Job offer negotiation help needed

[boston340]

I generally post on the H&F board and occasionally post here.  I'm hoping this board can help me think through a few things with a job offer I received.

I currently work in leadership development, manage a mentoring program, and do a lot of communications work for the organization.  I interviewed for an internal position in the business development department to a lot of data analysis, marketing strategies, market research, and demographic profiling.

I was offered the position on Thursday.  The HR department came back and said it was a lateral move and that I would not be offered any salary increase or vacation time increase.  I submitted a negotiation letter stating that I was requesting a $7K raise with the new position and stated that the responsibilities and work in the new position would be more than I'm currently in.

They responded this morning saying that I likely would receive a small raise at my annual review (February) and also a $5K raise when I complete my MBA (expected June 2016) and that they are still not offering a salary increase with the new position right now.

I don't know what to do now.  I do really want the job and think it would be a great move and look good on my resume.  However, I'm really dissapointed and upset that they won't budge on salary at all.  I am happy in my current position and enjoy my work.  

[y4m]

This is hard--you don't have a ton of leverage for internal positions.

Which would you rather do for the same money--your old position or your new one? I guess you theoretically have the option of turning down the new role and sticking in your old one--that's your only leverage point. How do you think that would be received?

[aurora]

Ugh, that stinks. Unfortunately it really does sound like they won't budge, so it's up to you to decide if you want the position at your current salary or not. I could see potential drawbacks on both sides: if you move, you have more responsibilities for the same pay. If you keep your current job, you might be perceived as less serious.

Is there more room for eventual advancement in the new position (i.e., higher long-term salary growth)?

[boston340]

Sept 2, 2014 9:04:20 GMT -5 aurora said:

Ugh, that stinks. Unfortunately it really does sound like they won't budge, so it's up to you to decide if you want the position at your current salary or not. I could see potential drawbacks on both sides: if you move, you have more responsibilities for the same pay. If you keep your current job, you might be perceived as less serious.

Is there more room for eventual advancement in the new position (i.e., higher long-term salary growth)?

Yes, there may be room for eventual advancement in the new position (likely the next step would be Assistant Director of Marketing, or similar).  

[boston340]

One benefit to staying in my current job with less responsibility is that it will be easier to keep up with school work and exams.

If I keep my current position, I would probably stay with the company 4 more years (2 years while I finish my degree, 2 years because of the tuition reimbursement contract) and then start looking for a new job pretty quickly after that.

I'm 33 if that matters.

[boston340]

Sept 2, 2014 8:57:40 GMT -5 y4m said:

This is hard--you don't have a ton of leverage for internal positions.

Which would you rather do for the same money--your old position or your new one? I guess you theoretically have the option of turning down the new role and sticking in your old one--that's your only leverage point. How do you think that would be received?

For the same amount of money, I think I would rather do my current job simply because of the flexibility in schedule and it's honestly pretty easy to do.  I'm able to manage working full time + my 2 classes per semester relatively easily.  

[jene]

That really sucks. Would there be any negative consequences if you turned down the new position?

[L]

What are office politics like at your company? If you decide to stay in your current role, how would it be perceived? At my company, if you apply for an internal move and turn it down after receiving the offer, it's like a nail in your coffin - you wouldn't be seriously considered for another internal position for a long, long time if ever.

[boston340]

Sept 2, 2014 9:16:01 GMT -5 jene said:

That really sucks. Would there be any negative consequences if you turned down the new position?

I think the hiring boss would be dissapointed, but I truly don't think there would be any backlash or retaliation.  

On the flip side, if I decline it maaaaaybe they would come back and negotiate.  I truly thought they would respond to my original letter with a salary negotiation somewhere in the middle of what I'm currently making and what I requested in the letter.

While I'm bummed that they won't budge on numbers, I'm relieved that I'm in a position where I'm happy in my current job and don't have to take the new job simply because I hate my current position.

[boston340]

Sept 2, 2014 9:18:27 GMT -5 L said:

What are office politics like at your company? If you decide to stay in your current role, how would it be perceived? At my company, if you apply for an internal move and turn it down after receiving the offer, it's like a nail in your coffin - you wouldn't be seriously considered for another internal position for a long, long time if ever.

Oh dear, I honestly don't know.  I've only been here a little less than 2 years and haven't seen this yet.  However, it may potentially be there and I'm simply unaware of it.  I'm pretty secluded from a lot of the rest of the office (due to my department + the location of my office).

[y4m]

I think what I would do given what you're saying is try to sit down with the hiring manager for the new position. Say how great it has been to learn about the role and what great contributions you think you could make, but also how surprised you were to learn that there would be no compensation increase given the increase in responsibilities. Say you hate to decline a role you think is really exciting, but you can't justify increasing responsibilities without an increase in compensation and ask if he can work with you at all.

He/She likely has the power to fight for it if they want to--HR may not have even gone to them before declining your request. And if they don't and you decide you want to stay in the old role, it's your best shot at not creating drama.

[boston340]

Sept 2, 2014 9:54:28 GMT -5 y4m said:

I think what I would do given what you're saying is try to sit down with the hiring manager for the new position. Say how great it has been to learn about the role and what great contributions you think you could make, but also how surprised you were to learn that there would be no compensation increase given the increase in responsibilities. Say you hate to decline a role you think is really exciting, but you can't justify increasing responsibilities without an increase in compensation and ask if he can work with you at all.

He/She likely has the power to fight for it if they want to--HR may not have even gone to them before declining your request. And if they don't and you decide you want to stay in the old role, it's your best shot at not creating drama.

Thank you!  This is really helpful.