New job help

[playswithsquirrels]

So MH had another interview in Boulder yesterday and they already got back to him today that they really liked him and wanted to know what salary range he was thinking of. He looked it up on Glassdoor, but wants to say he wants higher than what he saw without sounding cocky.

He's fully expecting them to not offer him as much as he wants, but how do you word something like that without coming off as a hot head?

[katie]

They never discussed salary ranges at all? I think he should ask for what he thinks the job is worth and say he is negotiable (if he really is), wants to look at an offer as a whole (benefits, time off, 401k match etc).

If someone tells me their salary range when I ask and its too high, I then tell them that's more than what we are looking to pay. Usually I will give them a range after. I don't ever send a candidate for an interview without knowing their salary expectations.

Good luck!!

[katie]

What industry is he in?

[playswithsquirrels]

They didn't discuss ranges at all! He's never had to to this before so he's at a complete loss.

[playswithsquirrels]

Software engineering.

[shevacc]

I've gone in before with "X is what I make now and I would be looking for a (modest, significant, whatever) raise bc ...". My most recent job I was just finishing up my MS degree so I asked for more than I was previously making for that reason. Or if you'd be moving from a lower cost of living area to a higher one, you could include that information.

[shevacc]

Jul 25, 2014 15:30:03 GMT -5 playswithsquirrels said:

Software engineering.

That can be a huge range of salaries, so I'd have him ask for what he wants and see what happens.

[katie]

Jul 25, 2014 15:30:03 GMT -5 playswithsquirrels said:

Software engineering.

I am sending you a PM

[playswithsquirrels]

Jul 25, 2014 15:30:10 GMT -5 shevacc said:

I've gone in before with "X is what I make now and I would be looking for a (modest, significant, whatever) raise bc ...". My most recent job I was just finishing up my MS degree so I asked for more than I was previously making for that reason. Or if you'd be moving from a lower cost of living area to a higher one, you could include that information.

We'll be moving from Dallas so it's a pretty significant change cost wise. That's what is holding us back. He obviously doesn't want to take a "pay cut" even though he will be making more than he is now.

[devotchka]

In my experience, salary is usually discussed during a phone interview/screening. However, with some jobs that H or I have interviewed for, it wasn't discussed at all. In his most recent job, he was asked what his salary requirements were during the 1st phone interview (he had 2 phone interviews and an in person one.) This is the advice we were given by colleagues and people in HR and also drawn from my experience being on the other side of the interview process:

Give them a range based on industry standards (esp in that area) for someone w/ the same education background and experience that you can live with (thinking about the future and that all raises/bonuses, etc. will be based on this so it definitely needs to be liveable even on the low end of the scale) and then give them the top half of that range. Definitely start with something like "It will depend on the overall benefits package... but my range is _______" (you can probably word it better but it's just an example) Odds are, their offer is somewhat negotiable. He can always go back when they offer it and try to negotiate a higher salary or at least some soft bennies if that isn't an option. It won't hurt him if the very top of it is higher than they would offer.

I don't think it's being a hot head to expect a good salary, unless its like WAY above industry standards. GL!!! For me the hard part is how to negotiate, that is where I get stuck

[Deleted]

Hmm Boulder is an expensive place to live, but the "suburbs" aren't bad. From what I know, Boulder companies generally pay pretty good.

[playswithsquirrels]

Jul 25, 2014 15:33:27 GMT -5 devotchka said:

In my experience, salary is usually discussed during a phone interview/screening. However, with some jobs that H or I have interviewed for, it wasn't discussed at all. In his most recent job, he was asked what his salary requirements were during the 1st phone interview (he had 2 phone interviews and an in person one.) This is the advice we were given by colleagues and people in HR and also drawn from my experience being on the other side of the interview process:

Give them a range based on industry standards (esp in that area) for someone w/ the same education background and experience that you can live with (thinking about the future and that all raises/bonuses, etc. will be based on this so it definitely needs to be liveable even on the low end of the scale) and then give them the top half of that range. Definitely start with something like "It will depend on the overall benefits package... but my range is _______" (you can probably word it better but it's just an example) Odds are, their offer is somewhat negotiable. He can always go back when they offer it and try to negotiate a higher salary or at least some soft bennies if that isn't an option. It won't hurt him if the very top of it is higher than they would offer.

