I got an offer for a new job but the offer is less than what i make now by $8k

Question

The new job duties are more inline of what i want to do than my current job. I have more than 2 years electrical engineering experience and there offer was $58k

Should i mention my current salary? and tell them that i would expect the new offer to be competitive compared to the one i have now?

Also should i mention the statistic of salary.com engineering salary range will it make my negotiation more credible?

Answer 1

You can chat with hiring managers or recruiters directly to ask for their advices. This is the place: Jobirn.com, which is the networking jobsite.  

Answer 2

if it's a different line of work from what you are doing - you don't have any negotiating power - the job pays what it pays - 58k is a heck of a lot of money for someone with less than 3 yrs experience

Answer 3

This might be tricky but its worth a try since its your dream job. I think its best to base your argument on the added value you will be bringing to the company....show what you've accomplished with your experience..if you've made discoveries, have any awards or recognitions and such. They may already be aware of this but it'd be  a good place to start. Then tell them how much you want to make and may be mention the salary.com statistics, and if you will be doing more than the job descriptions on salary.com bring that up.

If they are not willing to go up your salary you can negotiate to be put on  a probation period after which they can give you your asking salary. I'd say be attentive to how they are responding to you so that you can know which way to go about negotiating so that you dont come across as uppity or too aggressive. Good luck!

Answer 4

Unless your finances are such that $8K would make you or break you, my advice would be to take the job doing what you want to do-- when you're happy, doing what you love, the rest will come.

Answer 5

You should definitely negotiate, especially if they seem to be courting you. Your response can be this simple: "I'm interested, but I have a good job already, and I wouldn't want to lose any compensation or vacation time." You should be able to negotiate at least what you currently make, perhaps even a bit more. Good luck!