Currently unemployed, offered new job but salary is 2K lower than previous

[NewbiePoster]

Hello everyone. This is my very first post after lurking and gaining loads of advice for years! I hope you can help with this issue. I think in my heart of hearts I know the answer but would just like some extra words of wisdom.

I am currently unemployed after leaving my previous role due to toxic culture and gaslighting. It’s taken 4 months but I’ve secured another job at a firm with a lovely reputation and in an area I’ve long wanted to work. Prior to interview, the company contacted me and said much as they liked my CV, they wouldn’t interview me as my salary expectations exceeded their budget but if I were willing to manage my expectations then they’d like to see me. I thought this was wonderfully transparent so I managed my expectations, had the interviews and received a job offer with a salary at the top of their range which is 2K less than the role that I left. I was delighted to accept (nothing signed as yet). I’m wondering, after reading loads about the importance of negotiating salaries, if I should even seek a bit of an uplift as they made it clear what their budget is and I agreed to lower my expectations? Plus, it’s not really negotiating is it if I’m currently unemployed?! I read, here, I think, that it would be more of a polite ask in these circumstances!

I am actually in-line for a second interview, elsewhere, that would potentially pay £3K more than the role I’ve been offered (which would be £1K more than I was earning in the role I left), however, as good a role as it is, it doesn’t excite me as much as the role I’ve been offered and there’s no guarantee I would get that job even if I were to achieve a second interview. All other aspects are pretty much equal apart from the salary and level of excitement I feel.

So the question is, be grateful that I’ve found a new role in an area I’ve hankered after for years (I was only a few weeks ago lamenting that I’ll never work again) and hope the pay will increase once I’m settled and after probation or decline and hope to get the other role that doesn’t excite me as much but pays better or keep looking for another great role but with a great salary to match? I think in my heart I know the right thing but just looking for other voices.

Thank you all for taking the time to read.

I deserve your first paragraph 😔 I have been thinking that too. However, I can confirm there will be no delay as I’ve done the right thing and I know it’s the right thing because my heart and soul feel at peace and now that it’s done, the salary isn’t even coming into it.

I have already had one interview and they were going to put me through to the next round, however, I will be informing my recruiter that I’m withdrawing as I am going with my gut and the concrete offer that is already on the table. Thank you for the tough love. It’s needed at times.

Thank you 😊 I totally agree. I was worried and pre-judging based on past happenings. I’m very much at peace with my decision now as I know it was the right one all along.

I totally agree and that is exactly how I was thinking it would likely come across. I have taken as offered and I feel really, really good about it. I agree about the way forward. Thank you 😊

Hello everyone. Just confirm, I have pushed the button on my job offer; there is absolutely no negotiation or turning back and I feel absolutely marvellous! I am very happy but also somewhat bewildered that I allowed a relatively small sum potentially skew my reasoning and derail a role I’ve wanted for years. Thank you all again and here’s hoping it’s all I think it will be and so much more 😊

Fantastic. I have only just seen your thread so didn't comment earlier. £25 a week is worth its weight in gold in terms of being happy at work. Or rather: would you rather have the extra £25 a week but have to end up in toxic miasma that drives you to tears? I've been there and know full well the toll it takes on your mental health.

You write so articulately - with honesty and self awareness. Hard to say from one thread but I imagine you make a great colleague but end up taking on far too much for that very reason...and get rolled on and over a bit too often. All the more reason to be in a supportive environment that doesn't exploit your good qualities.

Can I just say, too, that your courteous and well considered answers to every poster have been models of MN at its best. And so many posters have given great advice. Really heart warming all round.

Congratulations @NewbiePoster it sounds like a job you will be very happy in. Being indecisive or appearing discontent after claiming you would accept the top of their range are just not character traits you want to give the impression you have.

You likely will enter the company in a strong position as they will be very grateful to have a strong candidate arriving who was willing to take a pay cut to come in. You now show that you are worth more by your actions. What they are offering you are the more intangibles that make up a positive work culture.

In the future, when a employer can’t offer you a higher salary but you want to take the job, I would think about other aspects of your work that could give you a benefit. One job I accepted after I negotiated that that I would have all the latest technology that was available at that time which I knew would make my job easier, and I listed them. This was all written up in my contract.

For some people who don’t want to share a Hot Desk, they can ask for a permanent desk. For others with small children they might negotiate flexibility on arrival and departure times so that they can go to school functions or collect children from school etc. Others get a couple more days of annual leave. So think hard about WHY you were so unhappy in your last job and if there are some straightforward items (which aren’t monetary) that you could have in a future contract to prevent those issues in the future.

Congratulations!

Good morning to you! Huge apologies, as a newbie to posting I’m unsure of how to @ you! Well, I’m blown away by your kind words and compliments. Thank you so much, I’m humbled.

Certainly, especially when you put it like that, no amount of money is worth the horror show that I ran away from. I’m still somewhat shell shocked that not only did it happen but I was allowed to happen. I’m so sorry you’ve been through the same but I’m thrilled that you’re clearly not in that space anymore. Hopefully you’re in a supportive, nurturing environment now and your mental health is fully recovered because, as you’ve noted, it can take you into darkness with alarming speed but doesn’t bounce back with the same quickness.

You’re very astute in your summation of how my working life has been; I’m quite astounded with your accuracy and thank you so much for saying it. I’m hoping that this new role and new colleagues will be the polar opposite of the last.

