roles are, and also for senior staff to offer mock interviews- it’s part of your yearly performance review to ask your career ambitions and put a plan in place to help you get there…