Re: Posted Pay Ranges & Government Jobs

[eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com]

Kate Salm wrote on 12/02/2004 08:32:09 AM:
> the government pays less then private... another cold
> hard fact... and for those of us who work for them and
> like our jobs... we realize and accept that we will
> never be rich working here, if money is that big of a
> concern then the government might not be the place to
> go.

I know that the risk of my posting in this (and the other <lol>) thread is 
that I am misinterpreted as being only interested in money. That's not the 
case.

Unfortunately, I have the expectation that people will deal with me in an 
open and frank manner. I expect them to be up-front and honest. Job 
negotiations is one of those areas where it seems that the goal is to 
avoid direct and frank discussion of the issue. Either one or both parties 
are trying to hide their cards or are uncomfortable discussing the issue.

In job interviews, it's not even just salary negotiation that suffers from 
this obfuscation and uncomfortable exchanges. Many of the questions asked 
are asked without the expectation of exchanging information or being asked 
reciprocal questions. For example, after being asked the ridiculous stock 
question "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" the perfectly legitimate 
and much easier to answer "Where is a writer likely to progress to in 5 
years working at this company?" is answered with humming, hawing, and 
blank stares.

If a position is advertised with a pay scale, I expect to be told the 
exact criteria that determine where in the scale a worker is placed and 
how they progress. If I am told that they will only offer mid-scale to new 
hires, I have to be suspicious because if that is truly the case, how does 
one end up at the unfortunate bottom end of the scale and why isn't the 
range published for new hires not simply state a starting salary if 
policies are as tight as they say? At a minimum, the range should be MUCH 
tighter to reflect the actual possible salary of a new hire.

Other irritants include the hiring company wanting to know YOUR last 
salary (hmm seems that's my discussion in the other thread), and 
ultimately offering something identical and claiming that their offer is 
"competitive" and then refusing (or apparently unable) to discuss the 
current market and range. Even if you know full well that others that you 
know have moved into much better paying positions.

Ultimately, whether it's intelligence or cynicism, I seem to easily see 
through round-about answers and dodgy explanations. Unfortunately, I have 
a difficult time not feeling a little contemptuous of those that believe 
that I will fall for it or mildly incensed that there's a large population 
of managers that actually believe what they're saying.

Eric L. Dunn
Senior Technical Writer

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