Salary Quote for Full-Time Retouching Position?

[Ed_L]

I asked my daughter if she thought it would be a good idea for a young person to bring up the problems of alcohol and drug abuse during an interview. I didn't tell her why I was asking, but I wanted her input because I know her. She can go into an interview, and come out with votes for the Presidency of The United States!! O.K., that's exaggerated, that's the kind of person she is. She shines in situations like that. She said it would be a mistake to bring it up, but rather to focus on all things positive, then indicate that you would be willing to take any tests they might want. These would not by definition, be drug tests, but any test desired. So I was wrong, and I'll admit it. I didn't want to give bad input. I was only trying to give constructive input. I failed this time.

Ed

[gdillon]

All,

Again, thanks sooo much for all the advice. Been infinitely worthwhile.

I met with three different bigwigs today, the COO, the CTO and the head of HR. All were from the parent company which is much larger than I thought, 140 people. All were fine interviews. Funny anecdote: The CTO was *very* distracted when I met with him but finally got his act together enough to ask me, "In what instances would you want to dodge or burn an image?" I responded, "Well, I would never actually dodge or burn an image, but instead create a 50% grey layer and dodge and burn that, using an Overlay or Soft Light blending mode to preserve my "negative."" Only after finishing that spiel did I realize that he was really just trying to assess whether or not I knew what the dodge and burn tools do...

But, without further distractions -- They made an official offer and I learned just how bad of a negotiator I am. It was pretty much laid out for me, the person I was speaking with was clear that she didn't want to do any negotiating. I did try to get the health benefits to kick in immediately instead of in two months, we'll see if that works out. Salary is 33k. Good healthcare, etc.

I am a little disappointed that I rolled over so easily. I do believe I do quality work and, judging from some of your opinions, 33k is low for this type of position. But, I was won over by the company. They started in 2001 and 18 months later started spinning out smaller niche companies, like the one I would be working for. It's still in start-up mode and is totally bumping with motivated people. A wholly refreshing change from the hugely bureaucratic non-profit I have been working for the past 4 months. I would sacrifice some money to be in that sort of environment again.

So, I'll get a letter soon and I expect to accept the position. Starting out the last week in March.

Wish me luck!

~g

[gdillon]

Originally Posted by Ed_L

I asked my daughter if she thought it would be a good idea for a young person to bring up the problems of alcohol and drug abuse during an interview. I didn't tell her why I was asking, but I wanted her input because I know her. She can go into an interview, and come out with votes for the Presidency of The United States!! O.K., that's exaggerated, that's the kind of person she is. She shines in situations like that. She said it would be a mistake to bring it up, but rather to focus on all things positive, then indicate that you would be willing to take any tests they might want. These would not by definition, be drug tests, but any test desired. So I was wrong, and I'll admit it. I didn't want to give bad input. I was only trying to give constructive input. I failed this time.

Ed

Ha! Sounds like your daughter is certainly the person to turn to for this sort of advice. Ed, I really appreciate your help, this sort of dialogue is so important to me -- gets me thinking and strategerizing about how to go about my business. Don't sweat it, things have turned out pretty well, even though I discovered exactly how dense my vertebrae actually are.

Best regards,

~g

[Vikki]

Well congrats on your new job!
I wouldn't be too hard on yourself about the negotiations, sounds like you didn't have much choice.
Even though the salary may be lower than you'd like, the good news is that you'll be doing something you love to do.
Best of luck.
Vikki

[Noelf]

Originally Posted by gdillon

But, without further distractions -- They made an official offer and I learned just how bad of a negotiator I am. It was pretty much laid out for me, the person I was speaking with was clear that she didn't want to do any negotiating. I did try to get the health benefits to kick in immediately instead of in two months, we'll see if that works out. Salary is 33k. Good healthcare, etc.

I am a little disappointed that I rolled over so easily. I do believe I do quality work and, judging from some of your opinions, 33k is low for this type of position. But, I was won over by the company. They started in 2001 and 18 months later started spinning out smaller niche companies, like the one I would be working for. It's still in start-up mode and is totally bumping with motivated people. A wholly refreshing change from the hugely bureaucratic non-profit I have been working for the past 4 months. I would sacrifice some money to be in that sort of environment again.

So, I'll get a letter soon and I expect to accept the position. Starting out the last week in March.

Wish me luck!

~g

Being happy with the position you are going to be doing, and having benefits definitely outweight worrying about negotiating for a larger salary.

What is important is that you sound happy with it, and that makes all the difference in the world!

Good luck with the position!!

- Noel

[Ed_L]

Congratulations! With the company being relatively new, there could be a good chance for advancement. Sometimes it isn't the money that's the most important thing. Working environment also weighs heavily. Best of luck.

Ed