I retired this year. And already I’m getting bored.
So I’ve applied at a couple of places for jobs. Nothing major - cashier type jobs at stores.
But one issue I’ve run into are questions about my expected wages. Quite honestly, I have no expectations. In my last job, which I held for all of my adult life, my wages were negotiated by a statewide union and enacted by law - I had no personal voice in the process.
Now I see questions asking me how much I would expect to make. Does it matter what I say? Or do most businesses have a standard rate they pay their low level employees? I’m not looking to get a higher wage but I’d feel stupid if everyone else was getting paid ten dollars an hour and I’m only getting paid eight because I was dumb enough to say I’d work for that.
And these are just the applications - I haven’t been called for any interviews yet. If I go and I’m asked what wages I’d like at an interview, what should I say? The honest answer is that I’d like whatever the normal wages are. But does that sound stupid? I don’t even know what the normal wages are for jobs like I’m applying for.
I used to put “Negotiable” in the space provided on an application. I have no idea if the hiring manager viewed that positively, negatively, or neutrally, though.
Cashier type jobs are minimum wage type jobs, no? Maybe if you’re expected to do other duties or help customers it might be a few bucks higher. NY minimum wage appears to be $7.25 an hour. I guess saying 8 - 10 bucks would be OK.
The application I filled out yesterday was online and didn’t have an option for write-in answers. So I put in $7.00 - 8.00, which encompasses the minimum wage in NY.
My concern is that if I say I’m willing to negotiate, the obvious response will be “Okay, what’s your offer?” and I have no idea what I should ask for. The alternative would be for me to say I’ll take whatever’s fair, which would potentially leave me getting whatever they feel like offering.
Is there anyway I can find out what actual existing wages are? And what are wage practices - do most businesses have standard wages for low-level positions or are they negotiated on a case-by-case basis?
Some places will say do not write “open” or anything like that. I suppose if you ignore that request your application will get tossed in the trash. Or at least put at the bottom of the pile.