The interview went well, and you got the offer. Nice, but now comes the tricky part, that fun little skirmish known as the salary negotiation.
If you feel the money you’re offered is too low, it probably is, according to a salary survey of hiring managers. Most companies leave themselves some room to maneuver – i.e., come up closer to your liking – when they make an initial offer. That’s the word from a query of 875 hiring managers surveyed by CareerBuilder.com, a Chicago-based job-search site owned by three major newspaper publishers. Nearly 60 percent of the managers said they’re willing to extend a new offer if a candidate requests more money. But only about 10 percent said they’ll do so twice.
About an equal percentage – low, but still telling – admitted that they think less of a candidate who accepts the first offer.
“Salary negotiations demonstrate a candidate’s determination, persistence and recognition of the value he/she brings to an employer,” said Richard Castellini, a vice president of consumer marketing at CareerBuilder.com
I understand consumers ar able to buy Treasury notes online without paying a commission. I also read rates for Treasury notes are lower than CDs, but one pays no state income tax on the interest earned. Do I pay federal income tax? At what income tax bracket does it pay to buy 12-month notes instead of 12-month CDs? If I’m in the 35 percent tax bracket, do I come out ahead buying notes instead of CDs?
Some people out there (you know who you are) will drive 17 miles in their SUV that gets 13 mpg to save $1 on a jar of tomato sauce. In the end, did they really save anything?
That’s kind of the situation that appears to be going on here. “It (the difference) is so infinitesimally small,” says Leonard Furman, a certified public accountant in East Brunswick, N.J.
Let’s back up a bit. As you correctly point out, investors can now buy online what the government affectionately calls marketable treasury securities (bills, notes, bonds and TIPS).
All you have to do is set up an account at www.savingsbonds.gov or call 800-722-2678.
One of the benefits of Treasury notes is they’re not subject to state or local taxes, although federal taxes do apply. Furman did some calculations based on someone in the 35 percent federal tax bracket.
Interest from a Treasury note at 4.11 percent would be the equivalent of a CD paying 4.15 percent interest, he said. The bottom line: These investments are essentially going to give you the same return.
RB END SAITZ
(Greg Saitz is a staff writer for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. He can be contacted at gsaitz(at)starledger.com.)
AP-NY-11-18-05 1421EST
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