Interview offer help?

*Kat*

I currently work in a supermarket £8 per hour, 24 hours per week.

I recently applied for an administrator role at a company for £18k PA. They emailed me back today offering me to go for an interview for a Junior Admin role for £12k per annum, and they require me to get professional qualifications (which they'll pay for).

I just need some thoughts on this, it just seems a really low wage? I presume the hours are full time, but it's not clear in the email I received but I've asked her to clarify. I mean is £12k even minimum wage for a whole year?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Btw, I am about to graduate with a masters in a computer related degree, but there's no jobs out there that I could find without experience. Useless.

Poppie68

Thats a pretty decent wage for a Junior admin role..Is it with the private sector?

Miss_Havisham

Check with them about the professional qualifications - it's fairly common for companies to ask you to re-pay the costs if you leave the job within a certain period of time.

If you go for the interview, ask what career progression is possible from that job - i.e. is there a clear path up through various grades to management or is it a "standalone" job. Also timescales for progression (on average, how long do good staff stay in the job before being considered for promotion).

Could you live decently on 12K for a while until you can find a job to match your qualifications ? It would be easier to find another job if you are already in one and the experience could be invaluable even if it's a junior role. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

lollipopsarah

I wish I got your wages, I thought supermarkets only paid minimum wages!
xx

heretolearn_2

£12,000 works out around £6.50 per hour, so a bit over minimum wage (£6.08).

IT is quite low but if you want to work in admin, then it could be a good opportunity to gain some work experience/qualifications. Would there be opportunity for promotion up to the level of job you originally applied for?
If you haven't ever done admin before, then an entry level/trainee job is what you need to expect - there's more to it than people realise. See the other recent thread on here from a graduate who wants to work in admin but hasn't been able to get that first job.

Even if you don't want to work in admin, it's a job, and gets you office based experience to help you later move on to a more appropriate role considering your IT background.

[Deleted User]

What are the qualifications they want you to work towards? (are these in house recognised only, or industry wide recognised?)

Will your salary automatically go up on successful completion of these qualifications?

How long will it take to gain the qualification whilst at the company?

Are you/will you be tied to the company for a certain amount of time without having to pay if you leave?

Will the qualifications take you in a direction you want to go?/That interests you?

Just some questions to think about,

D9

Sambucus_Nigra

*Kat* wrote: »

I currently work in a supermarket £8 per hour, 24 hours per week.

I recently applied for an administrator role at a company for £18k PA. They emailed me back today offering me to go for an interview for a Junior Admin role for £12k per annum, and they require me to get professional qualifications (which they'll pay for).

I just need some thoughts on this, it just seems a really low wage? I presume the hours are full time, but it's not clear in the email I received but I've asked her to clarify. I mean is £12k even minimum wage for a whole year?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Btw, I am about to graduate with a masters in a computer related degree, but there's no jobs out there that I could find without experience. Useless.

Blimey - £12k for an admin role. Even charities pay more.

You will really have to drill down to what the difference is between the role you applied for and this one, what quals they are, whether they will lead to a promotion at the end, or at the very least the £18k job role that you applied for. If they offer this and when you pass the qual, you get the £18k job then that's great. If you just inherit some of the tasks with no payrise or promotion and yet still may have to pay the fees back for the qual, it ties you into the £12k role for a considerable time meaning you can't use those quals elsewhere - or at least until you find a £20k+ role to enable the money to be paid back.

Have a conversation with them about it at interview and come back with the answers to the above.

If you DO take the job, do NOT proceed before finding out what the fees are if you have to pay them back if you leave within 2 years etc. You need to know what you are letting yourself in for before you agree to anything.

shmeeko69

lollipopsarah wrote: »

I wish I got your wages, I thought supermarkets only paid minimum wages!
xx

Two of the better paid retailers pay a fair bit above the minimum wage - Tesco approx. £7.70ph and Marks & Spencers £8.10ph.

*Kat*

Right, just got another email, the qualifications will be...CII Certificate in Financial planning? 5 exams, and each time I pass one I get £300 added to my salary, so that's...£13,500? She also said it would "Easily" lead on to admin at the higher level with some experience. AND she said they're developing an online hub which she said I could get involved with due to my IT background.

I'd be okay with £12k if I could keep 1 shift at Tesco to bounce it up a bit until the salary is higher.

Thoughts?

xxJudexx

Go for it. I graduated in 2010 and had to turn down a role paying £16,500 pa due to family reasons. Since then I have found nothing! I just keep getting rejections, so go for what you can get and then you can look elsewhere but you will at least be earning a wage.

newbutold

*Kat* wrote: »

Right, just got another email, the qualifications will be...CII Certificate in Financial planning? 5 exams, and each time I pass one I get £300 added to my salary, so that's...£13,500? She also said it would "Easily" lead on to admin at the higher level with some experience. AND she said they're developing an online hub which she said I could get involved with due to my IT background.

I'd be okay with £12k if I could keep 1 shift at Tesco to bounce it up a bit until the salary is higher.

Thoughts?

I would go for it to, giving that there seem to be other opportunities that may arise from it. Whereas if you stay on the £8pm role, this opportunities are not possible.