Salary Leverage? (2 Viewers)

I think my question was more geared towards negotiating a contract before signing @BonScot.

The situation would be something like this....As an unemployed applicant you're considering jobs at two separate employers (same area, same cost of living, same benefits). Both have offered contracts, but you haven't accepted anything. You like job X more than job Y (for whatever non-tangible reason), but it pays 15% less.

Does the fact that you do not yet have an employee-employer relationship at this time impact your willingness to use leverage?
I’m not sure how to take this action. On one hand everything you see says to negotiate beforehand and also sets the base higher (for which COLA increases has a grater margin as well) and they are showing assertiveness (which should be a good thing). However the other side of the coin is the negative tone and fiscal impact. You really have no way of knowing how the employee will work out and if they are just chasing dollars they won’t last long no matter what you do. Not sure if that helped just my thoughts. I only once negotiated prior to accepting and that was because it was an interm position that was seriously undervalued compared to what my former boss was paid.
 
I think my question was more geared towards negotiating a contract before signing @BonScot.

The situation would be something like this....As an unemployed applicant you're considering jobs at two separate employers (same area, same cost of living, same benefits). Both have offered contracts, but you haven't accepted anything. You like job X more than job Y (for whatever non-tangible reason), but it pays 15% less.

Does the fact that you do not yet have an employee-employer relationship at this time impact your willingness to use leverage?
"Leverage" is the wrong word here, unless you were hotly recruited by both companies. Leverage, by definition, is to use "something" to you maximum advantage. If that something is just you, and you're an applicant, NOT a recruit (there is a subtle, but powerful difference between the two when it comes to perception,) then I wouldn't risk anything more than a gentle conversation with HR to find out if there's a room to negotiate the starting salary. Anything more can turn people off.
 
Experiencing something similar right now. A new opportunity presented itself to me the week I returned to regular, weekly work. Wasn’t looking to leave my current job but with a decently significant pay bump and a better benefits package I had to set up an interview.

Spoke to my current boss about it the next day to see if there might be a possible counter offer forthcoming, there wasn’t. I was open and honest about not initially looking to leave, he told me of a situation where he went through the same thing and was very understanding.

TL;DR it all depends on your relationship with your immediate boss/supervisor
I just did the same thing and am going to see how it turns out in the next few weeks. Got an opportunity, went to my client of 9 years and gave notice, and had a really honest conversation on what it would take to keep me with realistic expectations. Left, and the internal job that hits those marks closed yesterday that I applied for.

Now, fully aware it does not mean the job is mine, but same basic approach with a hope of a huge win.

Let's hope, because I quit that new job last week for sanity reasons....
 
Sounds to me like you have more leverage with the new company. Maybe you can negotiate more than 15% and work from home.
 
Your employer provably already knows what they are willing to pay you. It never hurts to ask for a raise if you haven’t asked in a while or ever. That being said I would not present it as an ultimatum. Perhaps you could explain that you were solicited and offered more. And although you have no intentions of taking it you’d appreciate them considering what the proper range is for your skills given that information.
 
I think my question was more geared towards negotiating a contract before signing @BonScot.

The situation would be something like this....As an unemployed applicant you're considering jobs at two separate employers (same area, same cost of living, same benefits). Both have offered contracts, but you haven't accepted anything. You like job X more than job Y (for whatever non-tangible reason), but it pays 15% less.

Does the fact that you do not yet have an employee-employer relationship at this time impact your willingness to use leverage?
As an employer I’ve got a budget and the salaries I pay are the biggest overhead that I have to pay every month (by a mile) so I want to make sure that I’m getting value for money.

If I’ve headhunted you and I know about you and what you can bring to my company then I’ll be more willing to negotiate on salary.

If you’re just some random who’s applied for a job that I’ve advertised then why should I pay you more than what I consider to be fair for that role?

If I already have people that are already working in that role I’m not going to bring you in on a higher wage. At some point you will let it slip that you’re on more money and the next thing I’ll have a mutiny on my hands.

TLDR - if someone asks for more money than I think the role is worth I’m moving on to the next candidate.

edit - the other point that I can’t emphasise enough is that covid has been a game changer. A lot of companies have seen their income slashed and have made redundancies. Haggling over someone’s starting salary is a huge turnoff right now.
 
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My thoughts...

Will a10-15% increase after taxes make any difference in your life at all? If so, then you should determine if you're at, below or above market and if warranted, request a market salary/responsibility review. No need to bring up your alternative - everyone has options.

If you have an offer or indication that you're 75-100% or more below market, then find that new job.

Every position has a salary range that can vary considerably for lots of reasons. Many employers would prefer to keep their valued employees happy with regard to salary as that is the easiest thing to do. Changing culture is much harder.

Good luck!
 

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