Expected salary?

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Hi guys,

I think I have been short listed for a Junior Support Technician, and they have sent me an email asking what my expected salary would be. I have googled for some sort of reasonable answer but I can only find a salary for a full Support technician which apparently is 24Kish. Would anyone have an idea on what I should put down? I could put down its negotiable but obvious that is why they are asking, as they are starting the negotiations :P

As this is my first chance at a proper IT role I was gonna put down 14-19k. Do you think that is too low or too high?

Any suggestions would be great.

Oh yeah, in the emaill they called the job description 'Support Technician' but am 100% sure on the advert I applied for it is 'Junior Support Technician'

 

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Have you got a job description? if so post it and it'll be easier to estimate.

Rough ballpark guess based solely on the title of Junior support technician (And associated typical roles with it) would be around 13-16k, this also depends on your location & experience aswell.

There isn't a specific salary range for that sort of position, but there's a common one, and tlaking from experience, the one above as i said.

The company will also vary across this sort of job, so it's difficult to say exactly

 

Some more information about the job itself would be useful in deciding what a decent salary should be, i.e what sector is it in, what you are expected to do, where in the country it is.

Up here (North East Eng), I'd say that a Good salary for a Junior Tech would be around the £14K mark, and thats across the sectors.

 

Hi Apexes, this is the job description:

Position: IT Support Technician (Trainee / Junior)
Location: Little Plumstead, Norwich
Salary: Competitive

ROLE:
They are looking for a Trainee / Junior IT Trainee Support Technician to act as a liaison between the Company and Customer to provide first class customer service to clients from their inbound contact centre.

The role would suit somebody looking to start a career in IT.

RESPONSIBILITIES
a) Receive and respond to incoming client request via telephone, web, and email.
b) Proactively facilitate relationship management with assigned clients to address service needs.
c) Identify, assess criticality and prioritise resolution of all new and existing issues.
d) Research and develop resolutions to customer issues, involving others as appropriate.
e) Monitor, document, and manage the resolution process while effectively communicating status with the client to maintain a high rate of client satisfaction.
f) Required to stay up to date on product/industry updates and changes.
g) Participate in the referral process to escalate issues as appropriate as well as create change requests guided by a senior specialist where applicable.
h) Participate in the Knowledge Management process through creation and use of materials.
i) Adhere to our client’s Quality System and regulatory standards including effective management of protected health information.
j) Guide clients to usage of self-help resources.
k) Participation in a shift system working within a 8am-8pm range via a rota expected. Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS / EXPERIENCE:
a) Excellent Customer Service and communication skills.
b) Good PC skills, i.e. Microsoft Office.
c) Good time management and organisational skills.

DESIRABLE SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
a) 2+ A-Levels or equivalent; Bachelor’s degree (achieved or in progress) a plus, or equivalent experience desired.

You may have experience of the following: Support Technician, 1st Line Support, Junior Support Technician, IT Support, IT Helpdesk, Desktop Support, IT Support Analyst, 2nd Line Support, IT Help Desk, IT Graduate, School Leaver, Apprentice etc.

 

Would stick to my original estimate, between 13-16k

Good luck

 

Thanks guys, I have decided to go for 14-16k with the option of negotiating.

 

Yeah say after our probabtion period maybe your wage can be looked at again or after you get a cert or something.

 

Lol am not gonna push things really, I am just happy to be getting emails back asking for specifics. A lot of the time I don't here back from any jobs applied for, and being unemployed I won't be fussy about salary too much. I have been trying to get into the IT sector for a couple of years, and even the most basic of job and salary would make me a happy man

 

I would never put a range down. Whats they point, you might as well just tell them the lower value in the range - because that is exactly what they will go for.

Pick a value and use it. If you arent sure, pick the midpoint of your range.

When I wen't for my first FT developer position, I followed the advice of a colleague at my current work: "Increase your salary expectation a couple of grand above your desired salary". The logic being, when they offer you lower, it should still hit what you wanted in the first place. So I pitched 2 grand above what I wanted, and guess what? They offered me exactly that salary. So I got more than I was willing to go for.

EDIT: And dont play yourself down. Don't start with an almost apologetic "Well, 14k, but perhaps we could maybe possibly review after probation?". Let them offer you that. If they want you, but cant afford what you pitch, they will enter negotiations.

Unless you pitch miles above their range, but careful thought will ensure that doesnt happen.

 

Thanks for the advice Fergal, I went with the 14k-16k range as I would be happy with 14k, but if they offer me more then thats even better.

My house mate had an incident where he was asked what salary he expected, it was for a Desktop support technician position, but when he went to the job interview they told him that the type of work he would be undertaking would be close to a 3rd line support. Anyway he said because of the type of work he would be doing he would expect at least 19k... they would only offer him 16k, which he refused and they told him to get lost.

I didn't want to fall into that trap really. This is the furthest I have got with any IT job applications so am just learning as I go a long, I feel that I have a strong CV that will attract attention for employers and the more I can learn about preliminary questions and interviews the easier it will get.

 

I've bolded the salient point in that story. He refused it. A salary expectation is not a set in stone expectation. It is expected that there is potential negotiation room.

The only person really looking out for your own benefit is yourself. If you dont market yourself confidently, then you will get screwed.

If you are happy with 14k, then thats fine, but for future reference, putting an upper level on your expectation is largely pointless. Look at it this way, if they offered you 18k, would you turn it down? After all, your expectation is "14-16". The clear answer there is no, you wouldn't, so why not just say 14k+?

 

Point taken Fergal I will be more confident in the future