Green Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Actualy they are probably more likely to offer a job to some one who asks questions and tries to get what they want. They might not give you everything they ask for, but if you do it politlely and proffesionaly it makes you look good to ask for more. Link to post Share on other sites
Star Gazer Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Actualy they are probably more likely to offer a job to some one who asks questions and tries to get what they want. They might not give you everything they ask for, but if you do it politlely and proffesionaly it makes you look good to ask for more. Perhaps if she was interviewing with Donald Trump, but not as a THERAPIST. Link to post Share on other sites
Green Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Perhaps if she was interviewing with Donald Trump, but not as a THERAPIST. Im not sure where she lives but its almost imposible to live a life under 30k or what ever. I could make more on unemployment. she should have asked for what the minimum she would have been happy with Link to post Share on other sites
Author Lauriebell82 Posted March 10, 2008 Author Share Posted March 10, 2008 Im not sure where she lives but its almost imposible to live a life under 30k or what ever. I could make more on unemployment. she should have asked for what the minimum she would have been happy with Well, I don't have that many expenses, like school loans or a car payment or anything. And sharing apartment bills with my bf will save money as well. So I probably could live off of that much, but it would be nice to make more just to have some like "in case of emergency" type funds. My dad told me to put on the application that my salary expectations were negotiable. So that's what I did, and they didn't even tell me what the salary range was or anything, it was on the internet thats how I knew. So when they said 28 k I felt like I didn't really know how high they could go or whatever and was afraid to ask. Link to post Share on other sites
curiousnycgirl Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Ok so they have verbally offered you the job, I presume they will follow up with a written offer. Likelihood is you are working with someoine in recruiting/staffing/HR - these people are used to applicants asking questions. So educate me a little - does this company have to sponsor you taking the test for your licensing? How much experience do you need before you can get your license? when you get your written offer I would suggest calling the recruiter and asking if there is a 6 month salary review, or a automatic increase once you are licensed, or however it works in your field. My sister is a speech pathologist - and she needed her first job to document her hours of experience and sponsor her licensing - which adds administrative overhead ot the employer. Once she got her license, she got an immediate bump in salary. Plus she got an automatic increase during the year end evaluation period. First and foremost please recognize that without it being in writing, you don't really have a job offer. This becomes really important later in life, as in you never give notice until you ahve the offer in writing. Secondly when you were asked about whether or not $28K was acceptable, it was a stupid question - you probably had not clue what benefits they provide, etc. You need to look at these offers as total packages. Finally there is nothing wrong with asking questions after you get your written offer. What is wrong is being rude or demanding about it, which I'm sure you will not do - so no worries. Link to post Share on other sites
Green Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 this is one of the reasons women make less then men, to afraid to ask for money. Don't count on your bf's income, god forbid something happens. you'll be so happy if you make that magic numer you want. Imagine going to work everyday feeling underpaid... if thats fine with you, dont wory about it Link to post Share on other sites
Author Lauriebell82 Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 Ok so they have verbally offered you the job, I presume they will follow up with a written offer. Likelihood is you are working with someoine in recruiting/staffing/HR - these people are used to applicants asking questions. So educate me a little - does this company have to sponsor you taking the test for your licensing? How much experience do you need before you can get your license? I already paid to take the National Counselor Exam in April. After that I will be a Nationally Certified Counselor. I then need 3900 hours (equilavent of about 2 years of full time work) of supervised counseling and a supervisor evaluation in order to get my liscense. I'm looking to get certified as an Addictions Counselor as well, and for that I need two years experience and to take the test after the supervision hours are complete. What I have to do is call them to tell them I am interested in the job and to send me the written offer. I was possibly thinking about calling and asking more questions such as the ones you just mentioned. I didn't think to ask when the salary reviews or anything was or if I got a bump in pay after my i get my lisensure. I'm going to follow up with the guy in a few days and maybe ask these questions. First and foremost please recognize that without it being in writing, you don't really have a job offer. This becomes really important later in life, as in you never give notice until you ahve the offer in writing. Secondly when you were asked about whether or not $28K was acceptable, it was a stupid question - you probably had not clue what benefits they provide, etc. You need to look at these offers as total packages. Well the guy told me about the benefits package, that it's Highmark and I have vision, dental, medical. Actually the benefits are awesome in the social services, even though the pay is low. So that's a def. plus for me, seeing as how I need good medical coverage due to my pre-existing condition. Link to post Share on other sites
curiousnycgirl Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Well the guy told me about the benefits package, that it's Highmark and I have vision, dental, medical. Actually the benefits are awesome in the social services, even though the pay is low. So that's a def. plus for me, seeing as how I need good medical coverage due to my pre-existing condition. Ok what makes a benefit package awesome is different in everyone's eyes, but I'll touch on some of the biggies: 1. how much would your monthly cost for the premiums be, or what percentage does the employer cover vs. you (it's either flat fee, or percentage based), 2. is it PPO/HMO/Indemnity or what? PPO and HMO basically mean you have to go to their doctors vs indemnity where you can choose any doctor you want. Indemnity will typically cost you more both in premiums and the amount you pay for the office visit costs. However if you have a preexisting condition, you might want to continue with a doctor you already see 3. Are you fully covered from day one, if not when? 4. Are you covered for prexisting conditions? 5. What is the maximum annual out of pocket? 6. What is the annual deductible? 7. Is there a lifetime maximum? 8. Do they offer disability benefits? If so what is the coverage and can you opt to pay for more? These are just what pops into my head right now. Always good to know this type of stuff - as it may be the deciding factor between two offers. Link to post Share on other sites
