Pay increase for management responsibilities

Question

I am currently looking for a new job and wanted some salary advice. I am a visual designer specialising in creating design systems for companies to help create consistency across their sites / products. I am currently work in London and am very underpaid looking at the market, with a current salary of £34,000.

I have started applying for new jobs, and have been asking for salary of around £60,000 which after talking to a recruiter and looking at the market seemed an appropriate salary to ask for.

I just interviewed for a smaller company where I gave my salary requirements and it didn't seem to phase them. However by the end of the interview I discovered the role includes managing a single direct report (this could grow to more). I didn't know this when I gave my initial salary requirement, should I be asking for an increased salary based on the management responsibilities? If so, how much do you think would be reasonable?

Answer 1

I wouldn't.

If you're gonna ask for more money every time your responsibilities increase then that's kinda a red flag right there, at least in-so-far as the company is concerned.

Maybe taking on new responsibilities proactively will factor into their decision to give you a raises in the future but if you're going to require a pay bump as a condition of taking on new responsibilities that could make the company a little leery.

Like what happens if they have a deadline and you need to burn the midnight oil to hit it. Are you going to refuse to step up unless you get more money? I suspect that's what would run through their mind.

What I'd do:

I'd just keep on looking. If you want a job that pays around £60,000 and doesn't have managerial responsibilities then look until you find one. You don't have to accept the first job that you come across.

Answer 2

In very general terms a role that has some management responsibilities would be expected to pay more than a similar role that didn't. And likewise generally if you discover something about the role during the interview process that would increase your salary expectation for the role it's not unreasonable to use that as a basis for asking for more.

I can't tell you whether that £60k is reasonable for a role of this nature including some management - certainly I know people who have made more than that while not managing anyone and people who have made less than that with management responsibilities. And that's even discounting the "because London" factor.

In order to determine whether you should be asking for more here, it's the same as doing the market investigation you've already done but this time specifically look for roles that have similar levels of management responsibility included. Even if it's slightly underpaid for a role with a report in the area it may still be worth it - if nothing else as a way out of the chronically underpaid rut you're in at the moment. The familiar maxim of "it's easier to get a job when already you have a job" also applies to "it's easier to get a highly paid job when you already have a highly paid job".

Answer 3

I would ask for a set amount of salary increase at 6 months and 12 months be written into your offer letter. When speaking to the hiring company just word it in a way that you did not know about the management aspect of the job and that at 6 and 12 months that gives both parties a chance to re-evaluate the relationship.

Answer 4

Short answer: yes , you didn't know, it changes the situation, you should revise.

Unfortunately if they think you can accept 60k, your negotiating position is undermined.

At your current salary, the threat of walking away from the 60k will be hard to present unless you expect other comparable options (important qualification!). If not, best may be to get the management experience on your CV and job hop in 12-24 months.

They may also wonder why you gave them a low figure relative to everything, if that is the way they see it.