cut in pay

Well. I worked for a company where I referred someone for an open position, but they were not considered because 'they make too much.' This person wanted the job for the location and the experience; their current job was not enjoyable, was not giving them experience, and was a long commute. This was made clear during the interview, as well as the willingness (is that a word?) to take a pay cut but the company didn't think any person would be happy taking a pay cut and that they would leave soon after starting.

I am concerned now that this may happen to me. Has anyone heard of a job not being offered because they 'make too much'?

[DW Simpson]

Quote: Has anyone heard of a job not being offered because they 'make too much'?

Many employers prefer to know our candidates' salaries+bonus before bringing them in for a first interview. That way they can avoid situations like you described. So frequently what happens is that if an employer has a compensation range in mind, and a candidate is a good deal beyond that range, it's probable that the employer will just decide to not begin the interview process and move on to other candidates.

It's rare that they interview and then later on decide they don't want to make a candidate take a pay cut, even if the candidate offers willingly.

Also, as a general rule, employers don't like to dole out pay cuts for moves, mostly citing morale.

[DW Simpson]

I'm going to catch hell for this, but I'll add it anyway --

This is one example where a good recruiter can be useful in that they can advocate and may able to talk the employer out of an arbitrary pay range and give their candidate a shot. It happens all the time.

[WQN]

That's a good suggestion about the recruiter, sometimes we don't know how to advocate for ourselves in these positions.

Right now I only work about 3/4 time(28 hours a week). When I look for a job, should I tell them my actual salary or the full-time equivalent of my salary?

[DW Simpson]

Both, I guess. I haven't heard much about dealing with that issue, but I'm sure we have dealt with it in some regard.

[42]

The person's reason for wanting to take a pay cut would be a big factor in a company's decision about whether or not to even interview that person. Many people are willing to take a pay cut "until something better comes along", especially people who are about to lose their current job, people trying to get their first job in the country, and people who are so unhappy with their current job that they are willing to move anywhere just to get away. Most companies have no desire to be this person's short-term stepping stone or "rebound company". For those companies that might consider such a candidate, they would probably want to see just the right set of reasons for taking a pay cut (e.g., moving closer to family, sincere desire to change specialty or type of company, desire for something specific that only the new company can offer, etc.), and the pay cut would have to be relatively small.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 42 on 2002-02-20 10:28 ]</font>

I never provided my income to a potential employer. My current income was a matter for my current employer and myself, and had nothing to do with any position I was being interviewed for (I would pretty this up, but that's the effect of what I would say when asked). The only reason I think employers want to know this info is as a negotiating tool, and since they're unlikely to provide info on what they're willing to pay during the interview process, it only seemed fair. I always said that I expected to be paid reasonably for the position and my experience, and left it at that. Never seemed to be an issue.

I did once take a cut in pay at a new position as I perceived greater upward potential. I also turned down a raise from my then current employer when I gave my notice. In retrospect, I wouldn't do it again, as the only reason I was offered a lower salary was because the company generally underpaid and had a salary freeze that didn't come out until my first review.

[Joo]

I was actually offered a position making less money about 2 years ago. They knew that if I accepted, I'd be working very close to home because we were shopping for a house in the same town in NJ, and they knew I had a small child and I would be extremely interested just because it was so darn close.
I found this absolutely insulting, and I asked if they realized that they offered me less money, and they said yes, but you'll be much closer to home and to your child.

[42]

Glenn's right - we normally wouldn't ask about salary before the interview, unless we had some reason to believe that the person was already making more than we could pay. (This is where recruiters helped, since they would raise this issue with us up front.) However, on the day of the interview, the first thing we ask them to do is to fill out a job application, and that asks for current salary. We've never had anybody refuse to share that information with us at that point.

Joo, if you're saying that somebody specifically offered you less money than they would have offered somebody of equal ability simply because they knew that there were other aspects of the job that you would like (i.e., being closer to home), I don't think that's fair. Are you sure that was the entire story?