Hellobee Boards

It depends... It's a tough market right now, so they might be lowballing, thinking even if you say no they have a number of other qaulified applicants they can make offers to; or they may just be a low-paying company and telling you the truth.

If you want to counter-offer, I'd suggest researching what a competetive wage should be for your position in your industry in your area. Salary.com is a good place to start, or you can call around other companies and ask for salary comparisons. Also, you might consider asking for other benefits that will help make up the wage difference. For example, can you telecommute or work a flex schedule (which might save some childcare and commuting costs), maybe they'll up their retirement contributions, some companies offer commuting reimbursements, etc... Sometimes if you approach it from a different angle instead of demanding a specific salary, they'll be more willing to compromise.

@Mrsbells: I've heard this again and again from friends and family in the last few years. Companies are swamped with applicants so they're lowballing everyone.

You can certainly ask for more money. But you can also ask for "non-monetary" things that might take the place of your investments, etc. Like flex-time - working extra hours for 2 weeks to get every second friday off. Have you asked for those benefits? You could. And you could look at the long-term benefits - is there potential for an increase in salary? After a year could you become part of an investment group there?

I used to only worry about wage/salary before, but now I'm all about these extras - pension, benefits, investments, flex-time. Your perspective totally changes when you start thinking about or having a family.

Also, you could take the job, for security, and keep looking.

And yes, I think they maybe gave you a lowball offer thinking you'd be desperate. At my job interview they totally asked in "casual small talk" if I was planning on having any more babies...

If you are fairly paid now I wouldn't say that an offer at your current salary is "lowballing". Especially since you went to them looking for a move, as opposed to a situation where they actively tried to recruit you. And they know that based on your current situation your position may be in jeopardy so while you aren't "desparate" a move would be a good option for you right now. As the others have said they probably have a number of well qualified candidates so they have no motivation to offer a salary above market value for the position.

The pay/organizational structure may be different at the prospective employers (a similar position to your current position may be in a lower pay bracket), so I wouldn't automatically assume a salary match to be a lowball offer

Ask about negotiating vacation (perhaps they are offering 2 weeks) ask for 3 or 4. Ask about a signing bonus. Ask about what the salary range is so that you know what your salary growth potential is within the position. Ask about annual performance bonuses. And it's okay to ask for a higher salary, but you might not get it.

As a hiring manager, it's fairly common in today's market to offer current salary or just slightly more. Our positions all have ranges of salary and we try to make sure our employees are in the middle third of the range.

Unfortunately, it's not a good market to be looking. I also work in insurance, btw.