Salary Range in Job Adverts

[for_heaven's_Saint]

Evening all. I'm just beginning the search for my first 'proper' full time job and have started browsing through online advertisements. There's one thing that I'm not entirely sure on, which is the salary range that is given on many of the adverts, and I'm wondering if there is a general consensus on the use of this range or whether it varies with each advert and company.

 

For example, say a company says the salary is £18k to £24k a year. I would imagine that the chances of actually getting the job and being offered £24k are fairly slim, and it's just included to make the job look more attractive?

 

If this is not completely the case and there usually is some room for negotiation within the salary range (if/when offered the job) how can one go about negotiating a salary at the higher end of the range, without jeopardising the chance of getting the job? Is it considered bad practice to try to negotiate towards the higher end of the range? The worry I'd have is that, should I be offered a job that was advertised with a varying salary, and I decided to try to ask for more, the offerer may then decide to chose a candidate who is happy with the lower end of the range.

 

I'm sure there was a point at which the potential employer would happily negotiate with the person they considered the best candidate for the job, however with so many people applying for each job, I'm not sure I would stand out quite enough to consider paying me an extra couple of grand a year.

[dingbattigger]

Usually the top end is given only to those with loads of experience and qualifications

[buctootim]

Also wait till you get the job offer (or at least its clear you are preferred candidate) before you start to haggle.

[rallyboy]

quite a difficult time to be negotiating I would suggest - then again if they think you are the best one for it they will pay more than for a lesser candidate, so if you get the job offer you will have some leverage - but use it carefully.

 

I've seen people try to haggle and look very greedy, an ugly trait to display before you even start, and enough to lose you the opportunity.

 

If you really feel you are worth more you can always go for a review after three months, then six...or if you really want the job just take the £18K or whatever when it is offered.

Either way I'm sure you will be on more than my initial £25 a week!

 

In the current climate I reckon haggling over salary will be the least of your concerns, good luck with it.

 

 

Cue older people with lower starting wages.....

[CB Saint]

If this is your first job and considering the economic state, grab whatever you can with both hands. When things pick up it will be easier to negotiate a raise, plus your boss will have had a chance to see if you are worth it.

[mcjwills]

I'll take your £25 a week and lower it to £14 per week and they made me pay tax. If it is your first job I very much doubt you will get any where near the top end of the pay grade. You will need experience for that. Try as some one suggested that you get a pay review every six months for the first 2 years based on yuor ability to do the job, that gives you and your employer the chance and incentive to assess yor abilities and adjust your pay accordingly.

[TopGun]

All good advice. I think it also depends on the ability to excel and be recognised in the job though. For example, a mass employer like a call centre or IT operations centre etc may not recognise good individual ability even though it may exist, where as a salesman can demonstrate individual worth more visibly and possibly ask for more money if successful a few months down the line.

Edited 23 October, 2011 by TopGun

[hamster]

If its your dream job offer to work for nothing for a month ask them to offer you an honest offer.If you still love the job, take their first offer. And breathe, its a lovely feeling.

[CB Fry]

I'll take your £25 a week and lower it to £14 per week and they made me pay tax.

 

£14 a week? Luxury!

 

TG: But you know, we were happy in those days, though we were poor.

 

MP: Aye. BECAUSE we were poor. My old Dad used to say to me, "Money doesn't buy you happiness."

 

EI: 'E was right. I was happier then and I had NOTHIN'. We used to live in this tiiiny old house, with greaaaaat big holes in the roof.

 

GC: House? You were lucky to have a HOUSE! We used to live in one room, all hundred and twenty-six of us, no furniture. Half the floor was missing; we were all huddled together in one corner for fear of FALLING!

 

TG: You were lucky to have a ROOM! *We* used to have to live in a corridor!

 

MP: Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a corridor! Woulda' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House!? Hmph.

 

EI: Well when I say "house" it was only a hole in the ground covered by a piece of tarpolin, but it was a house to US.

 

GC: We were evicted from *our* hole in the ground; we had to go and live in a lake!

 

TG: You were lucky to have a LAKE! There were a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road.

 

MP: Cardboard box?

 

TG: Aye.

 

MP: You were lucky. We lived for three months in a brown paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six o'clock in the morning, clean the bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down mill for fourteen hours a day week in-week out. When we got home, out Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt!

