R I C H

But why?

club_biscuit

sometimes there's a big difference between the way you think things ought to go and the way things actually happen. certainly not defending our experience as the best practice, but also know it's not uncommon. ultimately your choice. my experience in Canada over the last years, as other members have said, is that the job market here is very different to the UK - but again, that may be different in edmonton. best of luck.

Alberta_Rose

I negotiated my salary up quite a bit. When I asked what the offered salary was .... at the end of the interview ...... and they told me, I simply remarked that it was less than I was being paid at the present in the Health Region.

When she came back with the comment that it was what they had been paying the staff so far, I gently reminded her of the level of experience they were requesting in the job advert. She said she would have to discuss it with their director.

When I got home I shot off an email thanking her for her time in interviewing me and how much I had enjoyed our conversation. I told her I was really interested in the job and hoped that the question of salary might not be too much of a barrier .... perhaps we could discuss it further ....

They matched my current salary and I accepted their offer.

Surrey Expat

It is great getting these opinions, however the outcome only affects one person, you. The worst they can do is not say no to an increase, the worst is withdraw the job offer. Ask yourself if that is a risk you are prepared to take.

Sure you can haggle, but who is in the strongest position, you or the employer?

Being an employer I offer a wage I am prepared to pay, no more no less. If I offer a candidate a job from an advertised position and they counter offer, it would put me off altogether.

If I were to actively go after an individual (head hunt) and try to hire them a negotiation might ensue.

Happy_Feet

Well being an employer I will have worked out the bottom line salary for the advertised vacancy long before the interviews, plus I will have shortlisted the candidates from their CV's and will already have formed an opinion on who is suitable, say I interview 10 people and 2 really stand out but none more than the other, then the person trying to up the salary would be at a disatvantage from my point of view on who I employ

I have always been flexible with employees on fringe benefits, ie hours, holidays, bonus etc but not on the salary, that figure will have been budgeted for the position

I suppose it depends on a lot of factors, including what industry/business the position is in and if you have a surplus or lack of candidates etc etc

Surrey Expat actually but it well from my point of view....

Being an employer I offer a wage I am prepared to pay, no more no less. If I offer a candidate a job from an advertised position and they counter offer, it would put me off altogether

Hope you do not mind me quoting you Surrey Expat

Alberta_Rose

I can only speak for myself, and the position I was in. I was prepared to take the risk, as although it sounded like a more enjoyable job than the one I was in, they were demanding more hours and I felt I deserved at least the same wage as the local Health Authority were paying.

I felt that if the budget the clinic was on is really that low, then they really could not reasonably expect to get a candidate of the calibre they were asking for, and I told them so ..... a little more tactfully maybe.

I have worked in establishments that scrimp and save, cutting costs here and where they can, and it's not a lot of fun. Also, I had a secure job, even if it was not eactly what I wanted to be doing, and that put me in the fortunate position of being able to take the risk.

If they had come back and said they would be unable to offer more, I'd have had to have thought carefully about whether or not to accept. If they had picked somebody else then I'd just have shrugged and kept on looking out for more "opportunties".

Biiiiink

But you were in the country, in a job already Morwenna, in a stronger position to negotiate surely. The OP is (I think) in the UK and has managed to get himself 65k CAD plus a 10k CAD relocation fund from these people... is it worth possibly throwing that away by asking for 5k CAD p.a. more? He knows his next best offer is 48k CAD with no relocation.

Alberta_Rose

Yes ..... that's whay I stated ...... this was my position and why I was able to negotiate. That was exactly the point I was making, if it hadn't been apparent from my first post. The thread had maybe wandered slightly to general observations on negotiating higher salary once an off had been made.

In his position I think I'd accept the job, and then see what transpired over time when he'd been in the job for a while .... it could be that rapid progress can be made, or he might be able to search out better prospects, if there are any, once he has the benefit of "time served" in Canada!

Biiiiink

Then we agree wholeheartedly I don't know what 5k works out to be after tax but it can't be worth the hassle.

jericho

Thanks for the feedback so far.
We're really keen to get to Canada. Our SW application was sent off about 12 months ago.
However, we're not desperate to leave the UK.
There's not much point in me accepting a job if the salary is unaffordable.
An extra $5k might not sound like a lot, but as someone else pointed out, it could cover the cost of a car for instance.

The fact that we're applying from outside Canada shouldnt mean I'm forced to accept a lower paying job. The company are obviously keen to get me, and I really want the job, but at the end of the day, I have a wife and 2 kids to support.
I'd rather stay here and take my chances of something better coming along, than accepting it and finding out it's not enough.
Also, for what it's worth, the employer is a multi national company, with tens of thousands of staff around the world. They're not going to struggle by paying a few thousand dollars more, and I dont think they're going to run for the hills if I ask for a bit more. They also know Im coming to a new country with a family to support, and I would have thought they'd expect a little negotiation.

Thanks again...

Judy in Calgary

I'd be very interested to find out how this plays out, jericho. It would be great if you would keep us posted. Your findings will be useful to other BE members. All the best in your negotiations.

Jay Bird

Just as a matter of interest..........would you negotiate a higher salary if you in a similar situation in the UK - say, for example a relocation to a different part of the country? Or is it simply because it's a different country you think this might be the norm? Just interested to know......

jericho

Depends. im earning a lot more in the UK, but im having a hard time trying to find out salary levels for my position in Alberta. None of the job postings on Workopolis show salary.
Yes in the UK I would always negotiate salary.

Judy in Calgary

The Monster and Workopolis websites have salary information. Job postings rarely show salaries, but Monster and Workopolis conduct surveys and publish the information on their sites.

I thought I recalled that you were in insurance, so yesterday I tried to look up salary information about the insurance industry in Edmonton on Monster and Workopolis.

I didn't know exactly what position you were being offered, but I looked up salary information for a couple of different positions. On one of the sites I couldn't find any information for insurance positions, but I don't know if I was using the correct titles. On the other site, I saw that $48,000 was at the high end for the two positions I searched.

I don't know how accurate Monster and Workopolis are when it comes to providing salary information, but they are at least a starting point.

The Wiki on Salaries explains how to use Monster and Workopolis to find out salaries.

jericho

cheers judy, i'll have a look