Head hunted for new start up not sure what to ask for

minority

Hi,

I am trying to weigh up the benifits of moving to a new job which I got contacted by the employer and asked to meet to see if I would be interested in moving to them.

I am an analyst Programmer and they have offered me £35k but will go higher as I would have to get my own pension.

Now I am not sure what to ask for on top I know what I do for a living has a mean average salary of 35 to 45k give or take but my current employer a University obviously has generous pension contributions etc.

I believe the uni contributes up to 16% i think I read I also don't know if to take into account my reduced holiday allocation as I am currently on 41 days a year into the calculations.

Not totally decided if I will leave and not sure if I should tell my current employer on what has happened since I was not actively looking for a new job...but I doubt they would ever match the amount the other is offering.

I know without me they have no one who does what I do but I also feel like my skills are undervalued by current market rates.

So in short:

What do you think is a fair top up on the £35k to ask for when my current employer pays 10%+ (I don't think I can get them to go 16%) plus I will have a reduce holiday allocation

Do you think I should inform my current boss that other companies are sniffing around me for my skill sets and willing to pay market rate?

I am 28 by the way and financially I have enough money to cover about 5 to 6 months in the bank if anything went wrong.

ILW

Are they offering you equity?

LadyMissA

If you get 16% contribution now work that out what that is in £ and what the difference is between this and the new job. If there is no pension contribution you are 16% (whatever that is) down already. Then work out the cost of the holiday ie 41 days x £ = £ so new holiday x £ = ? and work out the difference.

I'd add both holiday to the pension and then to the salary and see what that works out to then ask them for that.

If you weren't looking then you have nothing to lose but never tell your current employer

Oldernotwiser

What is your current salary?

jfh7gwa

Well you need to calculate the 16% you're getting from your pension, how much the lost holiday is worth, plus your current salary. That would be the bare minimum you'd need to ask for in your new role to break even.

but then you'd need to consider WHY you're making this move. say you calculate the above, and it comes out to £42k/year. you've said yourself that the market rate is between 35 and 45.

to make a move from a place where i was happy, i'd have to ask for at least another 3 or 4 grand on top as a sweetener in your position. because, since you weren't looking to actively move, you were probably quite happy with your current employer.

what's the point of jumping ship to a new employer (esp. a startup - riskier than an established business) if they're ONLY going to meet your current package?

normally if you move employers there's something extra on top. whether it's more exciting work, increased pay, different challenges, getting away from problem colleagues or a bad boss. but i see no such incentive here.

hence I would warn you about moving from an employer where you are perfectly comfortable, to a riskier one, for no benefit that you can actually put your finger on!

jfh7gwa

forgot to add - i've been in this position myself once before- i considered taking a job for quite a few thousand pounds extra a year (about £5k/year if i remember correctly)... i was 100% certain about taking it until I actually sat down and realised that the extra costs of taking the job, plus the stuff i'd lose, meant I'd actually be worse off at the end of the day.

i had to decline the job in the end, even though on paper it seemed to be a good deal. (in my case, it was the cost of commuting to the new workplace vs. my current one, and i'd have lost holiday entitlement that i'd earnt through service - the stuff i'd lose didn't even come close to making up the 5 grand. fair enough if it was a promotion, but it wasn't - on my CV it would have just looked like i'd made a sideways move to same job, different employer.. so no point at all!!

minority

currently I am on £32751 before tax student loan etc

take home is 1,832.97 a month.

so I need to ensure I am higher than this plus contributing at least 14% to a pension I believe for my age?

Emmzi

and the risk of the start up crashing and burning by month 6, late wages, etc.

I would want a LOT more, or equity, to work for an unknown company in the highly competitive IT market.

minority

jfh7gwa wrote: »

Well you need to calculate the 16% you're getting from your pension, how much the lost holiday is worth, plus your current salary. That would be the bare minimum you'd need to ask for in your new role to break even.

but then you'd need to consider WHY you're making this move. say you calculate the above, and it comes out to £42k/year. you've said yourself that the market rate is between 35 and 45.

to make a move from a place where i was happy, i'd have to ask for at least another 3 or 4 grand on top as a sweetener in your position. because, since you weren't looking to actively move, you were probably quite happy with your current employer.

what's the point of jumping ship to a new employer (esp. a startup - riskier than an established business) if they're ONLY going to meet your current package?

normally if you move employers there's something extra on top. whether it's more exciting work, increased pay, different challenges, getting away from problem colleagues or a bad boss. but i see no such incentive here.

hence I would warn you about moving from an employer where you are perfectly comfortable, to a riskier one, for no benefit that you can actually put your finger on!

I would not say I am extremely happy at current but i now have a 3 month child which is weighing heavy on this decision.

I would say the new job would be more exciting and have been told they have guaranteed work for next year + I know the owner of the business as I went to uni with them plus I would be the lead dev with a team below me something I currently do not have as I am a solo developer...and would class myself as over worked as they have neither trained or hired new dev when i have work constituting years of work.

bungle4by4

can you do both? work full time and offer your services to the new start on a consultancy basis, to see how stable it is?

minority

LadyMissA wrote: »

If you get 16% contribution now work that out what that is in £ and what the difference is between this and the new job. If there is no pension contribution you are 16% (whatever that is) down already. Then work out the cost of the holiday ie 41 days x £ = £ so new holiday x £ = ? and work out the difference.

I'd add both holiday to the pension and then to the salary and see what that works out to then ask them for that.

If you weren't looking then you have nothing to lose but never tell your current employer

So if i have this correct

Current Salary: 32751
Pension : 5240.16
Holidays 41 days @ 125.97 (day before tax) = £5164

So I need to be grossing above £43155.16

Is this correct?

so to at least beat it i need £40k based on 28 day holiday taking me above £44307.69

but that like 1k increase doesnt seem worth it for loss of time we my new daughter.