haggling with job offers

[na§tee]

any advice appreciated kthanxxxx.

so. i have been offered a job as a deputy communications manager for this media centre down in bristol. it's basically a cultural hub for the city so it has three cinema screens and does all sorts of shit in digital media and events as well as being a funky cafe/bar on the harbourside and all that shiiiiite. movies like man on wire and standard operating procedure and elite squad and the good the bad and the ugly and freakin david lean centenaries and you know the type. but dilute the pretentiousness of your local sort of place a tad. it doesn't market itself as exclusive at all (well - not if i have anything to do about it!)

it was a real fucking surprise as i had to send off my paper application last minute as my document was corrupt and had to write it super quick. my interview was poor to average, i thought. but they want to give it to me. not only that, they're cool with me pissing off on holiday for a month and then starting after that time.

the thing is, it is only £1700ish p.a. more than my current job. which is nothing to be scoffed at, sure, but considering the fact i would have to relocate and the higher cost of living down south - it's not really a progression at all.

so i guess it is down to the job.

my first reaction when they offered it to me, after i hung up, was tears. lots of them. sad ones.

i am in communications right now, but i communicate stuff about the university i work for. so freakin nanoelectronics or space science or some member of staff who came first in the national knitting championships or something. i came into comms totally by accident and now i fear i have fallen into a bigger, more important job (the 'manager' in the title totally isn't reflected in the salary, btw) that will keep me HANDCUFFED TO COMMUNICATIONS FOR LIFE. i would like to get more involved in programming.. but i'm not sure.

i haven't accepted it yet, but tomorrow i am going to ask for £1500 more than the salary they offered me. has anyone had any experience asking for more money before? any advice? before any one gets all uppity - it's not greed. it's me factoring in the increased cost of living. i am not sure if i want to sacrifice my standard of life i have here in a poorer job for a better job with a poorer standard of life. meh.

i know people sometimes say yes yes yes to every term and condition thrown at them, but i don't want to be like that. it's a big deal, and a big move. i've been in glasgow 7 years. i'll be going somewhere completely different.

also keen to hear about any people who have had the same sort of "OMG i am going to be doing this forever and i dont know if i can get out of it" fears..

um. yeah. i know it sounds like i am just wanting to get other people to make the decision for me but i am super anxious right now, even though i am well aware, yes, before any of you criticise me, that it is an enviable position to be in :(

/is feckless

[TAL]

Trip Hop, uh oh!

[na§tee]

hahaha. yes, bristol = banksy and portishead and tricky and massive attack and roni size and reprazent.

all of them actually interviewed me ; )

[TAL]

You evil editer!

[b i o n i c]

ask for the amount that's gonna make you happier, like 3000 more than they offered. if they say no, then you're no worse off, if they say yes, you've got something to think about

[b i o n i c]

ps youd be really surprised what some bravado can do for you. they might think, shit, she must be entertaining just as good or better offers for her to have the balls... its worked for me

[Kid Presentable]

It's not always the case, but the point here is that you don't want the job at the level they're willing to pay. Therefore you really have nothing to lose by asking for more money. And yes, you would be surprised at what a bit of bravado can do for you. If they want you badly, they'll give an inch.

I pretty much turned down a job based on their pay and conditions and they came back to me with a bunch of provisions and improvements and it worked out a little better. I have no intention of sticking it out for the long term, but it's a good experience so far, made better by my willingness to say what I meant. Be professional about it (which would be no problem, I'm sure), and you'll see you don't always get offered what you're worth without a bit of haggling.

[venusvenus123]

I have zero experience of being in a position to ask for that much more money, but I say go for it, especially as you will have to relocate to a more expensive part of the country. They'll probably compromise at a grand or something... or give the job to someone less demanding ;)

A very good friend of mine is a film studies lecturer at the university. She relocated from LA for that job :eek: Anyway, the point is, that was over a decade ago and she loves Bristol, it's a cool city yada yada.

[RoryMC]

Asking for a grand more is a sensible request. Considering Bristol is an increasingly affluent city and will be competing with the likes of Liverpool and Glasgow in terms of culture and stature very soon, the cost of living is bound to increase tenfold.