 

GC: Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at three o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of hot gravel, go to work at the mill every day for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would beat us around the head and neck with a broken bottle, if we were LUCKY!

 

TG: Well we had it tough. We used to have to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o'clock at night, and LICK the road clean with our tongues. We had half a handful of freezing cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at the mill for fourpence every six years, and when we got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread knife.

 

EI: Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, (pause for laughter), eat a lump of cold poison, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing "Hallelujah."

 

MP: But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'.

 

ALL: Nope, nope..

 

Life of Brian was on last night...

 

 

Anyway, concur with the sound advice on this thread. In the current climate, with Job one, I wouldn't worry too much about haggling, and definitely don't even think about it until you have a concrete offer. And your original assumption is corrent - £18 to £24k means they have pretty much no intention whatsoever to pay anyone anything close to £24k.

Edited 23 October, 2011 by CB Fry

[hamster]

Ask them to put their offer in a seaeld envelope and tell them you will open it when you get home. And do not say another word.

[Saint in Paradise]

My first wage was brilliant compared with my mates, I was on 5 Pounds 3 shillings and sixpence

and took home 4 Pounds 15 shillings and tenpence. I also has 3 shillings a day tax free to

buy lunch.

[sambosa75]

No harm in the interview when asked what your salary expectations are to say the figure at the top end of the bracket. It won't put them off because they have budgeted for it anyway. They might not offer the top end but there is a better chance of getting an offer close to it. It also shows a confidence in your own ability that you feel your worth the maximum they are willing to pay, rather than just being glad of getting a job.

[sambosa75]

Evening all. I'm just beginning the search for my first 'proper' full time job and have started browsing through online advertisements. There's one thing that I'm not entirely sure on, which is the salary range that is given on many of the adverts, and I'm wondering if there is a general consensus on the use of this range or whether it varies with each advert and company.

 

For example, say a company says the salary is £18k to £24k a year. I would imagine that the chances of actually getting the job and being offered £24k are fairly slim, and it's just included to make the job look more attractive?

 

If this is not completely the case and there usually is some room for negotiation within the salary range (if/when offered the job) how can one go about negotiating a salary at the higher end of the range, without jeopardising the chance of getting the job? Is it considered bad practice to try to negotiate towards the higher end of the range? The worry I'd have is that, should I be offered a job that was advertised with a varying salary, and I decided to try to ask for more, the offerer may then decide to chose a candidate who is happy with the lower end of the range.

 

I'm sure there was a point at which the potential employer would happily negotiate with the person they considered the best candidate for the job, however with so many people applying for each job, I'm not sure I would stand out quite enough to consider paying me an extra couple of grand a year.

 

I'll give you a direct reply to this...

 

Companies don't (or at least shouldn't) advertise a salary that they are not prepared or willing to pay. It is actually against the law but obviously very difficult to prove they are doing.

 

There is always room for negotiation when discussing salary but it needs to be done at the right time. In an interview, you should be asked what your salary expectations are. This is your time to set your stall out but not a time to start negotiating unless they offer you the job there and then which generally they won't do as companies are being taught not to make knee-jerk reactions to good interviews. Say the salary on offer was the £18-24k you mentioned, a good answer to this is something along the lines of "I was looking for something along the lines of £25k but see this as a great opportunity and would consider offers of £22k and above." This way you are showing flexibility, also showing you are keen on the job and see it as a good opportunity which is what they want to see in any prospective employee. This doesn't guarantee that you are about to get offered what you want but it does let them know that if they come in with an offer closer to the lower band, you are likely to ask for more before accepting.

 

This brings me to the job offer. Usually this will either be done by the person that interviewed you or a chatty, friendly HR girl... They will call you, be all pally and tell you the great news that they want you on board. They'll go through the package and this is where if the package mentioned is not satisfactory, it is your chance to negotiate. An answer such as "I am absolutely delighted to have been offered the job but at, for example, £18k I'm not in a position to accept. I am really keen on this opportunity but I did mention in my interview I couldn't take the job for anything less than £22k. Is there anything you can do to get the figure a bit closer to it?" This answer should tell them that you would be delighted to accept the offer if the terms are tweaked slightly. To be honest, if they have decided on hiring you in the first place, they shouldn't be too bothered about an extra couple of grand. It was in the budget anyway.

 

Best of luck.

