How Corporations Hire You for Less Than You Deserve

If you are like me, then you probably have been looking for jobs that can pay you well. This curiosity is usually followed by a quick google search on vacancies in the area. A sure follow up search would be "salary range for xxxxx position". Don't be embarrassed, as its only natural to want to be paid at market rates for your sweat and blood at the office.

Thankfully sites like JobStreet.com, LinkedIn provide a lot of details on potential jobs to help us decide on whether a job is worth our time and can cover our monthly commitments. I've heard that companies are now offering 6 months maternity leave. Great news for the ladies but its still 5 days paternity leave for us men. I guess the women are expected to tend for themselves after day 5 then?

Anyways, after opening countless tabs and shortlisting the top few jobs that you feel like you can pull off, the resume gets prepared and updated. Do people still care about cover letters? Heck, do they even care about the numerous degrees you have? Anyways trying to be more positive about our chances, we dutifully fill up the applications online and hope for a positive reply to your promises to work hard, learn on the job and be a good team player.

If you are lucky, you may get called for an interview some time after. If not, then you probably wont hear anything at all. Some good companies send you letters telling you to try again later and that they appreciate your interest with their company. I think thats nice of them.

So, why is this blog post titled, "How corporations hire you for less than you deserve"?

Well thats because, its quite common for job applicants to be asked to produce a copy of their last 3 months salary slips. A quick survey on my LinkedIn and Facebook among friends and professionals (mostly Malaysians) reveal that most of them have been asked to do so for a job application.

Sounds like a fair request for the employer to know how much you deserve. Well think again. Let me explain the fundamental of negotiations thats at play here. The outcome of any salary negotiation is limited by an upper limit and a lower limit.

The lower limit is beneficial for the corporation as it gets you to do work for the lowest possible cost. You are immediately amongst its most productive employees! However the downside is, you will eventually realise that your peers doing the exact same jobs earn much more than you do. Which is exactly the point at which dissatisfaction sets in and you log right back into JobStreet.com or the like to look for your next job...

The upper salary limit however is of course the most beneficial to the successful job applicant. However it has its drawbacks. When placed at the highest possible end of a salary band, you must expect a few years of stagnant pay (no increments), higher workload and pressure by bosses. Ill let you be the judge to decide the right amount of salary and expectations that you would like to take on.

So how does HR decide how much they can pay you? Many corporate HR practitioners have a salary band for each job role in their organisation. Each of this salary bands would have been bench-marked against the market.

Companies which prefer leaner companies with few staff tend to offer higher than market rates. However this comes with an expectation that you will work way past your 45 hours a week. Probably almost 50 hours a week, with take home work and in some cases 24/7 WhatsApp and email responsibilities. Sometimes, it may also be simply due to the additional risks, odd hours or lack of career prospects that make employers offer higher rates. It may also be because your skills are really rare and you are needed by the company. Do a market salary range survey to findout why.

Companies that pay below the market rate could be doing so because there are more workers looking for jobs than jobs available. This may be due to a declining industry or due to low skill nature of the job itself.

HR practioners usually have a maximum pay raise percentage that they are allowed to offer a job applicant. That percentage is used by companies to control the salaries paid to new hires. For example,  for company XYZ, its HR is allowed to offer a maximum of 20% increment for new hires.

Which is why your last 3 months salary slips become so important to them. If Mr. ABC had a monthly salary of RM1000 working at a very small company taking on supervisory roles as well, he would be offered a maximum of RM1200 only (provided that he has great negotiation skills).

What if another candidate from a larger organisation earning RM1200 with lesser responsibilities than Mr. ABC were to join the same company for the same role? He would get a maximum of 20% as well which makes it to RM1440.

Of course, the salary offered must be within the salary range established for the jobs. If the above two offers were within the range, these may very well be the offers.

This is the essence of negotiations. Your Best Alternative To Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), in this case is your current salary. This is the amount you would end up with if your job application is rejected.  Knowing this amount gives the employer power to offer you just a little amount above your current salary to entice you to join them.

On the other hand, knowing the upper limit of the salary range wiling to be offered by the HR recruiter would be of great advantage. Knowing how desperate they are and how high they are willing to go determines how high you should quote the Expected Salary. If for example the highest they would be wiling to offer would be RM2000, then that would be the upper limit for your expected salary. To find out this information,  you would need to do sufficient research and speak to others in the industry to find out whats an acceptable rate. Find out as well, what do people with your experience and qualifications usually get. With so much information available in the internet and through social media, it would not be difficult to find out this info.

Revealing your BATNA of RM1000 will definitely result in the HR recruiter offering you an amount between RM1000+20%.

So what can we do about it?

Strategy 1: Refuse to disclose your current salary information and insist that the HR recruiter negotiate with you on the salary based on your experience and talents. You may be turned down.