I live about 40 minutes away in Somerset, having only moved here from Southampton for work about 6 months ago. I had never been to Bristol before I moved here but, I must say, it's a very impressive city and will only get better.

I was there on Friday for the VIP event at the Harbour Festival and it rocked.

I say go for it, but only if you're confident and comfortable with this job offer.

[camo]

Here's a few questions to ask yourself and to ask of the company.

Initially can the starting salary be negotiated? Be careful to ask this rather than laying out demands.

Can you move up in the company, do they have steady internal career progression? There's nothing worst than a company who out sources prospective promotional positions.

Regardless of pay, which job do you think will be more beneficial, to your career? Sure, it pays less, but it will look a lot better on you cv to have held down a managerial position for a while.

It will also look good (for future employers) that you have literally moved your entire life quite a substantial distance to further your career. Commitment is a huge plus point and something I look for in my team.

What is it like to live/work in Bristol, and what does you wage afford for you in both living and social terms?

How will this effect you and your friends? I can say for sure that me moving away from my friends has been detrimental to our relationship :(

How afraid are you of pigeon holing yourself into the 'communications' role? The longer you do it the harder it will become getting a job in programming. You will find yourself losing out at interview level to people who have more relative experience. I've been in this situation. It took me a long time to leave Hallmark because I was constantly told that I didn't have the relative experience. I was losing positions to University leavers in some instances!

I hope this helped.

[na§tee]

thanks for the HOT TIPS, everyone.

well, i called them up and was all extremely positive yadda yadda but i have pulled my figures together and had a look at my finances in regards to the increased costs of living blah blah and i was wondering before we go any further if there was any flexibility in terms of salary.. and they said no, not for the starting salary.

which is fair enough - because i was expecting that, and was told by my current colleagues to expect that. so i asked if there was room for internal promotion based on performance etc and they said yes, of course. so.. at least it isn't XXk and stagnant.

i don't think asking for more money is demanding btw - it's a business deal. it's not as if they would go "uh - no. we're taking away this offer because you are a cheeky bitch!" the worse that can happen is that they will say no. which happened in my case, haha. and they did sound regrettable.

i asked for a relocation package too, but they said they couldn't offer me anything. then they called me back and said they "don't usually do this" but are giving me £200 to cover some of the costs. which is better than nothing - and considering i don't have a whole house, just a room and some stuff to move over - that should cover the white van rental, wahey.

camo - it scares me a little, what you said about the 'holing' myself in a role i maybe don't want to be in. i think with technical knowledge etc there is a risk of that, yes. because you have very specific skills and expertise. with something like communications - which, invariably, and not to put myself down, is mostly common sense and having a creative eye - it's a lot more flexible and broad-ranging. so you work a bit with the web, a bit with publications, a bit with PR, a bit with news, a bit with events. you do it all. i do have the fear, eek, but arts communications is extremely hard to get in to and while i am deciding what i actually want to do with the rest of my life, i might as well do it in a nicely titled, slightly better paid position in a field that is infinitely more interesting to me.

one of my only real bonuses is free cinema tickets, hahaha. and money off food and drink. i saw justin lee collins in the bar/cafe area of where i will be working yesterday! OMG CELEBRITIES.

re: friends. yes, it will be difficult, as i am a lonely person by nature and i find it hard to make new friends and FEAR CHANGE, but i am desperately unhappy in my current job now, and i can't just stay in glasgow because i'll get all teary-eyed about leaving a couple of friends. we're adults now - if i can't maintain friendships over a distance i'm pretty sucky.

so. yeah! i am going to australia in mid september for a month, then i get to come back, have a week chillin'/preparing to leave and then start this new position on october 20th.

moving to bristol, baby! OMG ENGLAND.

[camo]

I'm glad you're feeling better about things (y)

[venusvenus123]

congrats on going for it.

[b-grrrlie]

Congratulations!

So next time I go to Glasgow I haven't got a drinking partner? :(
I've been to Bristol once in 1981 so guess it should be time to visit it again. ;)

[Kid Presentable]

Bristol is mint.

