I'm in the process of relocating to California, primarily for personal reasons. I had an interview last week and received the official offer today. My current salary in a low cost of living midwestern city is about 56k. I was offered 65k to move to California (plus relocation costs!). I was excited to get the offer, but I immediately asked if that was negotiable. I had anticipated an offer in the 70-75k range. (Some random cost of living calculator states: To maintain the same standard of living, your salary of $56,000 in XXXX should increase to $103,122 in XXXXX, California. I think that is a bit high, and certainly less than I would expect them to offer me, but at least, a point of reference.)
The HR rep seemed surprised (which surprised me!), and said something like "Well, it is a 15% percent increase, but if you have justification, I can talk to the hiring manager."
Luckily, I wasn't negotiating for the sake of negotiating--I had my reasons ready to go:
- The position is typically entry level, I have 1.5 years of directly related experience and am on the verge of a raise/promotion at the end of the year
- I am 1/3 of the way done with my Masters Degree
- I already have my security clearance (something that costs them several thousand to get!)
- The cost of living is significantly different
The offer is much more attractive. I got enough money to fully fund a 2008 Roth IRA, just by listing a few reasons.
I have a phone interview tomorrow with another company for a different type of position. I think that the offer I already have seems like a more appealing job, but I want to see what this other position really entails.
This is the first time I've negotiated salary, and I'm quite proud of myself!
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