Is negotiating salary a moot point

MrsHark122 · April 2012

when offered a government contract position? I always hear how salary should always be negotiated but I always felt like you really couldn't when it's a government contract position and there is only a certain amount of money allowed for each contract. I've also heard to try to negotiate a 6 month review instead of a 1 year review, but again, same question?

Thanks!

purple.cow.0206 · April 2012

With my government contract position, I had no room to negotiate. There was one other person that was hired at the same time I was and he was pushing for more money and my boss decided to rescind the offer because he was so adamant that he should be getting more money than he was being offered. I was also told by employees that there was no room to negotiate, so I was aware of this from the beginning. I'm not assuming you're in the same position that I was, but that was my experience.

Amberley18 · April 2012

When I first started my job as a contractor I DID NOT negotiate and found out later that because of that I had come in more than $40k less than those who eventually became my subordinates. Although the bi-annual reviews and raises were based on my stellar appraisals, they could never give higher than a 4% raise. After 2.5 years, transitioning into a new role as a manger and realizing I STILL made less than my subordinates, I tendered my resignation. Always negotiate!!

MrsHark122 · April 2012

Amberley18:
When I first started my job as a contractor I DID NOT negotiate and found out later that because of that I had come in more than $40k less than those who eventually became my subordinates. Although the bi-annual reviews and raises were based on my stellar appraisals, they could never give higher than a 4% raise. After 2.5 years, transitioning into a new role as a manger and realizing I STILL made less than my subordinates, I tendered my resignation. Always negotiate!!

OMG this is crazy. I already have the job so I guess I will forever regret not negotiating! The government, non-contract equivalent of my job makes almost 30k dollars more a year. Go figure.

honeydew01 · April 2012

I was desperate to get back to work so when I was offered a position a few months ago I was ecstatic and accepted it right away. When I found out how much they had in mind for my position and when a second person was hired a few months after me with a much higher salary, I feel so so stupid for not negotiating and always beat myself for it. I will always negotiate in the future. always. If not for more money, for time off or something.... I could easily be making 30K more now. If I do great I'll get 3 to 5% raises yearly so most likely I"m going to have to switch jobs to get back to the market price...

juangela · April 2012

The organization I work for does not allow negotiation. Definitely check salary.com and other resources to get the market value for your position before submitting applications so you know what to ask for.

Organizations that provide people to the government charge way more for us than we actually make - that is how they make their money. While the rate they get for a certain position is locked in, it is in their best interest to pay us as little as possible - that means more money for them. Trust me, no government contractor is making anywhere near what their organization is getting for them.

TX-Bride · April 2012

I am not a contract employee but a salary employee at a political subdivision of a government agency. I did try to negotiate, but I made a mistake and tried to negotiate with the HR recruiter, I think I would have been able to get a little bit more if I had got the hiring manager (my boss) involved!! I don't think our HR really conveyed my message to anyone outside of HR!?!

TeamC · April 2012

Since companies don't work for free (including non-profits), there is always room in the profit margin and bill rates to accomodate salaries. It depends on how the contract is set up to know how much wiggle room there is, but that really isn't your concern, and your focus should be on your own bottom line. Especially if this is just a contractor working for the government and you might have a chance at working on more than one contract. The vast majority of government contracts build in inflation rates for your awards and assessments-they can give you a good salary now and have you take the hit in outyears. If you feel the salary AND BENEFITS are not commensurate with what you're interviewing for, definitely negotiate.

TX-Bride · April 2012

I forgot to mention this, in my aganecy it's easier to come from outside with the middle to top end of the range of sallary bracket, but once you are in, when you apply for other positions that are in a higher bracket, you start from the bottom again, so sometimes it does not make financial sense to apply for a higher position.

Ready4theParty · April 2012

When I started as a contractor I didn't negotiate my salary. Mainly because it was 10k above my previous salary. I've heard similar horror stories about offers being pulled because a person thinks they can get a little more money. When it came time for promotions or raises I always tried to see if it was possible to get in the high ranges of the raise/promotion. But I was contracting with the company for several years before this happened. You might also want to find out if different positions have a set salary. At one of my agencies I was paid a flat salary until I was promoted. Each step up was also delegated at a specific flat salary that was non negotiable. Not all agencies are this way.

Is negotiating salary a moot point

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