Hi Parents Forum - I was hoping to get your perspective on the pay offer I received and how I should proceed (or if I should) with negotiations. I’ll keep this brief:
Background:
—Graduated undergrad in 2015
–Upon graduation, obtained position in year-long rotational program in one of the big three TV broadcasting companies
–Yesterday, I was offered a position in one of my rotations - so I’m coming in with a full year of experience already in the role
Problem:
–From asking around, the position is usually SALARIED in the range of 50K - 56K in addition to benefits, vacation time, sick time but I was offered HOURLY PAY equivalent to 54K but NO benefits, no vacation time (numbers are slightly altered for sake of anonymity but this is the general range) instead of a salary. However, I am eligible for overtime
–I am confused about why I was offered hourly pay and not a salary although everyone in this position usually gets a salary. Is this something I should ask the recruiter when I speak to him on Tuesday?
–Given that the pay is under the highest number of the range despite no benefits or anything, what should be my negotiation target? Should I say I would like my salary amount to reflect how salary + benefits would be? So about $8,000 more?
–I am also very young. Most people coming into this role are 25-26 so maybe my age is a factor? Should it be?
Would appreciate any type of advice you can provide. I am under my father’s insurance until 26 so I don’t need benefits at the moment but I am wondering how I can use “a no benefit offer” to help me negotiate a higher wage.
^If I didn’t take the job, id explore other opportunities. I want this job but also want to make sure I am being compensated fairly. I did a year in a program that wants to make sure you stay in the company afterwards. I decided to stay but I am surprised that I am not going to be a salaried employee
I would ask the recruiter these questions. Sounds like you feel they are trying to take advantage of you. You don’t want to start the job feeling resentful, so see what he says. I’d clarify this before you start making demands.
That said, Seems unlikely to me that there is 8k leeway in the salary of an entry level job paying 50k. You’ll have to decide for yourself how much you want this job.
Thank you for your feedback. I am mostly curious about the difference between hourly and salary with benefits. If you guys do not see the problem with me being hourly while most entry level people in this role are salaried, maybe there isnt one
There are laws about exempt and non exempt positions. If others in the same exact job are salaried it is not lawful to offer you an hourly rate. This begs the question if you are being offered the same position? Just asking because of the job description is different then they are allowed to offer you hourly rate. Hourly pay could work out well if there is overtime (paid at time and a half).
@ahsmuoh I thought I was being offered the same position. Thats why I feel a bit blindsided. On paper, the position is the same. I’ll ask the recruiter
A rough rule is Hourly Rate=(Salary+10K)/2000 so if salary is 50k/y the hourly rate should be around $30/hr
Overtime may be very valuable - certain people make a killing on overtime pay. Find out the OT rules are and if they pay 1.5x or 2x. If they have a generous OT policy this may be the reason why the base rate is low.
Will you be a temp hourly employee of the company or you will be subcontracting through a 3rd party company? In the second case you may be able to negotiate with 3rd party as they did not find you this position and their surcharge should be minimal like $5-10/hr.
I assume that the offered job pays more than your current job. If it is in the field you want to pursue and you do not have another offer, then you should accept the current offer realizing that you must pay for your own benefits including health insurance and disability insurance. The immediate alternatives are continuing in the current lower paying job or being temporarily unemployed. Many people disregard disability insurance at their peril. You might have a couple thousand in wiggle room but I would not push that unless you have a clearly superior offer on the table.
One point: sometimes hourly pay without specific vacation pay implies no vacation. I would clarify how much time off per year and how much time off in a single stretch are permissible before accepting the offer.
All things being equal, hourly is better than salaried because hourly includes OT pay. There are only laws not to pay salary when you should be hourly, not the other way around.
Your key issue is no health benefits or paid time off. That would be a problem to me. You could accept there, work and keep looking for better opportunities in and out of the company.
For the most part, just realize that they would rather have you than not, that it probably would suck for them to have the deal fall through over a few dollars, that you can certainly ask for a salary with benefits etc, and that you should be nice with recruiters. What you get out of them is a function mostly of how much the balance of weaknesses is in your favor and how well you are aware of it (i.e. do they need you more than you need them?) and of your ability to ask for what you want properly. You can always try negotiating for salary with benefits, and to ask for more money if they can’t give that to you.
The medical field has part time as needed workers referred to as “per diem.” There are no benefits, no guaranteed hours, and no commitment to work set hours. Essentially, vacation is notifying in advance that you are not available right for a week. However, per diem employees normally have a higher hourly rate than full time employees.
Hourly in and of itself isn’t as big of an issue as health insurance and whether you have the right to take even unpaid vacation. Expected hours and overtime rate are important. If salaried employees are working 50 hours/week, you may be equal if you are only working 40 hours or if 50, more pay. That doesn’t mean it’s enough to compensate for no health insurance.
It sounds like you are being offered a job with a major tv network. Are these jobs highly sought after? Are there many people vying for this type of job? I’m thinking of journalism a profession which has shrunk in numbers with many looking to get into a small number of jobs.
It may be that the profession you are looking in has a high number of people looking for a small number of jobs. If so, the employer may be able to not offer a salary that they had in the past. Also maybe you are a exceptional candidate and they don’t want to lose you but do not have an opening.
Which could be reasons for the salary you were offered. Employers have many reasons for the offers. You can ask, but be prepared for the employer to not be in a position to negotiate. And if you will accept the job as offered?
It’s certainly worth discussing and negotiating. I would say in the worst case assuming they don’t budge, you should take the job and continue your job search elsewhere. It’s much easier to find a job while employed, and by taking you on as an hourly employee the current employer is basically telling you that they don’t mind if you leave at any time because they want the option to fire you at any time.
What I meant in my question was how much “hand” do you have? If you are lucky to have the job, just take it. If there are plenty of jobs, and you have multiple offers, then play hardball.
What a lot of young employees don’t understand is that if they are hourly, they are really paid but the minute, or to the closest 15 minutes. If the train is late, and you start at 9:15, you’ve just lost 15 minutes of pay. And if you go out to the doctor (and clock out as you are supposed to) you lose the time you are at the doc until you clock back in. Suddenly, a 40 hour week is 37.5 hours. And you need to get up to 40 hours before the OT clicks in.
While you can be covered under your parent’s insurance until you turn 26, there’s a cost to your parents. We are not asking our son to contribute but YMMV. It looks to be about $200 month – I just saw the new employee contributions for next year for employee and family vs. employee and spouse. Clearly if there are children at home or in college, in addition to the young adult child there’s no additional cost to the parents.
Were there others in this program and were they offered jobs with benefits? Or is it that the more senior people who hold this particular job have benefits?
This is a tough situation since the industry you are in is so competitive. But I do think you need to raise the issue and I think they expect that you will. You don’t want to start off having your employer perceive that your expectations are low or that you cannot advocate for yourself in a professional manner.
I would figure out what basic medical insurance will cost you and counter their offer with a number that includes that - tell them you have to have medical coverage and this is your only option. I would also discuss the issue of vacation time - will you be expected to take it without pay? Can you afford a week or two without a paycheck?
See if you can boost their offer a bit to make the job work for you. However, if you are unsuccessful in the negotiation and you do not believe you can find something comparable, I would take the job and look at it as additional experience for a year and continue to look around.