Awww that’s lovely of you! Thank you again! I have tried to respond to everyone as they’ve taken time out of busy lives to help a total stranger with a dilemma. I am amazed with the wonderful advice and honest responses I’ve received. All of them worthwhile and food for thought on how to proceed if I ever need another role and also a reminder that your word is the one thing you have and you should stick to it. I must say, my heart is warmed too 😊

I wonder if there was an element of self sabotage in your deliberations, OP. I know from previous experience that after escaping a toxic workplace you can sometimes not feel worth the opportunity. It takes a while (and the help of great new colleagues) to recover. I am glad you made the right final decision for you as this workplace sounds like it will help you become what you wanted to be all along and who know what your next step will be after this!

Good morning and thank you so much! 😊 I agree, those are not desirable traits and had I proceeded in that fashion, I may have kept the role but would’ve started out with an invisible boulder to try and push up hill. First impressions do last. They can be changed sometimes, however, much better to start with the right one especially in this situation.

I had not looked at it like this at all. My blood is actually running cold at the thought of the self-inflicted damage I could have wrought for something that, now I’ve made the decision, I’m not even thinking about anymore. This has taught me something about myself that I didn’t even know existed and it’s good to have learned it the easy way, as it were. I will go in there and make them so happy they decided to employ me which, hopefully, will bring a bit of extra remuneration if not immediately then longer term. However, really, despite having my head turned, I just want peace in my work.

What absolutely amazing advice regarding the sort of non-monetary things I can think of to negotiate on if salary is a sticking point in future, although I’m hoping to settle in this role for quite a while, indeed, if it is home for the foreseeable and the salary is a bit laggy, I could well negotiate some of these things then. Thank you so much for helping me think outside the box. I’m not great at that at times, however, you clearly are a past master.

Thank you again and I know in your former recruiter role your clients must’ve adored working with you. I think you were an absolute credit to that profession.

Thank you! 🎉

I can barely see to type this as I’ve just burst into tears! You’ve hit the nail completely on the head. I don’t feel remotely worthy. I would love to say more about my previous circumstances so you could get the full picture of what I’ve endured the past two years, however, I don’t wish for anyone to recognise me. It’s a huge community yet small, iykwim. I wasn’t at the toxic role for long, less than 6 months but it became dark really quickly to the point I just didn’t want to live. I felt worthless despite receiving some of the best feedback of my entire career and I think I’m still feeling that. There is huge potential for the same thing to happen at more money firm, whereas the role I've accepted I think will be a far safer space. After toxic role and what I’ve had happen over the last two years, I just want to go to work, rebuild myself and feel supported. I really do believe that, as you say, this role will help me to become the person I’ve wanted to be all along and eventually, take me in directions I’d never envisioned. They’ve discussed management with me! Me! Of all people.I’d never really thought about that but, for some reason, I feel it’s something that I may be able to do with them.

I’m so sorry you’ve been through the same but I’m so happy that you’re now at a firm and with colleagues that value you and treat you with kindness and support.

Thank you for taking the time to post 😊

Yes I went though something similar in the late 00s. I escaped and found some really great people. I have since been promoted twice and found my nerdy calling in a field I didn't even know existed at the time. I am now respected and trusted.

I'm really glad you have found the support you needed and may your career go onwards and upwards from here!

That’s absolutely wonderful; a true success story after enduring a terrible time. I’m so pleased for you! 😊

Thank you so very much ❤️

Honestly, I would be a bit annoyed if you asked for more money after the previous conversations that you've had with them. I would normally advise people to negotiate on salary wherever possible, but in this scenario, they have already been really open with you about where they stand.

As an employer, I don't play games with candidates about salary. We are transparent about what we can afford to pay, which is as generous as it can be, and if we say that you're at the top of our range, then that is the absolute truth. If you started trying to push above that ceiling even after we had had an honest conversation with you about the fact that we couldn't meet your salary expectations and you had agreed to see us on that basis, I wouldn't be impressed really. We deal honestly and fairly with people and expect others to do likewise.

In your situation, I think I would accept the role as offered while continuing with your application to the other one. If you get offered the other job as well, you can weigh up the relative advantages of each and choose accordingly.

Oops, didn't RTFT, that'll teach me. Glad things have worked out for you, OP.

No problem at all; it’s a long one! I really appreciate your perspective as an employer and had I not already had a stern talking to myself and come to the right, integrity based, decision, then your comments would definitely have contributed in getting me there.

Thank you so much for taking the time 😊

Congratulation, OP, and all the best for your lovely new job.

This is everything I wanted to say. Couldn't agree more.

Congratulations on the new job, OP!

One more perspective - you said that this job is a new area for you, and you have transferable skills rather than direct experience. Could this be a stepping stone to a different, more highly paid role in your new area in a couple of years? It might be your springboard! My sister is considering a similar paycut - she’s nearly at the top of one particular type of job and she feels stuck because there’s really nowhere else to go from there. If she takes a paycut and manages to get a role in a related team, there’s more progression in that side of the business and her long-term prospects would be better.

@LittleAIexHorne I’ve figured out the “@“ 😄 Thank you so very much 😊

Do that in the expectation that the company is full entitled to keep looking for someone else and that they can get rid of you when they find that person.

@TurnipSurprise Thank you 😊

@TooExtraImmatureCheddar Thank you very much! 😊

I very much appreciate your perspective and that’s exactly what I’m hoping will happen by taking this role. The other role, whilst better paid, definitely has the potential to be same ish, different day/company. I hope, and believe, the lower paid role I’ve opted for could take me in directions I’d never considered. It’ll definitely be different at least and, if things don’t work out, it’ll demonstrate my willingness to be adaptable, flexible and to try new things in a future job search although I’m hoping not to have to think about that for a while! They’ve mentioned progression and it seems to be not the usual things that role would progress to which has made it even more appealing

I hope things workout for your sister; even considering a pay cut for an unknown quantity is very daunting. Good luck to us both!🍀