Actually there are 2,080 hours in a standard work year. Also, when converting weekly salary to monthly recall that most months don’t have exactly four weeks, but have a two or three days left over. A more accurate average conversion figure is 4.3 weeks/month.
Being in retail, are you eligible for overtime, and will that stop when you are promoted?
Yes, I’m hourly currently. OT is frowned up and avoided in normal circumstances, of course, but is sometimes necessary. I also get time and a half for holiday pay. Once promoted, I’ll be eligible for a raise and for OT pay during my training (as an assistant store manager). Once promoted to manager, I will be salaried and ineligible for OT pay. But managers work OT. It’s often unavoidable. (I believe there was a lawsuit regarding this recently. I’ll need to research that.) I’ll be less concerned with not getting paid for OT if my base salary is reasonable, however.
Oh, thanks for the correction on calculation.
You know, I could live with a 5% raise while I’m in training. It’s pretty measly, but only temporary. From there, upon promotion to manager, I would think the pay boost is more significant. I could be wrong, but I hope I’m not.
Voyager, thanks for the compliment. 
So, perhaps if they ask me what salary I would expect, I should respond with my perceived value to the company in terms of performance expectations (above average or what have you) outlining the reasons I’m that valuable. Then request information on salary range. At that point, they should be able to offer an amount (expecting that I will determine whether I feel that’s an accurate reflection of my value) and I can then negotiate, if necessary.
It’s always better to start with as much information as possible is what I’m getting from your responses. Good advice.
To those who’ve offered me great advice and especially Voyager who complimented me, I just wanted to tell you that I’m patting myself on the back tonight for taking the opportunity to display my leadership abilities tonight at work and that it was recognized by all the right people. Yay for me!
So, we’re getting a heap of snow and I’m wondering if I’m going to be due in to work while unsuccessfully shoveling my driveway. Long and short of it, nobody at work had any information and the situation is deteriorating quickly. Snow emergencies all over the place. So I took it upon myself to contact the DM (store mgr is on vacation) to determine the possibility of closing (many other stores in the area also closing) and offered to go in early (I live w/in walking distance) to relieve employees who live further away. Requested permission of DM to reduce staffing in order to allow further staff to get home safely. Followed up with the police to determine whether closing was warranted for our store. Followed up with partners due in tonight and tomorrow morning. Followed up with mgr to update status. Though I’m technically on vacation tomorrow, I’ve offered to be on call if anyone can’t make it in. All went well, we closed early, some were relieved to go home, and others offered to stay.
DM thanked me for my leadership (his wording) and showing concern for the safety of our employees. Mgr indicated she will push even harder for my inclusion at an upcoming pre-scheduled promotions panel. And my co-workers are happy that I took steps on their behalf. I got big-time brownie points and I’m so happy.
Funny thing is this: it’s not out of character for me at all. And leadership was one of the things I was charged with developing. Guess, now they know.
Yay!
:: trying not to count chickens before they hatch, but… ::
That’s not entirely true. Quite often, companies have “salary bands” for positions and these bands can be fairly wide and even overlap. Depending on how long you’ve been at a company and how well you and the company are performing, you might be able to ask for more money. Higher corporate jobs also have variable bonuses that are given out as well.
Low level corporate jobs tend to be more rigid in their salary structure. It all depends on how much specialized expertise the job requires.
Because the market is defined by how much people are willing to pay. One job posting won’t tell you, but if you consistantly see postings at %20 above your salary, you might be able to convince an employer to pay more (or apply to one of the ones that do).