Question from a job seeking social networker today in my LinkedIn inbox:
What do you do when a recruiter calls and says you would be a great candidate for the position they are looking to fill, saw my resume on line….You ask what the job pays and the answer is $11.00 to 13.00 a hour. What do you do or say?
Karla says:
I guess it depends on what you are prepared to do. From our conversations I think I know what you are looking for but the truth is, that type of job is few and far between here and everywhere.. and candidates with competitive experience are rather abundant. The job market is not going to be well for a very long time.
So, if you need to get back into the job market and it is a job you would like, you could just be honest and say that it seems very interesting and a great match for your experience and either:
A) Go through the interview and take it if offered to you, to get back to work and stop the gap from growing on your resume. When offered the position, try to negotiate a little more (but not more than 10-15% is advisable) and pick up some freelance work on the side to pick up the slack in salary, make yourself very valuable in the company and grow the position and your worth and hopefully in a couple of years you’ll be right back up to where you were before.
B) Say that it sounds great however, your salary requirement is X…. and see what happens.
B rarely if ever works out, especially these days.. there is a line behind you that will take what they offer. People’s unemployment checks are running out and $13. is a lot more than $0. People are managing more than one job to make ends meet.
I’m sorry, I don’t have anything rosier to say. I hope it puts things in perspective and helps you reflect to form a strategy. Too many people went to school for communications, most don’t actually work in it. That includes me anymore. It’s highly competitive due to the gross over saturation of candidates.
As always, I wish you the best.
Karla
PS. Your question is EXCELLENT. I am going to use it and my answer without your name or any way to identify you, in a blog post.
Sep 08, 2010 at 5:35 AM
It is an excellent question and excellent answer! You are spot on, Karla! Option B rarely works because there are 10 people standing in line behind you who are qualified and willing to do the job for x dollars. I know this as a Recruiter and as a job seeker (for my husband). He had to take a drastic pay decrease even though he has years of experience, training and education. But in our market (Las Vegas) and in his industry (construction) there aren't just 10 people in line behind him, there are hundreds! And you are right….x dollars is better than 0 dollars!
Option A isn't as bad as it sounds. I tell candidates not to just focus on the $$ right now but what the growth potential is for the future. You may be looking at an opportunity that starts out low but once you get in and prove yourself you will have better footing to approach your manager with your successes in hand and discuss a salary increase. If you see long term potential or other inciting benefits (such as great medical plan, commission potential, promotions from within) …why not give it a second thought?
And going back to reflecting on my personal experience, my husband took that job at a (much) lower salary. He received a raise two weeks after he started and has found the company to have a less stressful and more productive work environment. It turns out there is growth potential and he loves his job. In the end, I am glad we chose Option A.