Accept the job or negotiate?

Getting an interview may feel like a lucky strike for current job hunters. After all, employers are reporting hundreds of applicants for single roles and coronavirus restrictions continue to dampen year-on-year hiring.

If you make it to the interview stage, negotiating your package can feel like risking your chances of being the top applicant. Should you accept any job or is it OK to ask for Tuesday afternoons off to do the school pick up? Or an extra $5k a year to reflect the extra capability you’ll bring to the role?

Agency Iceberg Recruitment founder Anna O’Dea says asking for a pay bump and flexibility are two very different things.

“In my opinion, it’s an insensitive time to ask for more cash,” O’Dea tells Get Hired Australia. “The reality is a lot of business owners will be paying staff from their savings right now, so it’s really not an option to be asking for a pay rise. The same goes for people currently employed who are approaching mid-year reviews. I have people asking me ‘Anna, I’m on JobKeeper but I haven’t had a pay rise in three years’. It’s terrible they haven’t had a pay rise, but now is just not the time to ask for more money.”

Instead, O’Dea suggests asking for non-monetary benefits like a laptop, phone, enrolment in a useful course, coffee allowance or a car park.

“It’s not extra salary going into your pay packet, but it’s providing for things you’d otherwise be spending your money on,” O’Dea says.

“I’d also suggest asking to put a diary entry in six months down the line to have a discussion about pay then, when, hopefully the economy is looking a bit more sunny.”

As for requesting flexibility, O’Dea says it’s actually an opportune time to ask for unusual hours.

“It’s important to realise when you’re asking for flexibility, that you offer that flexibility yourself.

"If you want to leave to pick up the kids every afternoon, then let your employer know you’ll be checking your emails when things have settled down in the evening to stay on top of your job.”

Now that you’re clear what you may want to ask for, when do you bring it up?

“I’d say to wait until the second-round interview,” O’Dea says. “You don’t want to come in, guns blazing, in the first interview and say: ‘This is me. I want Thursdays off and I won’t check my emails after 5pm’. It sounds a bit aggressive.

“Instead, get a sense of the culture. Is this workplace right for you? Do they like you? Once you’ve established that, It’s a good time to ask.”

She says to definitely have the conversation before a contract is offered.

“An employer doesn’t want to feel like you’ve been insincere. If you wait until you’ve signed your contract to say ‘I’ve got a two-month holiday booked’ or that you only want to work four days a week, they can retract the offer and I’ve seen it happen before.”

Have you successfully negotiated your job offer before? What worked for you? Share your story in the comments.

Feeling stressed? In this LinkedIn learning course, neuroscientist Heidi Hanna helps you understand why you’re feeing stressed, and how you can harness it.

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What are you doing today? At 2pm AEST, LinkedIn is hosting live show #TogetherinBusiness to discuss the issues impacting the way small businesses operate. Who Gives A Crap CEO Simon Griffiths, PwC Partner –Sustainability Rosalie Wilkie and inventor Veena Sahajwalla answer your questions on how Australia can create economic prosperity, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability.

We look into the experience of older Australians in the job market. Do you have a story you’d like to share? Send me, Cayla Dengate, a direct message on LinkedIn.

Missed Last week’s #GetHiredAustralia? Here’s some absolutely invaluable advice from career coaches about what to do when there are no jobs to apply for.

The comments from Get Hired Australia are so often hopeful, poignant and sometimes, funny, so each week, I’m going to share one member comment to round off the newsletter. This one comes from Frank Cullura, who was made redundant in December 2018 after working 18 years with the one company.

"I received some very good advice from a "young, woke, millennial" family member when I broke the news.

"So Dad, do you want us to hold a pity party for you or are you going to pick yourself up and make the most of it?".

I have since had some great opportunities come my way in the form of contractor and part-time roles that allowed me to work in new fields and learn some new skills. I have also kept my mind active by embarking on formal studies and am currently completing my third online learning course.

Personally, I have never felt younger, fitter, more motivated and in tune with my current skills set, knowledge gaps, experience and expertise. I know one day I will find my dream job and my future employer will find their ideal candidate in me. And, when that job arrives I will have a really great life story to tell about how I landed it.

So if you ever receive an invitation to attend your own pity party, do what I did and simply RETURN TO SENDER!"