Author Topic: Salary Requirements  (Read 5694 times)

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ejsmith3130

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Salary Requirements
« on: Jan 06, 2013, 01:31 pm »
Hello All!

I am applying for a full time production management position, but I am running into one thing that has me stuck. It asks me to include my salary requirements. I have been working freelance since I graduated and have never had to negotiate pay. Is there a specific format I should send this in as? Do I put in a specific number at all or leave it at negotiable? I know the minimun that I need to pay my bills and such, but I'm afraid of putting a number down and having it be too low or too high and blow my chances at the job.

Also- should it be stated in terms of by hour, weekly, or a yearly salary? I have only worked hourly and weekly thus far in my contracts.

I am more than qualified for this position, but I'm afraid that I'm going to blow my chances with this salary requirements thing.

Thanks guys for any insight!

sievep

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Re: Salary Requirements
« Reply #1 on: Jan 06, 2013, 02:39 pm »
I'm sure everyone on here is going to have a different opinion for you.

If it were me . . . you mentioned it's a full time position, so I would give them a yearly figure, make it a range, and make sure to label it "negotiable". 

As to how much . . .if you know what you need on a yearly basis JUST to survive, add 5-10K to that and there's your figure.  If they can't pay you what you are worth, you don't want to work for them anyway.
« Last Edit: Jan 06, 2013, 02:41 pm by sievep »
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KMC

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Re: Salary Requirements
« Reply #2 on: Jan 06, 2013, 04:54 pm »
I loathe these questions on any type of application.  By answering you're immediately putting yourself at a disadvantage when it comes time to negotiate salary; leave it blank and you risk having your resume tossed out immediately.  That said though, I'm a firm believer in that if they are interested in you, they'll call, even if you leave some of these types of questions blank.  I tend to omit these types of questions. 
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planetmike

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Re: Salary Requirements
« Reply #3 on: Jan 06, 2013, 06:15 pm »
Keep in mind taxes when (if) you list a figure. You'll lose out on something like 7% right off the top for Social Security. Then another 15% at least for federal taxes. If you've only been contracts in the past, the tax calculations will be handled differently with a salary.

nick_tochelli

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Re: Salary Requirements
« Reply #4 on: Jan 06, 2013, 10:26 pm »
The easiest way to try to circumvent this ridiculous question is actually simple: take what your highest rate may have been as a day player or on smaller contracts and multiply it out to a yearly salary.

So lets say you were once paid $600 a week for one show and that salary worked well for you. Multiply it out for a year, while also figuring out general taxes like planetmike said.

Keeping in mind the golden rule that your rent should be covered by a week/two weeks of pay is also a guideline I used. Best of luck! :)

KMC

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Re: Salary Requirements
« Reply #5 on: Jan 07, 2013, 08:51 am »
The easiest way to try to circumvent this ridiculous question is actually simple: take what your highest rate may have been as a day player or on smaller contracts and multiply it out to a yearly salary.

So lets say you were once paid $600 a week for one show and that salary worked well for you. Multiply it out for a year, while also figuring out general taxes like planetmike said.

But this is my exact problem with this question.  Using your $600/week figure, that would come to $31,500 yearly salary.  What if you assume it's a $30,000 position, but it's actually a $40,000 position?  Your new employer can meet your number, make you happy, and you just shorted yourself by almost 25% over an arbitrary figure you put on your application or in your cover letter.
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nick_tochelli

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Re: Salary Requirements
« Reply #6 on: Jan 07, 2013, 09:48 am »
I should have mentioned that was what I meant as the take home pay. If you're taking home 600 a week, depending on your taxes, that's actually 40k a year.

Apologies for unclear posting. You do make a good point, though. I went through the same thing at a few jobs. They can be brutal about not revealing their hand in terms of pay scale.

KMC

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Re: Salary Requirements
« Reply #7 on: Jan 07, 2013, 10:40 am »
I should have mentioned that was what I meant as the take home pay. If you're taking home 600 a week, depending on your taxes, that's actually 40k a year.

Apologies for unclear posting. You do make a good point, though. I went through the same thing at a few jobs. They can be brutal about not revealing their hand in terms of pay scale.

The numbers aren't necessarily that important, it's more the principle.  And yes, generally they will be hesitant to reveal the pay scale.  But if I was cutting paychecks from my own pocket I wouldn't want to pay people more than I had to either - so I understand both sides. 
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GalFriday

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Re: Salary Requirements
« Reply #8 on: Jan 07, 2013, 02:00 pm »
I had this happen when working for a fairly large company from Montreal.  ;). I was eventually able to make it work in my favor.

They INSISTED on a number. I high balled it. When the offer came back it sounded good....until we did the tax math for Australia. Wow. After taxes the number was about $200 from the yearly salary I had quoted them. In the end I think it was coincidence...However, I used the leverage to go back to the table and ask for more. "You told me that number was only to fill out a blank on a form and had no bearing on your offer...why does your offer now work out to that number?". In the end I was able to get another 15%. Unfortunately that also made me the highest paid technician on tour...not a great place to be as a newbie with a new TD that did not have any say in your salary. It did, however, make a big difference in the money I made throughout the entire career I had with that company. So, negotiate that first number carefully....it can haunt you for many years.
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KMC

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Re: Salary Requirements
« Reply #9 on: Jan 08, 2013, 09:12 am »
I had this happen when working for a fairly large company from Montreal.  ;). I was eventually able to make it work in my favor.

They INSISTED on a number. I high balled it. When the offer came back it sounded good....until we did the tax math for Australia. Wow. After taxes the number was about $200 from the yearly salary I had quoted them. In the end I think it was coincidence...However, I used the leverage to go back to the table and ask for more. "You told me that number was only to fill out a blank on a form and had no bearing on your offer...why does your offer now work out to that number?". In the end I was able to get another 15%. Unfortunately that also made me the highest paid technician on tour...not a great place to be as a newbie with a new TD that did not have any say in your salary. It did, however, make a big difference in the money I made throughout the entire career I had with that company. So, negotiate that first number carefully....it can haunt you for many years.

This is a great case in the point I made earlier in the thread.  Fortunate that you were able to work it out eventually. 

That is a great point you brought up about the difference over the long term and something I hadn't thought about in the frame of this discussion.   If you had wound up 15% behind the curve at the beginning, you'd likely have been 15% behind through any raises, promotions, etc... through the course of your career with that mysterious Montreal-based company. 
Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action. -T. Roosevelt

MatthewShiner

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Re: Salary Requirements
« Reply #10 on: Jan 08, 2013, 09:51 pm »
And do factor in the over-time you will be working, but not paid for ....

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