Quick question on salary request

[frugalone]

I'm just a postin' fool this week! :~):~)

When you see an ad that requests salary history/range, and said ad says you will be required to work nights and weekends on occasion, would you 1) up the salary request higher than if you would NOT have to work eves and weekends; 2) If so, how much higher would you request? 5%? 10%?

I once made a very bad judgment error on that sort of thing, and felt I was being underpaid. I don't want to make that same mistake again.

Sorry for the atrocious grammar up there!

[Lainey]

I wonder if this is for a salaried or hourly position. It's a pet peeve of mine that hourly workers get OT, but "professional" salaried workers are supposed to work 50-60 hours a week with no corresponding increase in pay. Talk about calculating your "real" hourly pay!

But, if this is an occasional thing due to rotating schedules within the work group, I'd say don't let it deter you, but definitely get the details on what exactly they mean.

[Zoebird]

If I were new to that line of work and really wanted the job, I would take an entry to mid-level salary average for the position.

If I were quite experienced in the job (say, 8 years +), and was in the habit of not working nights/weekends, I would ask for the highest end of the range for the job.

[frugalone]

I thought that perhaps Lainey was right--it would be a "salaried position."

Zoebird, thanks--I don't know if I am going to apply but I shall keep that in mind.

[profnot]

I never put salary history or expectations on resumes or cover letters. I don't let them talk money until I know they are dying to hire me.

How I "don't let" - When they ask me how much money I expect, I say I would like to talk about that but I would like to ask a question while it is still on my mind. Then I ask a good question. Essentially, I divert the money conversation to far later in the process.

Good luck to all, pn

[iris lily]

I'm just a postin' fool this week! :~):~)

When you see an ad that requests salary history/range, and said ad says you will be required to work nights and weekends on occasion, would you 1) up the salary request higher than if you would NOT have to work eves and weekends; 2) If so, how much higher would you request? 5%? 10%?

I once made a very bad judgment error on that sort of thing, and felt I was being underpaid. I don't want to make that same mistake again.

Sorry for the atrocious grammar up there!

If the job requires normally working nights and weekends as many jobs do that serve the public, I don't understand why you would expect to get "more." If the industry standard is night/weekend work, to get "more" I would think that would be centered on your skills and abilities, not the fact that the hours aren't to your liking.

[ApatheticNoMore]

The thing is industry standard is probably just an average and thus tends to be misleading. Even in an industry where the average hours worked are x (let's say something above 40 - how about 50), trust me there are many people in it who just have 40 hour jobs (with maybe some rare overtime).

Standard salaries are also a myth of course, the usual range of salaries found across companies is not unlimited, but pretty wide. Best to know exactly what you are getting into, and plan accordingly. Whether to ask for more is really just a question of: how much are you willing to gamble on getting more versus pricing yourself out of the position. Maybe something depends on if they have a salary they are offering for that position (they have to really want you to negotiate that up, if that's the case), or if they're just leaving it totally open in which case, how are you supposed to know? You could at best find some industry average. And I'd tend to pick a number I could live with.

[SteveinMN]

ad says you will be required to work nights and weekends on occasion, would you 1) up the salary request higher than if you would NOT have to work eves and weekends; 2) If so, how much higher would you request? 5%? 10%?
If the job requires normally working nights and weekends as many jobs do that serve the public, I don't understand why you would expect to get "more." If the industry standard is night/weekend work, to get "more" I would think that would be centered on your skills and abilities, not the fact that the hours aren't to your liking.
Yes, but that's not what frugalone said. First, the employer's statement does not indicate whether time during the "regular" work week is comped (i.e., you don't work Friday when you have to work Saturday) or if nights/weekends are extra hours.

I think a prospective employee needs a good feel for the job and the business. A tax accountant cannot expect to take much of a vacation between February and May. A snowplow driver shouldn't count on attending a continuing-ed course if it's in the winter. The RNs I know generally can count on a shift pay differential for nights/weekends/holidays. Other jobs? Maybe.

I've worked plenty of nights/weekends in IT. It comes with the territory. I could not ask for a higher salary to accommodate that unless I was willing to price myself out of the job. But, then, working nights and weekends was one reason they told us we were "making the big bucks". >8) If someone were in the position of having to get a job, I think deferring the conversation is very useful. However, that sometimes is not an option through the application process. In that case, I think one has to figure out what else the job offers.