[Red and White Army]

I disagree with sambosa75 - if you are roughly matched with someone else applying and they are willing to work for 18k and you ask for 22k.... it's not a tough choice for the company. Without relevant experience and skills you're not in a great negotiating position... by asking for 22k you're saying you are worth 22% more than the guy willing to do it for 18k who might also not have any relevant experience. Be wary of trying to be too clever!

[sambosa75]

I disagree with sambosa75 - if you are roughly matched with someone else applying and they are willing to work for 18k and you ask for 22k.... it's not a tough choice for the company. Without relevant experience and skills you're not in a great negotiating position... by asking for 22k you're saying you are worth 22% more than the guy willing to do it for 18k who might also not have any relevant experience. Be wary of trying to be too clever!

 

So everyone should go in and ask for bare minimum? As a prospective employer, I would be more inclined to think a candidate was more desirable if they thought they were worth more than the minimum salary advertised. It's not about being clever, it's about getting a good deal for yourself but approaching negotiations with a bit of tact. I agree you need to present yourself in a light that makes you the stand out candidate for the job as it is an easy choice if there is nothing separating you with another candidate and they are happy to take less but once that job offer is on the table, its you that they want. Paying you an extra £300-odd a month isn't going to put them off if its you they want.

[bridge too far]

When I was interviewed for my last job, the actual salary wasn't discussed. I was way over-qualified, but was looking to 'slow down' prior to retirement (and only looking for part-time work). I knew what the salary range was, because it was with the NHS and the range is always advertised.

 

When they phoned me to offer me the job, THEY decided they would appoint me at the top of the scale because of my previous senior position. But that meant I had nowhere further to go on that pay-scale unless I was promoted (and that was unlikely, given that I wasn't looking for a 'career' any more and would be retiring sooner rather than later).

 

So my point is this. Let them offer you the job first (don't discuss the salary at interview) and then see what they're offering you. A few years ago, when interviewing people for a job in my office, I offered the job to a very suitable candidate. But she'd come from the private sector and wanted more money than we were allowed to offer. So we had to turn her down.

[sambosa75]

When I was interviewed for my last job, the actual salary wasn't discussed. I was way over-qualified, but was looking to 'slow down' prior to retirement (and only looking for part-time work). I knew what the salary range was, because it was with the NHS and the range is always advertised.

 

When they phoned me to offer me the job, THEY decided they would appoint me at the top of the scale because of my previous senior position. But that meant I had nowhere further to go on that pay-scale unless I was promoted (and that was unlikely, given that I wasn't looking for a 'career' any more and would be retiring sooner rather than later).

 

So my point is this. Let them offer you the job first (don't discuss the salary at interview) and then see what they're offering you. A few years ago, when interviewing people for a job in my office, I offered the job to a very suitable candidate. But she'd come from the private sector and wanted more money than we were allowed to offer. So we had to turn her down.

 

So how would you approach a job interview where salary expectations were brought up? In my experience I have found this much more the norm than no discussion at all.

[bridge too far]

So how would you approach a job interview where salary expectations were brought up? In my experience I have found this much more the norm than no discussion at all.

 

This isn't something I've ever experienced TBH. I suppose you can get a gut feeling about whether or not they're really keen on you. If it seems they are, then I guess I'd pitch it somewhere in the middle (too low looks like desperation and too high looks like arrogance ) But I'd probably also indicate that I would be happy to negotiate.

 

At the end of the day you have to ask yourself a) how much do you want the job and b) is £18K better than £0K.

 

Good luck though!

[sambosa75]

This isn't something I've ever experienced TBH. I suppose you can get a gut feeling about whether or not they're really keen on you. If it seems they are, then I guess I'd pitch it somewhere in the middle (too low looks like desperation and too high looks like arrogance ) But I'd probably also indicate that I would be happy to negotiate.

 

At the end of the day you have to ask yourself a) how much do you want the job and b) is £18K better than £0K.

 

Good luck though!

 

I asked for the benefit of for heavens Saint, not myself but thanks anyway!

[bridge too far]

I asked for the benefit of for heavens Saint, not myself but thanks anyway!

 

Sorry - I should read the OP shouldn't I

[bristolsaint29]

So how would you approach a job interview where salary expectations were brought up? In my experience I have found this much more the norm than no discussion at all.

 

To be honest I usually just tell them the minimum I would work for, it's there choice then if they want me, never accepted the first offer and always walked away with a better package.