[Yorkshire~Rose]

i saw justin lee collins in the bar/cafe area of where i will be working yesterday! OMG CELEBRITIES.


OMG JLC <3 I want to touch his lustrous tiger coloured hair

Huge congrats on the new job. It's going to be awesome, i can feel it in my waters. (y)

[na§tee]

he looked directly at me while he was eating his, i dunno, aubergine surprise with his local ale or some such. yeah, it's totally that sort of place that serves LOCAL ORGANIC AND ETHICALLY SOURCED PRODUCE DUDE.

i don't care, as long as this local ale is offered at a discount to staff.

i am probably going to have to listen to more JLC to understand the weird accent now.

alreeeet my lurverrhh! you're gurt lush! :confused:

[RoryMC]

Haha, "gurt". I loathe that expression.

"Where be that to?" is another one. "Shit hot" is used quite a bit as well.

[AceFace]

BRISTOL! how awesome! we're planning to visit England, hopefully next year, and that will be our first stop. My husband spent a few years as an exchange student there and still has a fondness for it.

congrats! i'm jealous!

[jabumbo]

what i wouldnt give for a real job that let me watch films and music on the side!


sounds like a great place (y)

[na§tee]

bristol is quite cool, i guess. all pies and cider and balloons and what have you.

i only have a bedroom's worth of stuff but even getting the smallest removal fan is turning out quite expensive :/ it would be £450 less if i had someone to drive a white van down with me, a friend or someone, but i do not. not here, anyway. gah.

i bet i could send my bloody things in the post for cheaper. removal TIPS!

[venusvenus123]

crikey, what a ripoff!

i wonder if there's some way you can find someone to share with--through gumtree or something?

really, it didn't cost much more than that to move our entire flat's worth of stuff across london, although that was 7 or 8 years ago. perhaps a removal type thing would be better, like a relocation expert company.

anyway, i think you're very brave upping sticks like that. go you!

[paul jones]

I was in Bristol for 2 days in 2006.It was allright(y)

[paul jones]

p.s. congraaaaaatulations Claire(y):cool:

[abcdefz]

I would loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove to have your problems.

[na§tee]

a-z: i sympathise with your problems immensely but comments like that with the excessive ooooooooos just make me feel bad :/. as i said, i wasn't trying to seem greedy, i was just trying to negotiate the terms i myself would feel better with. it's a long way for me to relocate. sorry. i am not selfish at all, and i am well aware i have a lot to be grateful for. i am not taking the piss here.

vee: yeah, i got the impression i was being ripped off, too! some people have said £550, others £800 odd. eek.

I NEED A COURIER, PAUL. a MAN WITH A VAN.

[camo]

Hire your own it's cheaper. Make sure it's a nationally reconised company, that way you can hire in glasvegas and drop off in the bristol (or nearby) offices.

[gbsuey]

Nice decision methinks-Brizzle's a great place-it's a half hour blast down the motorway from me and seem to go out there more than i do here- and i'm sure you'll make new friends there no probs. And no job needs to be forever-if it's not working for you you can always figure a way out..

blimey-i just read that back-the last bit sounds a bit negative-sorry,i'm sure you totally put a lot of thought into what the job will mean to you and not just"oh fuck it, if i hate it i'll chuck it"!

[ms.peachy]

I haven't yet been to Bristol; I have a few friends there and keep meaning to go and visit as I hear it is a great place. Well, now I will have even more reason to go :)

[paul jones]

a-z: i sympathise with your problems immensely but comments like that with the excessive ooooooooos just make me feel bad :/. as i said, i wasn't trying to seem greedy, i was just trying to negotiate the terms i myself would feel better with. it's a long way for me to relocate. sorry. i am not selfish at all, and i am well aware i have a lot to be grateful for. i am not taking the piss here.

vee: yeah, i got the impression i was being ripped off, too! some people have said £550, others £800 odd. eek.

I NEED A COURIER, PAUL. a MAN WITH A VAN.

how much shit you got to move? and when?