HokeyReligions Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 The terms are used interchangably usually. Usually "therapists" are masters level and "counselors" are bachelors or associates. At my internship they refer to us as therapists. So I think it depends on the establishment. I have applied for a lot of other jobs, I'm open to pretty much anything. I do have a strong interest in the mental health/addictions population which is mainly where I applied. Maybe I should "branch out" though. The position I applied for, the salary range was like $28,000-$34,000 and they offered me 28 k. The guy was like "we can start you out at this pay rate, is that ok? I wanted to be like NOOO!!!!! You should have said No and not just thought it. They will always offer the lowest salary, but many will go higher - you just have to negotiate for it. It's not too late to negotiate. How did you end the interview? Did you say that salary would be OK? You can always talk to them again and say that you are interested, but that the salary is too low and you would like to discuss that again and see what they come back with. But have an amount to give them when they ask what salary you think would be appropriate. At that point you have to be ready to accept it or decline it. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Lauriebell82 Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 You should have said No and not just thought it. They will always offer the lowest salary, but many will go higher - you just have to negotiate for it. It's not too late to negotiate. How did you end the interview? Did you say that salary would be OK? You can always talk to them again and say that you are interested, but that the salary is too low and you would like to discuss that again and see what they come back with. But have an amount to give them when they ask what salary you think would be appropriate. At that point you have to be ready to accept it or decline it. Well after they asked me when I could start and everything and the salary I told them I would think about it and get back to them because I am looking at a few other opportunities. I want $32,000, and from the jobs that I have looked at on the internet thats about what they start out at. I have no clue why this job starts so low. I don't think I could get much more than $32,000 because I don't have much experience. But still I don't think making under $30,000 with a masters degree is fair even without much experience. So what should I say to them in order to negotiate? I was thinking tell them I have other opportunities but am really interested in their position and am wondering if I could negotiate. Does that sound good? Sheesh I am so freaked out that they are not going to give me the job then! I applied to a bunch of other places as well, but haven't heard back from anyone for an interview yet. Link to post Share on other sites
Green Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 you could just take the job, and then keep looking for a job with the newfound confidence to negotiate knowing you already have a job Link to post Share on other sites
SeraBella Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 you could just take the job, and then keep looking for a job with the newfound confidence to negotiate knowing you already have a job I agree with this. You always have something to fall back on. I have several friends in Pittsburgh (i see not the same area, but it is close) with various experience levels, various positions, all within the social services field. Some of them have Masters degrees and some do not...and I was shocked when I discovered that none of them make over $30k. And they all claim that there is little to no room for negotiation...because the field is saturated and the jobs are highly sought after. All of that shocked me since it's the complete opposite in my field. Good luck to you Link to post Share on other sites
allina Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 LB, I'm curious, have you spoken to your bf about this and if so what is his opinion? Have you decided what you ant to do? Link to post Share on other sites
Author Lauriebell82 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 Hey guys thanks for the advice. Serabell: Actually teh reason the pay is low starting out is because in the state of Pennsylvania you dont' start making money until you get your liscense...and unfortunately you have to get the required supervision hours AFTER you recieve your masters (which is the equilavent of about two years of full time counseling work). I talked to a few people who have already graduated and they said with my experience I got a pretty sweet deal getting a job offer before I even graduated. My best friend told me I should take the job. Allina: yes I have talked to my bf about this. He thinks I should take the job as well, instead of wait and see if something better comes along...because it might not. Then come 2 months from now I don't even have anything. And the money IS enough for me to live off of, I'm going to save a ton of money living with him and he also said that until I get myself started and figure out how to budget he doesn't mind paying for us to go out like he is doing right now. He is just happy and proud of me that I found something already! And this place seems like such a nice place to work. Both the men I interviewed with were very nice and they said that it is a great place to learn about the field and this will def. get me the experience that I need. And I'm not going to make that much forever, once I get experience and my liscense I will be be able to make a lot more, plus be eligible for higher paying jobs. So unfortunately in my field, the money comes later. I'm really getting tempted to just take the job. AND they are willing to wait 2 months for me..I don't know how many other places are going to be willing to do that. Plus I'm going to get my own little office and computer! So what are all your opinions? Link to post Share on other sites
Author Lauriebell82 Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 So I took the job!!!! YAY!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
allina Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Congratulations LB! Link to post Share on other sites
Green Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 congratulations on deciding Link to post Share on other sites
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