I went for a job interview a couple of weeks ago for a receptionist position at a doctor’s office. Over the phone when scheduling the interview, they had asked me how much I wanted to be paid. Since I didn’t know how much that position was worth (conflicting answers on Google), I told her I was “Willing to discuss it.” She said that sounded good, and we set up the interview.
That Friday, I went in for the interview and it went really well. At the end, she (different person than the phone call) again asked me what I wanted to be paid. I panicked, and said “Well, since I have to drive 40 minutes to get here, I would like to be paid $15/hr to make up for that. Would that be possible?” (Currently I make $13.50 at a crappy retail job, and that’s what I was comparing it to.) She immediately said “Yes, we can do that.” And that’s when I knew I had messed up. I immediately knew I could’ve asked for more, and they are used to paying more. But I’m a broke 22-year-old who is used to getting paid less than I’m worth, and I’m afraid of asking for too much.
I was talking to my mom about it afterward (she was in town visiting me) and she suggested “Well, maybe she was confirming that they’ll pay at least that much, and they’ll offer you more.”
Not even an hour later, I got a call from the job and they offered it to me for $15/hr. Exactly what I had asked for. I was kicking myself over it. I told her I needed time to think about it (was considering another offer at the time), and I ultimately ended up turning it down. I absolutely could’ve asked for more, and the way they handled it was so underhanded. They took advantage of me, and apparently they really wanted me considering they called me back so quickly.
Never undervalue yourself. Always ask for more than you think you should. Don’t let them pay you the bare minimum when someone else doing the same job makes way more. Good luck out there.