I was made redundant last August, I gained new employment last November. My current job pays £9k less than my previous job and includes further travel.

I have had a couple of interviews since, I'm looking for a job that pays roughly £100 a day which I feel is a fair UK wage.

So with this new PM threatening cuts etc, would you risk jumping ship? I'd be moving from private sector to private sector, my current job is very secure (I feel) but rather dull and I am losing a few skills working there, but the staff and owners are very nice.

I have also just worked out I'm spending more than I'm earning. 😳

Tails – I have a similar experience to you in that I took a 20% cut in basic pay following an 8 months hiatus (is that the right word?)

My situation is slightly better though in that I now actually work from home, so while the role is a little less demanding, the benefit for me is more time with my family and on my bike.

In your situaiton, the most important question you have to answer is 'is my current situation sustainable in the long run?' If the answer to that question is no, then make another move now as by the terms of employment law, you have no security with less than 12 months service anyway. Yes your job may be more secure from a bunch of other perspectives, but it's all meaningless if you're unhappy. You can't sustain that position indefitnitely and it will eventually lead to you becoming disengaged followed by a drop in your performance and then you won't have any security.

Things get a little more complicated if the answer to the question is 'yes, but I'll just be bumping along for the next few years'.

You make some good points geetee, the current answer is no, now I could walk through bosses door and ask for a payrise but weather that would meet my expectations I'm unsure. Plus having never asked for more money, I'm unsure how to bridge the subject.

The positives from my position is I'm young and single so can be very mobile as to location.

I'm not that unhappy but having trained as a furniture designer I'd like to do that as opposed to knocking out 3 chalet building drawings a day, and that's from someone who quite enjoys doing CAD/3D modelling.

Thanks for your advice.

I have a really good friend from Uni who works in the same industry as a buyer but with some design input. He would be a good person to network with. Are you on LinkedIn?

Some advice about asking for a pay rise. Generally, you really only get one chance to negotiate salary and that's when you join. I know it's tought having accepted less money (lord knows I cam empathise) but you're chances of negotiating anything material, other than say inflation, are pretty slim.

If you were to do it, then you would have to approach it from the point of view of having something else to go to, i.e. a firm job offer elsewhere. That would then give you a decent hand to play with, i.e. some negotiating power. I would broach the subject along the lines of 'look I'd like to stay but the money doesn't work for me and I have been offered something elsewhere that is more in line with my financial needs. I'd like to talk to you about how we might make it work for me financially in order that I can remain here'. That would be a good opener that would either get you into a negotiation, or flush out that they aren't prepared to move.

A second piece of advice though, really think about whether it is just the money that is an issue. So many times people stay on the basis of a counter offer only to find that they still end up leaving 6-8 months down the line. It goes back to the 'how sustainable is your position' question. Once the money is sorted, you'll then end up focusing on the other aspects that don't fulfil you and if they are a material problem, the situation is still not sustainable.

My current job pays £9k less than my previous job and includes further travel.

I'm young and single so can be very mobile as to location.

move?

HTH

😉

Smartass!!

I'm not on LinkedIn but I can join easy enough.

What you talk about is the ideal scenario, having a position to barter from. at the time i took the job I just wanted to get off the dole, so took what was advertised as did not want to lose out.

anyway thanks for you help and wisdom geetee, it's a rare thing on STW 😆

Tails….here's my thoughts.

I was made redundant from my role as Designer for a high end fitted furniture manufacturer (think prime London real estate) in Dec 2008. I was umemployed for 6 months but eventually found a job doing virtually the same thing for a rival company. I was earning £5k more a year but it involved a 106 mile round trip everyday! Instead of the 8 mile bike ride before! That, coupled with the death of my wifes and my own grandmother on the same night in January and the death of my wifes business partner in April meant i had alot to deal with. After 10 months they dismissed me for alledged poor performance. I don't entirely disagree with them on that but they certainly didn't communicate to me their concerns or worries and they certainly didn't follow correct procedure in my dismissal….but, as i've found out, i'm screwed as i served les than 12 months with them. I was lucky to get a months paid notice (we'll see at the end of the month if that happens!).

My point is this…Leave before any resentment consumes you. That's what happened to me and once the rot sets in you're buggered. The annoying thing is that i had already decided to leave and had started to look for a job nearer home but the bastards pre-empted me and that is a far worse situation to be in.

I'm now at a crossroads in my life with no idea where to turn 😐

That sounds like a sh*t situation nick. Being unemployed is never nice but perhaps you can make it a positive.

Don't look for jobs all day.
Do make your CV very good.
Do ride your bike,
Look at your portfolio.
Do sign on and take any money you can.
Do practice/learn new skills, lots of software out there.

I'm sure there are plenty more positives to take from your experience.

If you're spending more than you're earning why have you not spoken to a director yet? I think you should discuss the matter with him. If you're a valuable asset then he would look at it as an investmemtn to keep you on. If you're rubbish… then best improve performance before seeing him.

It's an awkward scenario at the moment. I'm in the construction industry whihc is going to be hard hit over the next year so I'm facing the same dilemma although I'm relatively comfortable here I just want more money and a change of scene

I'm in the construction industry whihc is going to be hard hit over the next year

You mean it hasn't already!?!?!?!?!? **** I thought you guys had already been really badly hit.