People negotiate for Rhode Island jobs?
Posted on August 25, 2013
Salary negotiations are always top of mind, but people accepting Rhode Island jobs may be leaving some money on the table.
This is all according to a recent CareerBuilder survey.
The survey finds that even though 45 percent of employers are willing – and expect – to negotiate salaries for initial job offers almost half (49 percent) of workers accept the first offer given to them.
These workers could be leaving money on the table.
Fifty-five percent of workers 35 or older typically negotiate the first offer, which is significantly higher than workers age 18-34 (45 percent).
Men (54 percent) are more likely than women (49 percent) to negotiate first offers.
Professional & business services workers (56 percent) are the most likely to negotiate salary, followed by, information technology (55 percent), leisure and hospitality (55 percent) and sales workers (54 percent).
If unable to meet the job candidate’s salary requirements, a majority of employers are willing to provide alternative benefits. Employers said they would offer the following:
· Flexible schedule: 33 percent
· More vacation time: 19 percent
· Telecommute at least once per week: 15 percent
· Pay for mobile device: 14 percent
Thirty-eight percent said they would not be able to provide anything.
While 11 percent of employers include wage or salary information in their job listings, nearly one-in-four (24 percent) said they don’t reveal what the position pays until they extend the job offer. Nearly half (48 percent) will discuss salary during initial conversations or during the first job interview.
About one third of employers keep track of what competitors pay comparable employees via job postings (33 percent) or market average reports (34 percent), but many (35 percent) don’t factor in external compensation at all. Haefner notes that this can hurt employers competing for skilled labor.
“Forty-nine percent of hiring managers surveyed said job candidates have refused offers due to salary,” said Haefner. “It’s critical that recruiters and hiring managers are armed with up-to-date compensation data. If you offer premium talent below market rates, it can be very difficult to fill vacant positions.”
More than half (54 percent) of hiring managers and HR professionals reported that they are willing to negotiate salaries on initial job offers in the next year. For offers given to new hires, 34 percent of employers say the average change in compensation is expected to grow less than 5 percent in the next year, and 16 percent expect increases of 5 percent or more. Thirty-four percent anticipate no change, three percent expect decreases, and 14 percent are unsure.
Thirty-nine percent of employers expecting increases for new hires say the hikes are to entice skilled applicants to apply, and 25 percent say increase are coming because job offers were turned down due to low compensation.