salary negotiations

I am just out of school and have been made an offer that is at what I consider the upper end of what a junior designer makes. I have been interning at this company for 3 months so they are well aware of what I am capable of. My question is how much negotiation room do I have as this being my first full time job? I figure it doesn’t hurt to ask for more but at what point are you pushing to far?

take it and run. I doubt they’re lowballing you if they like what you do, and you say that you think its near the top of what you think a junior designer should make.

When you have some more experience, you can either start looking for greener pastures or have more negotiating power.

If you really think you want to negotiate, try getting a few extra days off or something like that.

And aside from student loans or your beamer lease, your expenses will never be as low as they are now… :wink:

thank you for the response. i think that is what i will end up doing. I wish they would have taught this stuff in school, or at least mentioned it.

Good point about what is not taught in school.

If it is a salaried position, don’t overlook benefits other than money. Salary can always be sticky to negotiate around, as you may not have a complete picture of what the overall budgets are. You may want to consider negotiating for additional vacation days. Many times this is an easier pill for companies to swallow, plus you will have more time to spend that hard earned money…especially after school life!

Welcome to the real world!

You can always ask for more too (just do it nicely), if they say no then fine. No one is going to take back a job offer just because you asked. I agree trying to get a few more vacation days would be easier.

I think it’s always good to make a budget that includes ALL of your expenses and also includes “play” money. Once you know what you’ll need on a weekly/monthly basis that will give you might decide if you need to ask for a raise and how much you should ask for.

Good luck

the only negotiation with juniors is salary and review in 3 months or slightly higher salary and review in one year.

thank you all for the input. I have accepted the position and was able to negotiate a signing bonus and also my annual bonus. I did not think that it was necessary to negotiate my salary. After asking questions related to salary progression and reviewing my benefits I felt it was more than enough. I hope that this post will help any one who is in a similar situation or will be in the next few years. Feel free to contact me with any questions as I feel that it is important that you receive what you are worth.