Q & A Table of Contents
They Offered Me A Job, But At Half The Right Pay
From: Kobi, Carmiel, Israel
Question: I just got offered a job, but the pay they offered is only half my market value.
Should I try to negotiate a better pay or not?
Response: If you have not already agreed to take the job under the proposed conditions, there is no reason not to consider negotiating for better pay. However you need to ask yourself several questions:
- Is your ‘market value’ something that can be demonstrated by comparison to any objective criteria? Objective criteria are means of measuring price, value, or other things (such as using carbon dating for geological age) that are accepted by the decision-making parties to the negotiation. In the case of your pay, can your market value demonstrated by how much other people with similar education, experience, or qualifications are paid for doing the same job in the offering company — or other companies in the same business?
- How badly do you need the job? The degree of your need for the job can determine your BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement). If you say no to the job because of the pay, what alternatives are available to you?
- Is the starting pay going to continue for a long time or will your performance and pay be reviewed soon and/or frequently? Does the job offer you a long-term career about which you are enthusiastic, or is it simply a way to make money in the short-term?
- Do you need to take this job in order, after an appropriate period of time, to get a better job in the same industry or some other professional area? In other words, is this job a door-opener to a more promising future career?
- How easily can the company find other people to fill the job who would be willing to work for the pay you’ve been offered? If you are easily replaced, you need to consider whether negotiating about pay is a risk you’re willing to take.
- If you are reasonably comfortable that the company wants you, then it is more than appropriate to negotiate. Let them know that you like them, you are interested in the job, but you wonder whether they could offer you greater incentives in the form of better pay — or other possible benefits — to encourage you to accept their offer.
Good luck,
Steve
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