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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Should you neotiate your starting salary?

Common knowledge is to always try to negotiate your starting salary. In most cases, the worst that can happen is they will say no. There is a possible exception for entry level positions at large companies, when it is hard to distinguish yourself from the next person holding a similar degree. You hear entry level people claim they are special because they have good grades, an internship or two, and extracurriculars. Well, great, but so do most people (good) companies interview. It isn't that you aren't special, it is just that the company probably doesn't know it yet. The company I worked for right out of school had a standard "new hire" offer, and it was basically take it or leave it. Smaller companies probably are more flexible. It still might not hurt to ask if the offer is negotiable, but be prepared to back up your request with reasons why you deserve more.

When I was job shopping for my relocation, I was in a unique position. In my industry you typically are moved up from Engineer 1 to Engineer 2" after roughly two years, if you are a good performer. (While I was almost certainly doing Engineer 2 work by the end of my last job, HR had strict rules about minimum amount of experience.) I was job shopping with 1.5 years of experience, so I still had to look for Engineer I jobs. Yet I didn't want to be caught by a "standard new hire offer", since I did have some experience and some graduate coursework.

I think that my first job offer was a standard new hire offer. I easily negotiated an extra 2k and a 3k signing bonus. The second job offer seemed to take my experience into consideration, and came in 2k than negotiated first offer, and a similar signing bonus. I chose the second, not entirely for monetary reasons.

With the salary being just 1k below my hope of 70k-75k range, I was faced with the decision of whether or not to ask for more. I thought the offer was fair. I thought they took my experience and graduate coursework into consideration. If I were to ask if it was negotiable, I'm not sure what I'd say when they asked "why do you think you deserve more?" So I didn't negotiate.

Now that I'm on the inside, I have acess to their salary tables. Here they are for my job category:

Level Low Mid High
1 $42000 $62000 $78000
2 $49000 $72000 $90000
3 $60000 $88000 $110000
4 $72000 $105000 $132000
5 $88000 $129000 $162000
6 $102000 $150000 $187000

So, you can see that my offer was above the middle for Engineer 1, and poised quite nicely to be moved into an Engineer 2 position, provided I perform well. Could I have asked for more? Yes. Would they have given it to me? Maybe. Maybe not. The range I was hoping for more closely lines up with the middle of the Engineer 2 range.

While maybe I could have squeezed out a few more dollars, I do feel very fortunate to be here. It's a top company, and has many graduates from top universities. There are lots of brilliant people here. I went to a state school with a good regional reputation (at best) and no reputation in this area. I now have an opportunity to finish my MS degree at a top ten university in my field. On their dime. I should be done in less than two years if they accept my transfer credits. Nice. The competition here is more stiff than at my last company--I would have easily been a star at my last company--but that will be good for me. Always surround yourself with people smarter than you are.

No comments:

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Should you neotiate your starting salary?

Common knowledge is to always try to negotiate your starting salary. In most cases, the worst that can happen is they will say no. There is a possible exception for entry level positions at large companies, when it is hard to distinguish yourself from the next person holding a similar degree. You hear entry level people claim they are special because they have good grades, an internship or two, and extracurriculars. Well, great, but so do most people (good) companies interview. It isn't that you aren't special, it is just that the company probably doesn't know it yet. The company I worked for right out of school had a standard "new hire" offer, and it was basically take it or leave it. Smaller companies probably are more flexible. It still might not hurt to ask if the offer is negotiable, but be prepared to back up your request with reasons why you deserve more.

When I was job shopping for my relocation, I was in a unique position. In my industry you typically are moved up from Engineer 1 to Engineer 2" after roughly two years, if you are a good performer. (While I was almost certainly doing Engineer 2 work by the end of my last job, HR had strict rules about minimum amount of experience.) I was job shopping with 1.5 years of experience, so I still had to look for Engineer I jobs. Yet I didn't want to be caught by a "standard new hire offer", since I did have some experience and some graduate coursework.

I think that my first job offer was a standard new hire offer. I easily negotiated an extra 2k and a 3k signing bonus. The second job offer seemed to take my experience into consideration, and came in 2k than negotiated first offer, and a similar signing bonus. I chose the second, not entirely for monetary reasons.

With the salary being just 1k below my hope of 70k-75k range, I was faced with the decision of whether or not to ask for more. I thought the offer was fair. I thought they took my experience and graduate coursework into consideration. If I were to ask if it was negotiable, I'm not sure what I'd say when they asked "why do you think you deserve more?" So I didn't negotiate.

Now that I'm on the inside, I have acess to their salary tables. Here they are for my job category:

Level Low Mid High
1 $42000 $62000 $78000
2 $49000 $72000 $90000
3 $60000 $88000 $110000
4 $72000 $105000 $132000
5 $88000 $129000 $162000
6 $102000 $150000 $187000

So, you can see that my offer was above the middle for Engineer 1, and poised quite nicely to be moved into an Engineer 2 position, provided I perform well. Could I have asked for more? Yes. Would they have given it to me? Maybe. Maybe not. The range I was hoping for more closely lines up with the middle of the Engineer 2 range.

While maybe I could have squeezed out a few more dollars, I do feel very fortunate to be here. It's a top company, and has many graduates from top universities. There are lots of brilliant people here. I went to a state school with a good regional reputation (at best) and no reputation in this area. I now have an opportunity to finish my MS degree at a top ten university in my field. On their dime. I should be done in less than two years if they accept my transfer credits. Nice. The competition here is more stiff than at my last company--I would have easily been a star at my last company--but that will be good for me. Always surround yourself with people smarter than you are.

