How to properly negotiate a starting wage?

[Arik5405]

First of all a little background info on myself, I have 2 classes left in the Spring before I graduate with a bachelor's in Computer Information Systems. I've worked as a student computer technician at the University I attend for as long as I've been there (almost 4 years), so I count that as experience. The company is about 50 miles (all 70mph highway) away from my apartment. My fiance is still attending college and we have a 1 year old daughter who we might have to put in day care if I take the job.

I just started applying for jobs last week and almost immediately had a call from the company in question to setup an interview. I have had a phone interview and 2 in person interviews at the company for a help desk position. They like me and I'm 99.9% sure they are going to offer me the job. The position is part time and the hours range anywhere from 24-40 hours a week. The only problem is the starting wage, which is $12.50 an hour.

Without saying anything, at the end of the 2nd interview, the manager said that wages are negotiable and that the company is highly competitive in the industry as far as wages go. He also mentioned that they cap the help desk position at around $19 an hour, which can be reached with raises and what not.

But at $12.50/hr it most likely isn't worth it to take the job. Which brings me to the purpose of this post, I need help negotiating starting pay. I have already decided that I will pass on the job if it's not at least $15/hr. If I do get the job which is 3-4 days a week, I plan on still working a few hours here and there next semester at my on campus student tech job I'm currently at.

What do you guys feel is an acceptable wage for this position? What would you do in my shoes? Wait for something better to come along? Take the position with the best pay I can get in order to get my foot in the door and try working my way up? I don't plan on working help desk for very long, but the company is a pretty large one and I feel if I can just get in, there are plenty of opportunities for advancement. I'm definitely not done applying for other positions elsewhere but this is just the first thing that has come a long and I kind of want to see where it will go.

Thanks for your help and advice.

 

[Mike Gayner]

TLDR.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

what is your cost of commuting 100 miles day, and possibly needing childcare for that time + the time at your job? i dont see how the numbers can work, id look for something closer.

in general though, when they make an offer just decline and counter with what you want. since you have firm number in mind, should make negotiating easier. no bluffing required.

 

[bignateyk]

Step 1: Remove clothes
Step 2: Assume the stance of dominance
??
Profit

 

[mb]

There are 100s of websites full of information about this. Many of them are extremely helpful. Your school should also have free services to help you with such things. I suggest you take advantage of them.

 

[Baked]

1) I will make you the job offer.
2) I will tell you how much I'm going to pay you.
3) Sign the offer letter if you agree, GTFO if you don't.

 

[JTsyo]

In my opinion you don't want to spend 2 hours commuting each day for $12.50. If you were to get the job and then get a better position would you move closer or are you pretty much staying where you are?

 

[TwiceOver]

100 miles of commute + daycare. I'd have to start at that $19/hr to break even there. If you want the money, lay it out there. "This is what I'm dealing with to take this job, this is what I need to start at".

My boss still thinks I raked him over the coals even though we are well past my starting wage these days.

 

[child of wonder]

This is his first "real" job out of school so let me fix that for you.

Step 1: Remove clothes
Step 2: Assume the stance of obedience
??
Fail

Coming out of college, even having worked at the school Help Desk all that time, you don't have a lot of bargaining power to work with. Now, that is not to say you cannot negotiate with prospective employers, just that you may not have as much success as you will in ~5 years after you've got more experience and/or a hot skillset.

When negotiating you always want to show your appreciation for the employer's offer. Don't close the door on them either. If you think you deserve more money you'll need to sell that idea to them by pointing out specific reasons why you deserve it. Also take into consideration the overall compensation package: health benefits, vacation time, work from home policy, etc.

For example:

"Thank you for the offer of employment. I'm excited that you want me to be a member of your team and I'm confident my skills and experience make me a perfect fit for this position. I've reviewed your offer of $12.50/hour and when I weigh it along with the rest of your compensation package, I would like to make a counter offer. My X years of experience as a .... and working on Technology X and Technology Y directly aligns with this position and makes me ready to make significant contributions immediately to your company.

In light of this, I would like to propose a starting wage of $XX/hour."

 

[Cal166]

Like other said, the distance and pay is not worth it. Just tell them about your commute and you would accept if they offer you $xx.xx/hour. If not, move on and find something closer.

 

[Arik5405]

what is your cost of commuting 100 miles day, and possibly needing childcare for that time + the time at your job? i dont see how the numbers can work, id look for something closer.

in general though, when they make an offer just decline and counter with what you want. since you have firm number in mind, should make negotiating easier. no bluffing required.

