H is waffling and I am curious what MM thinks. He originally signed a contingent offer at a 15% raise from his current salary but they need him to reduce in order to be competitive for the position... This is making his decision harder. It kind of seems like a no-brainer to me
Current job 10% match for his 401k Likely to be promoted next year (5-10% pay increase I'd guess) Actually starting to like what he is doing
Proposed job 5% pay increase with a few thousand signing bonus Medical and dental paid for him, 75% paid for me and DD (OR we could opt for a payout of $4k if we keep mine) 18% of salary put into SEP IRA Extra week of vacation Paid home internet Paid gym membership
Is the signing bonus significant? Is there a longer or shorter commute to either job How much would be saved by medical dental option with proposed job?
The gym membership and paid internet are not perks for me.
Post by jennistarr1 on Jan 23, 2013 10:34:13 GMT -5
the 18% into an IRA...so are they taking his money and investing it for him or are they contributing this
the home internet/gym membership/extra week of vacation don't mean all that much to me...so with the potential salary increase being about the same...I think it comes down to how much he wants to move on and does he think he'll like the new job
Is the signing bonus significant? Less than $10k Is there a longer or shorter commute to either job? It's the exact same building, so same. How much would be saved by medical dental option with proposed job? I currently pay $222 per month for family, so $2664 per year. No idea what it would actually cost out of pocket if we switched to him, but we could potentially be up ~$1500 if we stayed with my insurance and took the $4k payout.
the 18% into an IRA...so are they taking his money and investing it for him or are they contributing this
the home internet/gym membership/extra week of vacation don't mean all that much to me...so with the potential salary increase being about the same...I think it comes down to how much he wants to move on and does he think he'll like the new job
They contribute their money- no cash out of his paycheck.
Is this a job he wants? Will he have growth in his career? I know DH would change in order to get change of scenery, but his field, people do this all the time since projects/works get dull.
Based on your new answers money wise and numbers wise the new job sounds better. But not so much better I would take a blind leap of faith. I would really have to know that I like the new company, management, structure and there there is room for growth for me to take the proposed job.
He wants to get out of the big companies, and this would give him that option. I do think there is considerable room for growth. My biggest gripe is this is for a position that needs 3-4 years of experience... not the 8 he has. I think that is where the pay adjustment came in. I kind of want him to hold out for a more senior position.
The new job sounds good, but I'd like to hear more about his hesitations.
Biggest one: he was offered a 15% pay increase initially (which would pretty much allow me to stay home immediately). He is worried about making the job change for "only" 5%.
ETA: I should add that the salary offer went down because this isn't for a senior position. I kind of want him to wait it out for another position with this company. They have his resume in for many different contracts, and I think there would be a better fit with the experience he has (as far as years go).
The 18% IRA is a big seller for me. Though isn't there a cap to how much can go into an IRA each year? Or is that just a Roth IRA and you can put more into a regular one?
I don't know if "less than 10k" is a big number to you. It sure is to me! That's 20% of my current salary. That offsets the smaller raise quite a bit IMO, but if you're talking about a 150k job or something that might not be as appealing.
I understand your hesitation about the 5% vs. 15%, but wouldn't the IRA contribution make up for some of that? How much is he contributing to retirement now? He could feasibly reduce that somewhat so that his take-home is larger. Is the 5% hard and fast, or do you think he negotiate up to even 7% or 8%? A little bit more money and maybe a little bit of budget cutting may get you to a point where you can stay home.
Does he disagree with you that he may be able to hold out for a senior position? Will taking a non-senior position look like a step backward on his resume? What made him look for a new job in the first place?
The 18% IRA is a big seller for me. Though isn't there a cap to how much can go into an IRA each year? Or is that just a Roth IRA and you can put more into a regular one?
SEP IRAs have a much higher contribution limit than regular.
She asked him to adjust the salary and he gave the 5% with the option for a signing bonus. If the signing bonus were a bit higher I think he'd be up for it more readily, but I don't think the salary is negotiable now.
The IRA would make a big difference because if I remember correctly he wouldn't be able to contribute as much as he is now (~$13500 per year) to another retirement vehicle. I think the limit is the same as any other IRA (we max our Roths right now). So yes, his take home would be much higher for that reason!
I think he agrees that this position is a little junior for where he should be. I don't know if it's a step backward on his resume, but I think he could fairly easily wait a few more weeks and get another job offer for a more senior position.
He wants to get away from larger corporations. This is a small company and "that intrigues him". Plus the company is raved about for being a great place to work.
The 18% IRA is a big seller for me. Though isn't there a cap to how much can go into an IRA each year? Or is that just a Roth IRA and you can put more into a regular one?
SEP IRAs have a much higher contribution limit than regular.
IIRC the employer can contribute up to 25% of salary or $50k per year on your behalf. That being said, H could only contribute to the "normal" IRA limit each year, which we do with Roths.
NQB- I am not worried about it because he could easily turn down this option and hold out for the original salary. I truly think the lowered salary offer is because it's a more junior position than what he was originally looking at.
I think he could fairly easily wait a few more weeks and get another job offer for a more senior position.
Does he disagree that that is likely to happen? If it did, would the benefits stay the same, especially the signing bonus and the IRA? If he can get all of that plus a 15% increase, and if there's a good chance of that offer happening, then yeah, I would hold out for sure. Even if the signing bonus goes away, just the IRA and the 15% increase are probably worth it, although it's hard to say for sure without knowing the salary range.
If the pay increase was 15%, why did he counter with only 5%? I would have countered with at least 10%.
Yeah that sounded odd to me too, to volunteer to give up 2/3 of your increase.
Horrible negotiation? Though it wasn't a negotiation... Sigh.
I think if he waited for a more senior position he would get the 15% increase but without signing bonus. (The signing bonus is 1/3 of the difference between 5 and 15%, so I'd rather have the pay increase.) Same benefits, same everything else. And possibility that he would be working closer to home.
Yeah that sounded odd to me too, to volunteer to give up 2/3 of your increase.
Horrible negotiation? Though it wasn't a negotiation... Sigh.
I think if he waited for a more senior position he would get the 15% increase but without signing bonus. (The signing bonus is 1/3 of the difference between 5 and 15%, so I'd rather have the pay increase.) Same benefits, same everything else. And possibility that he would be working closer to home.
Then I think I agree with you, it would be better to wait. Do you know why he doesn't want to?
Horrible negotiation? Though it wasn't a negotiation... Sigh.
I think if he waited for a more senior position he would get the 15% increase but without signing bonus. (The signing bonus is 1/3 of the difference between 5 and 15%, so I'd rather have the pay increase.) Same benefits, same everything else. And possibility that he would be working closer to home.
Then I think I agree with you, it would be better to wait. Do you know why he doesn't want to?
He is truly torn. He wants to start a new position ASAP but is worried (for, I think, no reason) that there would be no other opportunities. This is probably not the case since the recruiter has told him he'd be able to fill many positions they are looking to fill.
Then I think I agree with you, it would be better to wait. Do you know why he doesn't want to?
He is truly torn. He wants to start a new position ASAP but is worried (for, I think, no reason) that there would be no other opportunities. This is probably not the case since the recruiter has told him he'd be able to fill many positions they are looking to fill.
I can understand his worry. It does sound like it would be worth the stress to hold out for a better gig though; maybe he should have another talk with the recruiter before deciding.