No comments:

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Should you neotiate your starting salary?

Common knowledge is to always try to negotiate your starting salary. In most cases, the worst that can happen is they will say no. There is a possible exception for entry level positions at large companies, when it is hard to distinguish yourself from the next person holding a similar degree. You hear entry level people claim they are special because they have good grades, an internship or two, and extracurriculars. Well, great, but so do most people (good) companies interview. It isn't that you aren't special, it is just that the company probably doesn't know it yet. The company I worked for right out of school had a standard "new hire" offer, and it was basically take it or leave it. Smaller companies probably are more flexible. It still might not hurt to ask if the offer is negotiable, but be prepared to back up your request with reasons why you deserve more.

When I was job shopping for my relocation, I was in a unique position. In my industry you typically are moved up from Engineer 1 to Engineer 2" after roughly two years, if you are a good performer. (While I was almost certainly doing Engineer 2 work by the end of my last job, HR had strict rules about minimum amount of experience.) I was job shopping with 1.5 years of experience, so I still had to look for Engineer I jobs. Yet I didn't want to be caught by a "standard new hire offer", since I did have some experience and some graduate coursework.

I think that my first job offer was a standard new hire offer. I easily negotiated an extra 2k and a 3k signing bonus. The second job offer seemed to take my experience into consideration, and came in 2k than negotiated first offer, and a similar signing bonus. I chose the second, not entirely for monetary reasons.

With the salary being just 1k below my hope of 70k-75k range, I was faced with the decision of whether or not to ask for more. I thought the offer was fair. I thought they took my experience and graduate coursework into consideration. If I were to ask if it was negotiable, I'm not sure what I'd say when they asked "why do you think you deserve more?" So I didn't negotiate.

Now that I'm on the inside, I have acess to their salary tables. Here they are for my job category:

Level Low Mid High
1 $42000 $62000 $78000
2 $49000 $72000 $90000
3 $60000 $88000 $110000
4 $72000 $105000 $132000
5 $88000 $129000 $162000
6 $102000 $150000 $187000

So, you can see that my offer was above the middle for Engineer 1, and poised quite nicely to be moved into an Engineer 2 position, provided I perform well. Could I have asked for more? Yes. Would they have given it to me? Maybe. Maybe not. The range I was hoping for more closely lines up with the middle of the Engineer 2 range.

While maybe I could have squeezed out a few more dollars, I do feel very fortunate to be here. It's a top company, and has many graduates from top universities. There are lots of brilliant people here. I went to a state school with a good regional reputation (at best) and no reputation in this area. I now have an opportunity to finish my MS degree at a top ten university in my field. On their dime. I should be done in less than two years if they accept my transfer credits. Nice. The competition here is more stiff than at my last company--I would have easily been a star at my last company--but that will be good for me. Always surround yourself with people smarter than you are.

No comments:

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Should you neotiate your starting salary?

Common knowledge is to always try to negotiate your starting salary. In most cases, the worst that can happen is they will say no. There is a possible exception for entry level positions at large companies, when it is hard to distinguish yourself from the next person holding a similar degree. You hear entry level people claim they are special because they have good grades, an internship or two, and extracurriculars. Well, great, but so do most people (good) companies interview. It isn't that you aren't special, it is just that the company probably doesn't know it yet. The company I worked for right out of school had a standard "new hire" offer, and it was basically take it or leave it. Smaller companies probably are more flexible. It still might not hurt to ask if the offer is negotiable, but be prepared to back up your request with reasons why you deserve more.

When I was job shopping for my relocation, I was in a unique position. In my industry you typically are moved up from Engineer 1 to Engineer 2" after roughly two years, if you are a good performer. (While I was almost certainly doing Engineer 2 work by the end of my last job, HR had strict rules about minimum amount of experience.) I was job shopping with 1.5 years of experience, so I still had to look for Engineer I jobs. Yet I didn't want to be caught by a "standard new hire offer", since I did have some experience and some graduate coursework.

I think that my first job offer was a standard new hire offer. I easily negotiated an extra 2k and a 3k signing bonus. The second job offer seemed to take my experience into consideration, and came in 2k than negotiated first offer, and a similar signing bonus. I chose the second, not entirely for monetary reasons.

With the salary being just 1k below my hope of 70k-75k range, I was faced with the decision of whether or not to ask for more. I thought the offer was fair. I thought they took my experience and graduate coursework into consideration. If I were to ask if it was negotiable, I'm not sure what I'd say when they asked "why do you think you deserve more?" So I didn't negotiate.

Now that I'm on the inside, I have acess to their salary tables. Here they are for my job category:

Level Low Mid High
1 $42000 $62000 $78000
2 $49000 $72000 $90000
3 $60000 $88000 $110000
4 $72000 $105000 $132000
5 $88000 $129000 $162000
6 $102000 $150000 $187000

So, you can see that my offer was above the middle for Engineer 1, and poised quite nicely to be moved into an Engineer 2 position, provided I perform well. Could I have asked for more? Yes. Would they have given it to me? Maybe. Maybe not. The range I was hoping for more closely lines up with the middle of the Engineer 2 range.

While maybe I could have squeezed out a few more dollars, I do feel very fortunate to be here. It's a top company, and has many graduates from top universities. There are lots of brilliant people here. I went to a state school with a good regional reputation (at best) and no reputation in this area. I now have an opportunity to finish my MS degree at a top ten university in my field. On their dime. I should be done in less than two years if they accept my transfer credits. Nice. The competition here is more stiff than at my last company--I would have easily been a star at my last company--but that will be good for me. Always surround yourself with people smarter than you are.

0 comments: