job interview- lots to do, but salary too low?

skintsarah2008

Hello to all on MSE. I hope you nice(?) people can help me with this..

I have an office job interview shortly, though the salary advertised is rather a lot less (£3k a year less) than I have been on before.. last jon ended when firm went under- no payout from there.

Also, I think they are not paying anywhere near what the position deserves (imo!) - especially in view of my past experience, and also being in an high cost of living area.

Quite honestly I dont want to let then get my skills on the cheap, or have to start looking for another job shortly afterwards, as the pay wont do anything towards clearing about £5k of credit cards that I had been chipping away at, for some time.

Has anyone got a better pay deal than was advertised? any hints to boost whats on offer?

It will be a salaried position, maybe with some LV's etc on top.. they have been very vague so far.

ceridwen

Well - there's office jobs and office jobs - right through from the lowliest junior to executive-type positions.

What level is this job? and what are they stating as the paylevel?

Lynn11

I am unemployed at the moment, but it seems that most jobs out there are at lower wage rates. I have a verbal job offer which is lesser hours and lesser wages but I am prepared to do this due to my circumstances. My husband is also looking for other jobs as he is in the housing industry and he will be taking a cut - but his view is it is better to have a low paid job, which we can survive on - not much for savings, holidays etc rather than him being made redundant next year, which is a possibility, You have to weigh up if you can live on this salary and see if there are others jobs with higher wages available. Most of the people I know who have been recently made redundant have had to take jobs with lower salaries.

CCFC_80

Very difficult to decide because If the salary is what they state and is too low for you, you will have to tell them this at the interview. Remember that the salary they state will be the minimum and maybe higher for the right applicant. If offered the job you could always take it as a temporary stop gap and look for something else gaining more experience. Also you could ask at the interview when the next pay review is which could be an immediate pay rise within a couple of months and also ask if the salary is likely to be reviewed at the end of your probation period.

ceridwen

Well....I guess that's the thing to do then....get the best rate for the job you can out of them...and if it isnt the proper rate for the job...keep looking (surreptitiously).

I know that I've mentally got a little sideline in mind in my head - should I ever need it. I know what the proper rate of pay for it is. I know what many people are offering for it. So - the decision is there, that if I ever need it, I look for that proper rate of pay - and, if that isnt immediately available, take the "try-on by employer - lower rate of pay" and then keep looking until I find a job with the proper rate of pay - swopping constantly for a bit more, then a bit more...until I hit "proper rate of pay level".

viktory

Personally I think if you are unemployed you take what you can get and move onwards and upwards from there. It is always easier to get another job when you already have a job.

Alternatively, you can prove yourself whilst in post and secure a swift payrise.

If they are truly not paying enough for you then don't apply for the post.

brightonman123

good luck with interview, sarah - be positive, and point out what experience and 'added value' you can bring to the firm..

ask if starting rate is within a range for the job, and when this gets reviewed..

if you intend to be there long term, it has to worth it for YOU, as well!

winalot

i would say don't ask at the interview as they are looking for reasons to cut down the list of interviewees (assuming there are a lot - it depends on how scarce your skills are) - i would only ask if / when they offer you the job - just say somehting like "i 'm interested but the money isn't what i was hoping for - can you see what you can do for me" to the person making the offer - without rejecting the job. remember at this point you would know they want you - going elsewhere would mean going to their second choice or going back to interview.
- this is advice i got from an hr person. it's also good to find out their agenda (primarily urgency of filling the post) and not to disclose yours. if they see they can't offer more or offer less than you were hoping for thank them for their offer and say you'll think it over - and then take 3 or 4 days to do it - when you can try the same again.
This of course all depends on who is offering the job and their level / ability to negotiate within the company / organisation. it's worth a try and you can always back down on negotiation if you decide the job is more important than the pay. good luck !

Conor_3

There's a couple of problems you're facing at the moment.

Firstly, most jobs are being advertised at lower rates than before.
Secondly, there's more unemployed and office workers aren't exactly a rarity so because of that, they're able to get away with the first point.

But at the end of the day, a lower paid job will still be better than dole money.

pinkshoes

There's high unemployment at the moment, so although you may have more skills, they'll probably prefer to employ someone with the skills they need who will do it for the money they're offering.

You can't determine how busy a job is going to be just going on the job description.

When I saw my previous job advertised, I nearly fell off my chair laughing, as it made it sound challenging/difficult and busy and a reasonable salary! Either I'm super efficient, or I only had enough work to fill 30% of my day, so very over paid imo! My current job pays much better, but I'm 100% occupied doing very difficult stuff! Might even ask for a pay rise in January to reflect the nature of the job.

I'd say play it by ear, and see what they're looking for, as if you up the salary, they might employ someone who'll do the job for what tehy're asking.