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How Do I Negotiate a Salary?

Q: "Dear Seymore,

I am 48 years old and have recently taken on a new job.  It was a forced career change due to some health problems I have. I needed to find something less stressful and with less Hrs.  When I applied for the New Position, I indicated that I was only seeking Part Time employment.  This seemed to be satisfactory and agreeable at the time of interviewing and hiring from new employer.  But now that I have come on board my emplyer has informed me that due to my experience and background he needs me to work full Time and has scheduled my work Hrs. accordingly so.  At the time of my interview I agreed to a much lesser pay cut from that of what Ihad been making at my previous job postion. This was  for 2 reasons. The first was because, I was only seeking to work Part Time and in order to get my foot in the Door for just a Part Time positon, I conceded to the pay differential. The second reason I conceded was , it is career change from what I had been doing, and the job postion appeared that it was going to be less stressful.  But now after only 2 weeks, I have been given Full Time Hrs. and more responsibilities at a very cheap wage.  How should I approach my New Employer in regards to the extra Hrs. he has scheduled me to work , but at a Part Timer's Salary with only having been there 2 weeks?  I don't want to loose my position, but I am not working the terms agreed upon hiring.  If Iam going to have more responsibilities and a full time schedule, I feel I should paid as such. Thank You."  Question to Seymour posted here by Brenda C. in Virginia

A: Dear Brenda,

About a year or so ago, Spherion conducted a survey of workers about how comfortable they feel going to their human resources department to talk about a problem they have. The result was that 40% of respondents felt comfortable doing so. I mention this because I believe talking to your HR department is the best course of action.

The situation you’ve described certainly sounds like it deserves attention and resolution. In my view, either your job responsibilities should revert back to what was promised at the outset of your employment (and in line with your current compensation) or your job is reevaluated based upon the full-time hours and added responsibilities and pay/title should be adjusted accordingly. In either case, your employer’s human resources department should be involved and overseeing this process. Not only is it their expertise to align job descriptions/responsibilities with appropriate hours and pay, but as an objective, third-party you can be sure a fair resolution will result, and you will shelter yourself from any uncomfortable or tense discussions with your boss on this particular issue.

Good luck Brenda!