-If a job description states a certain salary range. Does this mean that the salary is set in stone?
from a corporate POV the salary range is researched by HR personnel (i.e. using glassdoor, core77, salary.com,etc) and those numbers are compared to internal corporate payscale/pay grades… ultimately the numbers can be adjusted by the future supervisor (i.e. VP of R&D) if he wants you bad enough… so nothing is set in stone… that includes vacations, moving expenses, hiring bonus, etc…
-If a prospective employer makes an offer that is in line with your expectations / needs, do you take the offer with out negotiating? Or do you ask for more, no matter the offer? (I’m asking this because the people I’ve talked to have suggested asking for 3-5k extra no matter the offer, but I feel at some point you should just be happy with the offer, am I correct or wrong?)
depends on the company… some have pretty generous pay range… some will pay you just enough to prevent you from leaving… if they pay and benefits are generous and cost of living is low you might come across as greedy especially when that extra 5K (which comes down to $150/ pay check)… but that’s only if you think you have a really good offer already…
-Is it smart to present a document stating all of your expected expenses? Or would you just state the desired salary?
they couldn’t care less about your expenses…
-If there are other job offers on the table, is it beneficial to bring them up?
it’ll speed up their decision making; it’ll give you leverage because of the mystery factor