Lost a job offer - need an opinon on this

[SnOop005]

Ok, here's what happened. I interviewed for a job (system admin) last week and they sent me an offer on monday. I emailed the HR person back and forth asking about benefits, PTO, and etc. Throughout the email coversation I repeatedly thanking them and telling them how excited and interested i am to have recieved the job. Everything was acceptable and I sent my last email negotiating my salary it went a little something like this:

"Hi xxxxx,

Once again, I am very pleased to have received the offer of IT Administrator for xxxxx Company and look forward to accepting it. I am convinced my 6+ years of experience in this field will be a great asset for your organization. The terms of the offer are acceptable, however I would like to be sincere and express my thoughts on the compensation package.

Base hourly rate of $22/hour
The research I’ve done on comparable wage shows that a base rate of $25.50-26.00/hour would be the market value of my experience and credentials for this position. The current offer of $22/hour would result in a significant reduction in living standard. Based on the above, I would like you to consider as a compromise a base hourly rate of $24.00.

If you could see to making these modest improvements to your offer, my performance will show you a striking return. I am prepared to commit all the way as part of your team. You have my assurance that you will not regret offering me this position.

Sincerely"

I got a reply today from the HR lady pretty much saying the management said no and they gave away my job. I initial thought they could've just said 'no' to my propsal and see if I still want to take their offer anyway instead of just flat out pulling the plug on me. I know there is nothing I can do at this point but I'm really dissappointed. What are you guys' thoughts on this?

 

[Capt Caveman]

Why didn't you negotiate over the phone? If they had said no and explained why, you could probably have still accepted their offer before the end of the conversation and not give them a chance to change their mind.

 

[edro]

Sounds like they had another candidate they liked just as well and he didn't counter.
You did nothing wrong, it was just bad timing perhaps.

 

[guyver01]

I got a reply today from the HR lady pretty much saying the management said no and they gave away my job. I initial thought they could've just said 'no' to my propsal and see if I still want to take their offer anyway instead of just flat out pulling the plug on me. I know there is nothing I can do at this point but I'm really dissappointed. What are you guys' thoughts on this?

My thoughts?

Their job. Their offer. Their option to recind at any time.

perhaps you overestimated your worth... perhaps you overestimated your qualifications....
perhaps you underestimated the job market. eveyone thinks they're the best qualified... but along comes someone else who is "almost as good" and willing to take whatever they can find.

 

[SnOop005]

My thoughts?

Their job. Their offer. Their option to recind at any time.

perhaps you overestimated your worth... perhaps you overestimated your qualifications....
perhaps you underestimated the job market. eveyone thinks they're the best qualified... but along comes someone else who is "almost as good" and willing to take whatever they can find.

I agree, the thing I'm dissappointed about is I would've took their oringinal offer.

 

[spidey07]

You played it perfectly, it just didn't work out. Agree that it's best to do this over the phone.

 

[ScottFern]

It's a hirer's market not a hiree's market.

 

[SnOop005]

Why didn't you negotiate over the phone? If they had said no and explained why, you could probably have still accepted their offer before the end of the conversation and not give them a chance to change their mind.

You're absolutely right. I didn't do it over the phone because I got too anxious and decide to email them 11 P.M. at night when I was looking over the deal. I also felt like I can express myself more in email vs over the phone.

 

[thepd7]

Ok, here's what happened. I interviewed for a job (system admin) last week and they sent me an offer on monday. I emailed the HR person back and forth asking about benefits, PTO, and etc. Throughout the email coversation I repeatedly thanking them and telling them how excited and interested i am to have recieved the job. Everything was acceptable and I sent my last email negotiating my salary it went a little something like this:

"Hi xxxxx,

Once again, I am very pleased to have received the offer of IT Administrator for xxxxx Company and look forward to accepting it. I am convinced my 6+ years of experience in this field will be a great asset for your organization. The terms of the offer are acceptable, however I would like to be sincere and express my thoughts on the compensation package.

Base hourly rate of $22/hour
The research I’ve done on comparable wage shows that a base rate of $25.50-26.00/hour would be the market value of my experience and credentials for this position. The current offer of $22/hour would result in a significant reduction in living standard. Based on the above, I would like you to consider as a compromise a base hourly rate of $24.00.

If you could see to making these modest improvements to your offer, my performance will show you a striking return. I am prepared to commit all the way as part of your team. You have my assurance that you will not regret offering me this position.

Sincerely"

I got a reply today from the HR lady pretty much saying the management said no and they gave away my job. I initial thought they could've just said 'no' to my propsal and see if I still want to take their offer anyway instead of just flat out pulling the plug on me. I know there is nothing I can do at this point but I'm really dissappointed. What are you guys' thoughts on this?

You gambled and lost.

Why didn't you negotiate over the phone? If they had said no and explained why, you could probably have still accepted their offer before the end of the conversation and not give them a chance to change their mind.

This. I would never try and negotiate over email. Ever. There is no way to express tone over email (it's hard enough over the phone). No matter you say, they see "I want more money WAH!". Note that your email is worded VERY WELL. In fact, when I negotiate a job in a few weeks I'm going to use it as a reference, but I'm also going to be negotiating in person.

Sounds like they had another candidate they liked just as well and he didn't counter.
You did nothing wrong, it was just bad timing perhaps.

You played it perfectly, it just didn't work out. Agree that it's best to do this over the phone.

Well, if the OP really needs a job obviously he didn't do the right thing, however I see your point.

 

[OCGuy]

As long as you have money to live on until you find a job, you made the right play. If you are struggling, that wasn't very smart.

