I agree with Roberta, that's what I've done. (Broad range + "negotiable" with something implying "obviously I'd need to know more before I could give you anything more specific" [but not those words].)
Kicky, I've hired freelancers through temp agencies before. I once paid $80/hour to an agency for a data entry tech who probably wasn't getting more than $20 and $125/hour for a programmer who was seeing $35-40 of it.
The premium to the agency is because 1) they pre-screen the applicants and 2) they do the advertising and searches. If this place is doing their own ads and interviewing then they won't want to cover the premium but they'll still be willing to pay more than they pay their employees. Benefits to employees (including the company portion of SS/Medicare, insurance, vacation/sick time, 401k matching, etc.) average about 30-45% of the base salary, depending on the industry.
An interviewer telling you she doesn't earn your salary request doesn't mean anything. You have expenses to cover that she doesn't. Don't shortchange yourself.
jespah wrote:A few ideas.
2) Don't give a number. This is one strategy. Usually you can get around it with something like I'd like to reserve this estimate until I know a little more about the position. It's reasonable to request something more. The company will either give you literature (or direct you to it), or tell you to go scratch. If they do the latter, you probably don't want to work for 'em.
Thanks for starting this thread kicky, negotiating salary....yuck.
I'm saving this because I love what jespah said above. I want to keep it to refer to it sometime.
Wow, lots of really good ideas here. Jespah, I actually have used salary.com, and what I do isn't an exact match with the jobs for which they have data, but it has helped me get somewhat of an idea of what the salaries are out there.
JPB, what you said was very helpful, actually. That info you gave combined with my knowledge of what the employment agencies are paying gives me a pretty good estimate. I am also going to take the advice of those of you who told me to give them a range (I'm going to be pretty tight on that range though, because I think I have a decent idea now of what they should be paying) and let them know it's negotiable.
I know some of you have said to make it a broad range, but I do know enough about how these types of jobs work to know that they really do expect a number, and that even if you don't give them a rock solid rate, they want to at least get a pretty close idea of what you want.
Thanks!
P.S. I just got a call from an employment agency about another possible long-term freelance gig working at the New York Times. I don't have it for sure, but that definitely gives me more confidence that even if this one doesn't come through, there are other jobs out there. I'm not going to agonize over it.
Will Kicky be turned away for asking too much? Will he end up getting too little because of his fear of long-term unemployment? Will the New York Times offer come through? The answers to all these questions, next time on, "Kickycan Goes to Work."
Kicky, I spoke to someone I know in the professional temp agency biz and she said they usually use 2.0-3.5 times the salary, depending on the rate. They'll charge $200 for a $100/hr position and $75-100 for a $30/hr position. The clients are willing to pay more than the cost of salary + benefits because they usually want someone quickly and they don't want to keep them forever. The service provided by the agency includes advertising, screening, and no expectations in terms of longterm employment on the part of the staffer who will look to the agency to get him his next gig.
Also, there's been situations where a temp worker eventually becomes a FT employee at the company. Leave all your options open. Also, I think a smaller range makes more sense.