My car gets about 20mpg. So about 5 gallons of gas at $4 would be $20 a day to commute. I'm not exactly sure how much day care is yet, that will also depend on my fiance's class schedule. I believe it was somewhere around $175 per week. $175/5 would be $35 a day. So at the most I'm looking at $55 in expenses added per day if I were to take this job. If my fiance doesn't have class on a day I'm working than obviously she can watch our daughter and that negates the day care cost for that day.

So there's still several factors that tie into whether or not this is worth it. Obviously at $12.50 I don't feel that it's worth it. Even at $15.00 it might not be. Like I said, just because I take this job doesn't mean I'm done looking. It's tough but there isn't really anything where I live unless I get hired in full time at the University (there are currently no openings).

 

[Arik5405]

There are 100s of websites full of information about this. Many of them are extremely helpful. Your school should also have free services to help you with such things. I suggest you take advantage of them.

Thanks, I will look into it.

 

[Arik5405]

In my opinion you don't want to spend 2 hours commuting each day for $12.50. If you were to get the job and then get a better position would you move closer or are you pretty much staying where you are?

When I graduate in May, if we need to relocate for a job, we will as long as my fiance can transfer or commute to a nearby university. So that all depends what happens in the next couple of months. I'm really just trying to decide if this job is worth it, and at what dollar amount makes it worth my time.

 

[Arik5405]

This is his first "real" job out of school so let me fix that for you.



Coming out of college, even having worked at the school Help Desk all that time, you don't have a lot of bargaining power to work with. Now, that is not to say you cannot negotiate with prospective employers, just that you may not have as much success as you will in ~5 years after you've got more experience and/or a hot skillset.

When negotiating you always want to show your appreciation for the employer's offer. Don't close the door on them either. If you think you deserve more money you'll need to sell that idea to them by pointing out specific reasons why you deserve it. Also take into consideration the overall compensation package: health benefits, vacation time, work from home policy, etc.

For example:

"Thank you for the offer of employment. I'm excited that you want me to be a member of your team and I'm confident my skills and experience make me a perfect fit for this position. I've reviewed your offer of $12.50/hour and when I weigh it along with the rest of your compensation package, I would like to make a counter offer. My X years of experience as a .... and working on Technology X and Technology Y directly aligns with this position and makes me ready to make significant contributions immediately to your company.

In light of this, I would like to propose a starting wage of $XX/hour."

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate your help.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

1) I will make you the job offer.
2) I will tell you how much I'm going to pay you.
3) Sign the offer letter if you agree, GTFO if you don't.

for a commoditized role like help desk you can get away with this.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

12.50 an hour is less than I made in my first internship over 10 years ago.

 

[Arik5405]

Also, if some of you don't might taking the time to critique my resume a bit, I am definitely open to suggestions. I just want to say that I really do appreciate the help I receive from you guys.

Resume
Cover Letter (This isn't the company with the help desk position)

 

[Arik5405]

12.50 an hour is less than I made in my first internship over 10 years ago.

Yeah, I'm definitely still looking, and plan on filling out applications and submitting my resume for a few more job opportunities that I found. Even if I do take the job, I'm going to continue looking for something better. I just want to have SOMETHING in place when student loan payments come due 6 months after I graduate.

 

[isekii]

12.50 for 50 mile commute each way is pretty insane.

Especially if you factor in child care/etc...

 

[lord_emperor]

Tell them straight up you can't live on less than $15/hr.

 

[Arik5405]

Tell them straight up you can't live on less than $15/hr.

Yeah that's the minimum I would even consider, and I still don't know if even that would work for me. With the pay rate starting at $12.50 and capping out at $19.00, what should I aim for just starting out?

 

[isekii]

Are you in michigan ?
What are the average salaries in your area for the position you're applying for ?

I think salary.com can give you some estimates although I think it's sometimes high.

 

[Arik5405]

Are you in michigan ?
What are the average salaries in your area for the position you're applying for ?

I think salary.com can give you some estimates although I think it's sometimes high.

Yes, I'm in Big Rapids, MI which is about 50 miles north of Grand Rapids.

I actually see some more job postings on salary.com that I will likely apply for. Thanks for that as well.

 

[isekii]

45k might be a bit high I think in this market/economy. But then again I guess it also depends on the company and your negotiating skills.

 

[Rage187]

$33k-$35k for entry level help desk is reasonable. $12.50 is not.