You have to remember that HR is getting 200 resumes for every job posting.

 

[mmntech]

Sounds like they had another candidate they liked just as well and he didn't counter.
You did nothing wrong, it was just bad timing perhaps.

This. One thing I've noticed on my own job hunts is how unprofessional and underhanded they're getting. Companies are trying to get people for peanuts because they think the recession has made them desperate. That's evident by the fact they were totally unwilling to negotiate. It shows they really weren't all that interested in you as well. Likely a situation of two candidates with equal qualifications.

It's probably not a company you'd want to work for if their attitude is like that. They could have at least told you to take it or leave it. Unfortunately, it's a buyers market right now. You're going to try and dick you around. You have to know that going in.

I'm not a phone person but I'd going to have to put my vote in for that. Meeting physically in person is best though. It's harder for today's typical passive-aggressive middle manager to say no to your face. ^_^

 

[SnOop005]

As long as you have money to live on until you find a job, you made the right play. If you are struggling, that wasn't very smart.

You have to remember that HR is getting 200 resumes for every job posting.

Yeah, I'm still employed right now. It was just the fact that I was truthfully excited about this and I thought they felt the same way when i had the interview with their VP so I was hoping their willing to work with me on this.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Yeah, I'm still employed right now. It was just the fact that I was truthfully excited about this and I thought they felt the same way when i had the interview with their VP so I was hoping their willing to work with me on this.

For future situations like this, in particular Sys Admin stuff (where no matter how good your resume and interview is you're still a huge risk of being a flop) you're much much better off accepting their offer with the contingency that you want a review in 6-12 months with XX raise if everything is going as plan

 

[JEDIYoda]

Yeah, I'm still employed right now. It was just the fact that I was truthfully excited about this and I thought they felt the same way when i had the interview with their VP so I was hoping their willing to work with me on this.

They were excited......you just wore down their excitement by continuing to counter offer......sorry!!

 

[Ns1]

You gambled and lost.

this

 

[JulesMaximus]

You're absolutely right. I didn't do it over the phone because I got too anxious and decide to email them 11 P.M. at night when I was looking over the deal. I also felt like I can express myself more in email vs over the phone.

Looks like you expressed yourself out of a job.

 

[olds]

Dude!
Why are you posting our emails?! Now i WILL SURELY NEVER HIRE YOU!
Sincerely,
oldsmoboat
CEO of xxxxx Company

 

[Farang]

Kind of scary because I recently did this same thing, though I think I worded it better. Your reasoning wasn't something the company cares about (your taking a financial hit). They are simply putting a price on you professionally. If you want more you need to justify it. You also come across as saying the offered wage is unacceptable, or at least you would not be happy with it, when you could phrase it like 'I would be able to accept your proposed package with a wage of $24 per hour.'

 

[JulesMaximus]

This. One thing I've noticed on my own job hunts is how unprofessional and underhanded they're getting. Companies are trying to get people for peanuts because they think the recession has made them desperate. That's evident by the fact they were totally unwilling to negotiate. It shows they really weren't all that interested in you as well. Likely a situation of two candidates with equal qualifications.

It's probably not a company you'd want to work for if their attitude is like that. They could have at least told you to take it or leave it. Unfortunately, it's a buyers market right now. You're going to try and dick you around. You have to know that going in.

I'm not a phone person but I'd going to have to put my vote in for that. Meeting physically in person is best though. It's harder for today's typical passive-aggressive middle manager to say no to your face. ^_^

In many cases they are right unfortunately.

 

[SP33Demon]

You should have taken it but negotiated more benefits like vacation or a performance review after six months or tuition reimbursement for college. They'll almost always take you up on this offer unless your position is extremely expendable which may be the case here.

 

[JS80]

You don't want to work for a company that cheaps out over $2/hour for someone they wanted to hire anyway.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Why would you say that the rate they offered would create a significant reduction in your standard of living? If that's true then why would you entertain their offer at all? I assume they knew you already have a job right? So, you were either lied when you stated that or you wouldn't have accepted the job at that rate.

 

[rh71]

I agree, the thing I'm dissappointed about is I would've took their oringinal offer.

gambling doesn't always pay off... especially not in these times. I actually asked if it were possible to get any significant pay raises at my position at some point and basically they said they'd be happy if we quit so they could off-shore more.

 

[Perknose]

Why would you say that the rate they offered would create a significant reduction in your standard of living? If that's true then why would you entertain their offer at all? I assume they knew you already have a job right? So, you were either lied when you stated that or you wouldn't have accepted the job at that rate.

Yeah, I didn't understand this phrasing as well. If it was merely awkward phrasing, it was a killer.

Also, I'm going to level with you here, in fact, let me be frank you, because, truthfully, . . . saying, as you did, "however I would like to be sincere" is at best awkward, unnecessary and redundant, and at worst, signals that you weren't being sincere in any of your other statements.

Finally, "I also felt like I can express myself more in email vs over the phone." is not a good self-assessment for a person who will be required to interface on a high level with others in the enterprise. It's the Achilles heel of the personally awkward geek. Work on broadening the fluidity of your people skills. You need them to advance.

 

[SnOop005]

Why would you say that the rate they offered would create a significant reduction in your standard of living? If that's true then why would you entertain their offer at all? I assume they knew you already have a job right? So, you were either lied when you stated that or you wouldn't have accepted the job at that rate.

They know I'm employed and if i take this job I need to move out which costs money. I graduated a year ago and living with my parents.