Salary requirement conundrum

C22DTJ

Hey all, looking for a bit of advice if possible.

I'm currently looking to relocate from the Midlands to London. I have a few friends who made the move back when they were in their early 20s (now almost 30) and after just coming out of a long relationship, I've decided now might be a good time for me to do it, as it's been something I've wanted to do for years.

I've been applying for jobs like a madman for the last month or so, probably 30 or more. I'm a web designer with writing skills, or a writer with web design skills, and been applying for jobs in those fields. Foolishly I've done both since starting my career so, given London standards in those fields, I'm really looking at a Junior position.

Out of those 30, I've had two responses, the first was a rejection as the position was filled, the second is an interview.

Here's the problem, the job role sounds ideal in terms of duties, and would be a good CV addition, but when I got the email inviting me to interview, I found out the salary is 'Around £19K'.

Having looked at property and spoken to friends, it seems I would really need to earn around £24K, with 22 being a bare minimum to get a studio flat and survive on necessities down there.

So, at the risk of asking a question I feel I already know the answer to, should I just turn it down? It feels crazy to do so but if it doesn't pay the salary I would need to live, then there's not a lot I can do right?

The email suggests that they had a 'huge interest', so I'm thinking walking in and asking for 5 grand extra would be somewhat pointless.

Southend1

Do the interview for experience's sake. If you get an offer, negotiate. You never know what the response will be. And you can always decline.

Cycrow

you can live cheaper in London if you share with others.
it also depends what area you want to live in, where the work will be, and how you plan to commute there

you can save money by living abit further out and commuting by bike.

i would try and ask for 22k, and see what you get. When i first moved to London, i was on 22k, and that was plenty to get a studio flat on my own

C22DTJ

Ok will do, thanks for the advice.

I know this is controversial among some, but I really don't feel comfortable with the idea of a flatshare. I mean, 10 years ago, I would be totally into it, but now I just can't help but feel like it's one big invasion of privacy for all involved parties.

I have a motorcycle licence so I guess I could save on commuting if I rode to work. The location of this particular office is very central, a few minutes from Goodge Street.

I suppose 22K doesn't seem like the wildest of negotiations, I just need to figure out how that translates to London living. Most studio's I've looked at are around £1K pcm, which would be 1250 or so with bills I guess. If 22K is around 1400 a month after tax, that could be a little tight to say the least.

That's living centrally though, I suppose looking further afield may well bring it into the realms of possible.

InsideInsurance

To be honest, welcome to London.

Whilst jobs do pay a "London weighting" it is never enough to counter the additional cost of living. When I moved across to London I was given a £5k weighting which equated to under £300 a month take home but my rent went up about £500 per month and travel costs up by about £150

Many in junior roles will realistically be looking at sharing rather than a studio/ 1 bed unless you go way out.

Ultimately, have the interview , its good practice, and negotiate the salary if offered

agrinnall

I would be surprised if most LLs/LAs would consider you as a tenant if 70% of your net salary would be spent on rent.

C22DTJ

agrinnall wrote: »

I would be surprised if most LLs/LAs would consider you as a tenant if 70% of your net salary would be spent on rent.

Guess I'll come back in a few years then... seems like £28K+ is a more realistic minimum.

scheming_gypsy

C22DTJ wrote: »

I've been applying for jobs like a madman for the last month or so, probably 30 or more. I'm a web designer with writing skills, or a writer with web design skills, and been applying for jobs in those fields. Foolishly I've done both since starting my career so, given London standards in those fields, I'm really looking at a Junior position.

.

What are 'London standards', in web design?
If you're a fully competent web designer and can use whichever languages are required then why would you be looking at junior roles just because the job is in London?

C22DTJ

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

What are 'London standards', in web design?
If you're a fully competent web designer and can use whichever languages are required then why would you be looking at junior roles just because the job is in London?

I know my comment sounded shallow but unfortunately the general standards of work by London studio's are far far higher, and more in line with design trends than in my locality. I suppose I just meant that work in my 'folio reflects a lower standard of work than what is commonplace in London. I guess I could spend some time building some personal projects of a higher standard. I mean, sure, in terms of technicalities, I can probably write HTML/CSS/JS adequately well, but the aesthetic side of my work definitely isn't on a par with what is being put out by the industry leaders. Not that I'm blaming that on anybody else.

There's not really a way of illustrating this without linking to specific companies but if you Google Web Design Warwickshire and compare the output of the resultant studios with say:

http://www.ycnstudio.com/
http://weareimpero.com/

To name just two.

Cycrow

C22DTJ wrote: »

Ok will do, thanks for the advice.

I know this is controversial among some, but I really don't feel comfortable with the idea of a flatshare. I mean, 10 years ago, I would be totally into it, but now I just can't help but feel like it's one big invasion of privacy for all involved parties.

I have a motorcycle licence so I guess I could save on commuting if I rode to work. The location of this particular office is very central, a few minutes from Goodge Street.

I suppose 22K doesn't seem like the wildest of negotiations, I just need to figure out how that translates to London living. Most studio's I've looked at are around £1K pcm, which would be 1250 or so with bills I guess. If 22K is around 1400 a month after tax, that could be a little tight to say the least.

That's living centrally though, I suppose looking further afield may well bring it into the realms of possible.

to give you an idea, when i first moved and was on 22k, i was paying £550/month for a studio flat (i didn't really want to share either)
but that also included all my bills as well.
The flat was pretty tiny, but it did me fine for a year until i was on more money and moved to somewhere bigger.
so it was actually pretty easy to afford it.
This was out in Zone 6 thou, so not in central London, but it was close enough for me to cycle in (about 15 miles)

If you dont really mind what area you are in, there are pockets of cheap places all over London in the not so desirable areas, many not all that far from the centre

ideally, you dont really want to be around Zone 1-2 as it can be pretty expensive

C22DTJ

Cycrow wrote: »

to give you an idea, when i first moved and was on 22k, i was paying £550/month for a studio flat (i didn't really want to share either)
but that also included all my bills as well.
The flat was pretty tiny, but it did me fine for a year until i was on more money and moved to somewhere bigger.
so it was actually pretty easy to afford it.
This was out in Zone 6 thou, so not in central London, but it was close enough for me to cycle in (about 15 miles)

If you dont really mind what area you are in, there are pockets of cheap places all over London in the not so desirable areas, many not all that far from the centre

ideally, you dont really want to be around Zone 1-2 as it can be pretty expensive

550 inc bills?! Wow. I assumed it would be cheaper further out, but not that much cheaper. That said, though, when are we talking? Things could be wildly different now.

I'm going to go research though, I haven't really looked much outside of Zone 1.