I don't think it's being a hot head to expect a good salary, unless its like WAY above industry standards. GL!!! For me the hard part is how to negotiate, that is where I get stuck

This is very helpful! Thanks so much!

[playswithsquirrels]

Jul 25, 2014 15:35:01 GMT -5 @lindy said:

Hmm Boulder is an expensive place to live, but the "suburbs" aren't bad. From what I know, Boulder companies generally pay pretty good.

There's no way we can afford to live in boulder. We've been looking around the suburbs, but they're still pretty pricy compared to what we're used to.

[Deleted]

Jul 25, 2014 15:36:40 GMT -5 playswithsquirrels said:

Jul 25, 2014 15:35:01 GMT -5 @lindy said:

Hmm Boulder is an expensive place to live, but the "suburbs" aren't bad. From what I know, Boulder companies generally pay pretty good.

There's no way we can afford to live in boulder. We've been looking around the suburbs, but they're still pretty pricy compared to what we're used to.

Yeah.  I don't know how far he is willing to commute, but Longmont is the cheapest place I can think of "near" it.  It is about 25-30 minutes.

[devotchka]

BTW This is fascinating - I wonder how accurate it is: www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/

[playswithsquirrels]

Jul 25, 2014 15:40:27 GMT -5 @lindy said:

Jul 25, 2014 15:36:40 GMT -5 playswithsquirrels said:

There's no way we can afford to live in boulder. We've been looking around the suburbs, but they're still pretty pricy compared to what we're used to.

Yeah.  I don't know how far he is willing to commute, but Longmont is the cheapest place I can think of "near" it.  It is about 25-30 minutes.

We actually looked at houses around there!

[playswithsquirrels]

devotchka it says that Boulder is 46% more expensive overall than Dallas. Housing is 133% more! We will definitely not be looking to live in boulder!

[devotchka]

Jul 25, 2014 15:45:12 GMT -5 playswithsquirrels said:

devotchka it says that Boulder is 46% more expensive overall than Dallas. Housing is 133% more! We will definitely not be looking to live in boulder!

Oddly, it's slightly cheaper than San Diego - like 5% - (I'm not surprised, SD is expensive as crap!) but the salaries are lower by a bit. I've heard great things about Boulder, didn't realize how expensive it was.

[eav2c]

Jul 25, 2014 15:40:30 GMT -5 devotchka said:

BTW This is fascinating - I wonder how accurate it is: www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/

Wow! Very interesting

[playswithsquirrels]

Jul 25, 2014 15:46:36 GMT -5 devotchka said:

Jul 25, 2014 15:45:12 GMT -5 playswithsquirrels said:

devotchka it says that Boulder is 46% more expensive overall than Dallas. Housing is 133% more! We will definitely not be looking to live in boulder!

Oddly, it's slightly cheaper than San Diego - like 5% - (I'm not surprised, SD is expensive as crap!) but the salaries are lower by a bit. I've heard great things about Boulder, didn't realize how expensive it was.

We obviously don't want to just be getting by. We want to improve our lifestyle a little bit, but CO itself is more expensive than where we live now.

[devotchka]

Jul 25, 2014 15:50:12 GMT -5 playswithsquirrels said:

Jul 25, 2014 15:46:36 GMT -5 devotchka said:

Oddly, it's slightly cheaper than San Diego - like 5% - (I'm not surprised, SD is expensive as crap!) but the salaries are lower by a bit. I've heard great things about Boulder, didn't realize how expensive it was.

We obviously don't want to just be getting by. We want to improve our lifestyle a little bit, but CO itself is more expensive than where we live now.

Definitely!!! That is very important.