So, I’ve got an interview in a few hours with an outfit I’d really, really like to work for. The only fly in the proverbial ointment is that the salary is pretty low - there’s a range advertised, but even the upper end of that range is much, much less than I’m making now.
I don’t mind taking a pay cut, but I’m not above trying to minimize it. Is it bad form to request a salary above the top of the range advertised in the job posting? Is this something I should bring up in my interview today, or only after getting the job? And how aggressive should I be in negotiating my salary, when the truth is that, at the end of the day, I’d take what they paid me and be damn glad to get it?
You’ve just answered your own question. They got you and they know it.
It’s better to NEVER discuss salary on a first job interview.
Always use a range. Some employers today are very insistant about naming a direct salary. If they do this then name it. If they list a range simply says “It’s do-able” Or “It’s workable.”
If offered the job you can always try for more and turn it down. If you are out of work, you can always take the job at the lower salary and then keep looking.
Salaries have come down, at least in my fields and in the hotel industry. They’ve come down a LOT. I had one preliminary phone interview for a credit manager in Manhattan for $29,000 a year. I was offered a job as a credit manager at a downtown Manhattan hotel in 2001 for $55,000 IN 2002 and turned it down for being too low. The interviewer said, “It’s a bit low, but we’re only running 14% occupancy, so it’s not like it’s much work.” I just said, “That’s fine.” Of course I was really thinking, “That’s great for now, but what happens when the recession ends, does the salary go up? Hmmmm.” Of course I didn’t say that.
There is a glut of workers and especially temp workers. I used to be an asst controller at a hotel. One thing I used to do a lot of was planning for budgets for the coming year. Last September and October, I got a lot of work through a temp agency for hotels. I helped the GMs of hotels plan budgets. I was paid minimum wage for this. So why would a hotel pay more if they can get it done on the cheap. (The temp agency pays me minimum wage so you can guess the hotel is paying the temp agency probably 125% of that, roughly)
Absolutely do not bring up the salary on the first interview. They will bring up compensation at some point, probably if/when they make an offer. That’s the point to find out if there is room for negotiation.
Also, don’t forget to consider all the benefits of the job, not just salary (health benefits, time off, disability insurance, flexibility, etc).
I almost didn’t take my current job because the base salary was a bit lower than what I was making before. But I forgot to take into account company performance bonuses which drove my pay up thousands of dollars.