I ve been offered a job, help me negotiate
I ve been offered a job, help me negotiate
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Discussion

Dynion Araf Uchaf

Original Poster:

4,903 posts

239 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
Hello

I’ve just been offered a job . I currently have a job so I am in a reasonable postion to negotiate.

The new job is with a car company. The role is right up my street and I have plenty of experience.

I’ll be moving from 100% wfh, to hybrid. It’s a 65 mile commute.

They’ve made an offer , it’s not bad, but I’ll be worse off with the commuting costs, but usefully better off if I earn the bonuses.

So is it possible to negotiate on

Salary, based on increased commuting costs
Can I trade some salary for less office days?

I think I want to go in asking more than what I want to get what I want, which is basically the same base take home salary after pension and commuting. And use the bonus as the pay rise. But I think this might be a bit strong

I am not desperate to leave my current role but would welcome the change. And it is tough out there to get work.

If there’s any HR people or experienced negotiators please comment. It’s only really the second time I’ve got a job offer whilst still in employment. When I didn’t have a job I didn’t really negotiate for obvious reasons

miniman

28,405 posts

278 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
I’d start with a straightforward statement that whilst you’re keen to accept it would leave you out of pocket which realistically no one wants, and that although the bonus would offset it, it’s not guaranteed. Setting out dispassionately the facts is hard to argue with.

If you were being bold, you could point out that the value a delighted employee will give is much higher than a slightly underwhelmed employee.

lizardbrain

2,950 posts

53 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
If it were me hiring, the main factor in my willingness to negotiate would be how much it would cost me to find someone else for the role if you were to walk

I wouldn t care how much your commuting costs etc are


Edited by lizardbrain on Monday 4th August 19:10

ConnectionError

2,108 posts

85 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
An old colleague thought he was in a similar position to you some years ago.

He tried to negotiate a slightly better package.

24 hours later he got an email, withdrawing the original offer.

The Grouch

5,864 posts

178 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
Any change would need to be worth your while. The commute would amount to a pay cut and I would ignore bonuses, as you cannot rely on getting them (or the amount) and so a direct comparison is hard. At the minimum, I would be looking for a salary that would match my existing income, minus the commute costs (not just fuel costs).

Factor in your time as that commute will add hours to your week. How does the rest of the package look? More/less holiday? Pension? Healthcare?






The Grouch

5,864 posts

178 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
ConnectionError said:
An old colleague thought he was in a similar position to you some years ago.

He tried to negotiate a slightly better package.

24 hours later he got an email, withdrawing the original offer.
Your colleague dodged a bullet then. Sod working for such a petty company that takes offence at negotiation.

Car bon

5,054 posts

80 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
lizardbrain said:
If it were me hiring, the main factor in my willingness to negotiate would be how much it would cost me to find someone else for the role if you were to walk

I wouldn't care how much your commuting costs etc are
This plus how many others are employed at the same level / within the same structure.

Hiring managers don't always have the flexibility to negotiate.

Personally, I'd just give them your walk away numbers and explain why - and if they won't / can't match those, then you walk away.....

NDA

23,364 posts

241 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
I currently have a job so I am in a reasonable postion to negotiate.
Yes and no - there are a lot of candidates out there.

I would simply ask if there is any room to negotiate on the package given the move will result in a lower salary for you.

I would generally have some wriggle room for exceptional candidates, however larger companies have stricter budgets.

Boringvolvodriver

10,520 posts

59 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
I am presuming that you have gone through a recruitment consultant unless the job advert didn t include salary details when you applied.

How much is the actual difference as a percentage of the overall package offered?

I would ask the recruiter to go back and see if the offer can be tweaked a bit and a lot will depend on how much you really want the role if they say no.

I have worked on the basis of if you don t ask then you will never know!

There may be areas that can be tweaked such as a salary increase after a short period of time or similar.

Dynion Araf Uchaf

Original Poster:

4,903 posts

239 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
So the initial conversation which included offering me the job did end with him saying that we can negotiate.

I’ve beaten about 400 applicants to the role, I’ve already accepted with the proviso that I need to consider the offer and have tabled the cost of commuting.

Certainly bonus cannot be automatically counted.

Pension is usefully better, some of the other terms are also better, but I’m not really bothered about them.

It’s down to not being worse off.

I think commuting will cost some where near £400 pm after tax. So that’s about £9k uplift. A big ask, but probably doable as I suspect there will be lifers at the grade of role earning more than that.

FWIW I have worked for car manufacturers before. (But not currently)

juice

9,328 posts

298 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
Bonus is an intangible. Deal with what will be written into your contract

Boringvolvodriver

10,520 posts

59 months

Monday 4th August
quotequote all
What percentage of what is being offered is the £9k? That is relevant to how much they may be prepared to increase the offer by. And also what their salary bands are. Only you know what is a reasonable salary for the role with your experience. If they really want you then they will try to accommodate your request.

Don t discount the value of the pension long term.

All you can do is go in with your ideal salary and take it from there - they may counter offer which might be acceptable to you especially if you can get some commitment to an early salary increase or at the least a review based on performance.

ETA - know what your walk away figure is based on how much you really really want the job.

MustangGT

13,414 posts

296 months

Tuesday 5th August
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NDA said:
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
I currently have a job so I am in a reasonable postion to negotiate.
Yes and no - there are a lot of candidates out there.

I would simply ask if there is any room to negotiate on the package given the move will result in a lower salary for you.

I would generally have some wriggle room for exceptional candidates, however larger companies have stricter budgets.
Mostly this.

You say it is a car company, can they offer a company car to help cover the commute?

snuffy

11,504 posts

300 months

Tuesday 5th August
quotequote all
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
I ve beaten about 400 applicants to the role
How do you know that figure? Did the company tell you then?

Dynion Araf Uchaf

Original Poster:

4,903 posts

239 months

Tuesday 5th August
quotequote all
Anyway deal concluded.

A reduction in the number of days I have to come in to the office from 3 to 1 , or 2 alternate weeks. And a 5k pay increase on the initial offer.

Am happy. Once I have the contract, it'll be time to tell the current boss. (which isn't going to go down well)

The Grouch

5,864 posts

178 months

Tuesday 5th August
quotequote all
That sounds like a good result, congratulations.

(Let us know how your current boss reacts!)

JQ

6,378 posts

195 months

Tuesday 5th August
quotequote all
Great news, well done. This being PH the most important question now is what's on the company car list?

Boringvolvodriver

10,520 posts

59 months

Tuesday 5th August
quotequote all
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
Anyway deal concluded.

A reduction in the number of days I have to come in to the office from 3 to 1 , or 2 alternate weeks. And a 5k pay increase on the initial offer.

Am happy. Once I have the contract, it'll be time to tell the current boss. (which isn't going to go down well)
Good - wasn’t too difficult I hope

Dynion Araf Uchaf

Original Poster:

4,903 posts

239 months

Thursday
quotequote all
The Grouch said:
That sounds like a good result, congratulations.

(Let us know how your current boss reacts!)
Just coming back to this…
I didn’t need to tell him.

In what was a monumental stroke of luck, approx half an hour after agreeing terms with my new employer I was called in to a meeting at work to be told that my job was at risk.

I am now on gardening leave having negotiated a decent payout.

I will admit that immediately after the meeting I sat still for a minute before saying out loud “how the fk did I manage that?”

SmithCorona

823 posts

45 months

Thursday
quotequote all
Thats a great news story! Congratulations.