You have found the job of your dreams and it is offer time? You have firm expectations on what you are worth. However, when it comes to the crunch, the offer is less than you expected. Rather than feeling deflated, turn a negative into a positive! Take the opportunity to consider alternative benefits the organisation may be able to offer.

Firstly, take time to think over your career goals. Large $$ are always hard to resist, but if your primary focus is on the bottom line, you may be ignoring many important areas of your career development which will ultimately lead to a more rewarding and lucrative career path. Reflecting over your career goals may also bring you to realisation that large salaries do not necessarily go “hand in hand” with flexible work hours and set tasks, for example.
Career considerations may include:

• Are career progression prospects evident?
• Does the company provide professional development opportunities- training courses, opportunity to attend conferences etc.
• Does this role present an opportunity to work with a reputable or leading employer in a specific field?
• Mentorship- does this role enable you to work with people you admire in the industry?
• Is this an opportunity to learn new skills and broaden your horizons?
• Is there potential to “make a name for yourself in the industry” in this role? ie. Turning around a poor performing plant, launching a ground breaking new product to market
• Position status: is this an opportunity to move to the next level of management that may be difficult to achieve with your current employer?

Some lifestyle benefits to consider:

• Flexible working hours- including work from home options.
• Location, Location, Location! Is this an opportunity to work close to home, catch the train to work, pick the kid’s up from school or have that sea change you have always dreamed of?
• Family friendly employer

Alternative remuneration opportunities:

Some key areas for negotiation on a “less than ideal” offer may include:

• Performance reviews- instead of pushing for an upfront increase in the base salary, consider suggesting periodic salary reviews, based on performance. This will give you the opportunity to show off your successes and demonstrate your value to the company.
• Annual bonus or share options. This may be performance or loyalty based
• Car allowance / Mobile phone / Lap top
• Other benefits such as Memberships, health insurance, personal training sessions

Shamrock Food provides specialist recruitment services to the Australian, New Zealand and Asian Dairy and Food Industries. For more information, contact Adrienne Heslin This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone 0414 585 510.