Hello all!  I have a third interview with a great company near Sacramento tomorrow afternoon.  it's with the hiring manager.  I've already passed their typing and alpha numeric tests with flying colors.  The issue I'm having is i was just laid off a week ago so I need a job.  this job is very close to home which is a huge perk.  Salary is the problem.  I currently earned almost $38,000 annually.  This range is from $28-$34k.  I told their in house recruiter I would consider the position at $34K and they have moved me forward.

I'm nervous that they will try to negotiate me down even further.  This company is under #25 in the fortune 500 list of top companies to work for and they have great benefits.

I wondered, since I have no children and I'm in my mid-40's if it would be acceptable to ask for 3 weeks paid vacation if they say offered me $32000 as salary?  I'm really rusty at this.  I work so my husband & I can go on vacations and he has a great job, he currently gets 3 weeks paid vacation so it's akward to change jobs, but a necessity.

I've read some posts on the subject but since I will already be taking a "hit" on salary, I wondered if this would fly in the world of negotiations.

Thanks for any constructive advice, I appreciate it

Since you're really working to generate discretionary income - for extras - I'd wait and see what sort of offer they make first.  If it's in the low $30K range, I'd take it.  The value of the benefits, which usually are 25% to 35% of salary, should put you close to a total salary and benefit package equal to what you were earning before.  My bet, frankly, would be that they'll offer you a salary in the $30K to $32K range.  If that happens, I think you can ask if the offer is negotiable and see what they say.  If it's not, I'd take the job anyway.  If it is, you can counter by saying you were anticipating an offer in the $32K to $34K range and see what happens.  Assuming you decide to accept their offer, I think you can make it clear that you intend to accept their offer and how excited you are about the opportunity and, at that moment, almost as an aside, ask if the vacation is negotiable and see what they say.  My bet would be that it is not.  Vacation schedules are usually set by company policy to insure that everyone is treated fairly.  But since you don't need the money to keep body and soul together, I wouldn't push any of these issues too hard.  $32K will pay for very nice vacations each year.

Paul W. Barada

The Negotiation Expert

If you took $32,000 with the stipulation of three weeks vacation (which is negotiable), you effectively lose $1,700.00 ($300.00, 15% went to taxes).

$34,000 equates to $16.34 dollars per hour.  When you subtract 80 hours vacation from the standard 2,080 work hours per year = 2,000 actual hours worked = $17.00 per hour.

$32.000 equates to $15.38 per hour.  This time your hours worked would be 1,960 hours worked (2080 - 120 = 1960) which equates to $16.32 per hour for every hour worked.

Either way, your bottom line are pennies apart. 

This is a neat question because if you take your salary alone, not to include your husbands salary, you are in the 15% tax bracket.  However, when you combine your salaries, you're probably in the 25% tax bracket.

That said, you would be better off with $32,000 and 3 weeks vacation to reduce your tax liability which is $300.00 at $32k and 15%, or $500.00 at $34k and 25%.

At 34k you could end up paying more taxes which would hurt the hourly earnings.