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On Salary Requirements, Part II
@wallsdonotfall Yeah, that doesn't sound like they were interested or able to offer anything higher. I think you might have a different experience applying for admin positions, but as the other commenters in this thread have mentioned, it really depends on the budget situation at your university (and whether those jobs are even available). For positions where it's not so clear what the wage restrictions are, however, I still think it's important to make a request, while being clear that you are flexible - the fact that new employees usually never asked about salary possibilities was something that came up again and again while I worked at universities, and there's a reason a department receives a salary range for a position - it's meant for negotiation. If they don't have a range to offer, then obviously there can be no negotiation. Congrats on the new job, though! I hope it's enjoyable - and maybe it can lead to something higher-paying eventually?
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On Salary Requirements, Part II
@Jellybish That's really unfortunate - my experience has been in the Canadian university market, and two out of the three departments where I've worked were even expanding to accommodate larger student enrolments and grants intended to assist with the creation of new programs. Maybe it's a difference in the national markets? Or maybe I've been lucky to work at institutions receiving new funding?
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On Salary Requirements, Part II
@Lily Rowan Yeah, that's an unfortunate difference between a large company or institution - I apologize if it wasn't clear that my advice applied for the times you're applying to a large institution, and not a non-profit.
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On Salary Requirements, Part II
@wallsdonotfall It's tricky - in my first interview, the only reason salary came up was because I brought it up (if it's possible, I'd recommend asking something like, "What salary and benefits are you able to offer for this position?"). I think it depends on several things - for instance, is it a unionized post? How many people are being hired and who is doing the hiring? (Someone within the dept or some generic HR person for the whole institute?) All my university jobs have been straight-up admin positions. Out of curiosity, what kind of position did you apply for? Did they have you sign a contract? I'm surprised they offered you no range at all, and even more if they never said, "Oh, and this is what you will be paid."
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On Salary Requirements, Part II
Even if a position you've applied for is considered entry-level, I think it's really important not to assume that you should ask for the minimum salary given. In my experience, the only reason young employees were given the minimum for their positions was because they didn't ask for more - for instance, in my first entry-level admin job at a university, I nervously asked for $30,500K/year rather than the minimum $27,500K provided on the description (I realize not all jobs provide this, but for larger institutions like a university it's fairly common - and looking back now, my request seems laughably low). I expected to have to justify my reasons for the request (my previous experience working part-time in fundraising and conference organizing), but to my surprise, the hiring manager immediately agreed. To me, $3K more a year was a HUGE deal, but to the university's HR, it was pennies, and well within their budget. I think it's important to keep this in mind. One hiring manager told me later that requesting a specific salary was often seen to mean that the candidate was seriously interested in the position and had taken the time to consider their worth to the company. If you need to state your salary expectations before it's clear that you're a serious candidate, however, it's obviously a lot tougher to feel confident. My advice would be to consider what your skills are worth, and not just the level of position (and also: your previous part-time work experiences should also count - especially for an entry-level post). State in a friendly and polite way that you feel that this is a reasonable starting salary given your skills, but that you are willing to be flexible. In my opinion, if they're reasonable and they like your skill set, they'll choose you over the mediocre candidate who didn't ask for a specific or higher salary - they want someone qualified who is motivated to work for them, and your salary request will reflect that motivation.
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On My First Apartment: A Tale of Robbery, Arson, and 'Living Like the Dolphin'
@Lenora Jane I raised an eyebrow at that line, too - security deposits here are totally illegal under the tenant laws! As someone who does affordable housing advocacy in Montreal, this article had me palm -> face slapping every other line. So THIS is what McGill students are thinking when they rent. It's even worse than I feared.
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On Who Should Pay for the Condoms? (A Survey)
Yay for government paying - my partner and I have found something close to that, where we get them for cheap from a local government-subsidized health shop (plain ones are free, or specialty condoms are 25 cents each). I also agree with Jane Marie - all penis-sexers should buy their own stash of condoms. My partner and I live together now, though, so condoms are just another household shopping list item ("your turn to get the toilet paper" sort of thing). Dear Billfold: Can we please have a "My Condom Secret" column? Yes? Oh the possibilities...