Strategy 2: Reveal your current  salary but instead declare a lowest salary which would make it worth while for you to join them. For example, state RM1500 as your lowest acceptable value which you need to pay for additional transportation, accommodation and living costs due to the location and nature of the new job. That will stop the HR recruiter from offering anything lower. However if they do strictly follow the maximum 20% raise on your last pay which is RM1200, then they would turn you down.

Strategy 3: Get at least one other job offer from another employer for example for RM1400. When negotiating salaries, indicate to the HR recruiter your other offer range. That will become your new BATNA from which this employer would need to match or better.

In conclusion, you have to look out for yourself when it comes to your salary and pay. Asking for salary history is even going to be illegal in the USA according to Payscale.com! There is no gain in working for lower salaries. Remember, a low salary today will only get 20% more every time while others keep getting better and better offers. Wise up bros and sis...

Sources:

1. https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/batna/negotiation-skills-three-sources-of-power-at-the-bargaining-table/

2. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/how-to-guides/pages/howtoestablishsalaryranges.aspx

3. http://www.payscale.com/career-news/2016/09/asking-salary-history-soon-illegal-50-states

Kia Forte vs Proton Preve vs Honda City vs Toyota Vios

If you are reading this, you are either of the two following groups:

1. Someone looking to buy a car (just graduated / just got a pay rise)

2. Someone looking to find out whats the fuss all about

Either way, you've come to the right place!

So how do you decide on which is best? Your dads telling you to go for a Japanese car, your girlfriends telling you to go Korean while your bank balance is telling you to go for Proton.

Let me help you break it down:

First, lets look at the vehicles and compare them in terms of Price, Safety, Power and Fuel Efficiency, Features and finally Looks. If it comes to a tie, we shall then look at other minor offerings stashed in along by the car makers.

Once, we have compared them, then you get to look at yourself and consider whether which car was meant for you. Sometimes, its just fated my friend...

Head to Head (Battle Royale)

Price

-as checked on 24 July 2012

 

Model	Toyota- Vios 1.5G Limited (AT)	Honda – City 1.5 Grade E	Kia – Forte 1.6 SX	Proton – Preve 1.6 CVT Premium
Price	RM89,613.50	RM88,103.00	86, 285.26	RM72, 990.00

With the four models being in the same engine range, the Proton Preve is definitely way cheaper than the competition. However do note that the CIty, Forte and Preve all come with 5 year Warranties which could further save you money. But we should judge based on value rather than price when you compare them. The formula would be Value = Specifications/ Price. 

Safety

Lets face it my friend, you will be bringing along your loved ones in your car and so you have to look out for their safety while you drive like you are on the track. =P

Model	Toyota- Vios 1.5G Limited (AT)	Honda – City 1.5 Grade E	Kia – Forte 1.6 SX	Proton – Preve 1.6 CVT Premium
Anti Brake-locking System (ABS)	YES	YES	YES	YES
Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD)	YES	YES	YES	YES
Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)	NO	NO	YES	YES
Brake Assist (BA)	NO	NO	YES	YES
Traction Control (TC)	NO	NO	YES	YES
Dual Front Airbags	YES	YES	YES	YES
Side Airbags	NO	NO	NO	YES
Auto Headlamps	NO	NO	YES	YES
Auto Cruise	NO	NO	NO	YES

Yet again the Preve tops the chart on safety features. The most important feature here that you should try to include in your car which you may be driving for the next 5 years at least is the Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) or (ESC), BA and TC which will really give you the confidence to tackle any road. Do not settle for less. The Kia Forte and Preve have the required safety features with Preve being even better by having side airbags as well.

 Power and Fuel Efficiency

 

Model	Toyota- Vios 1.5G Limited (AT)	Honda – City 1.5 Grade E	Kia – Forte 1.6 SX	Proton – Preve 1.6 CVT Premium
Engine Tech	VVTI	VTEC	CVVT	CAMPRO CFE
Transmission Tech	4 speed A/T	5 speed A/T	6 speed A/T (Paddle Shifter)	CVT (7 speed Protronic, Paddle Shifter)

 You must be wondering what does all this terms matter. In short, in terms of engine tech, Proton Preve would have the most power in acceleration and top speed. Initial response from test drives and YouTube postings indicate that the Preve is truly a beast to be reckoned with on the Highways. It is hard to match the acceleration of the Preve and even several 2.0l cars have lost to the Preve on the road. 

The fuel consumption however, I would say will vary greatly between drivers regardless of which car. All four cars would give you reasonable kilometres to the liter. So do not worry too much about petrol consumption as you are doing fine as long as your vehicle is below 2.0 ccs and its not an SUV or any larger vehicle. However, for my friends who happen to be very choosy, the honda and toyota are lighter in build than the other two models, have smalled engine ccs at 1.5l each, and as such may give you better fuel consumption. But remember, it would be only slightly better if at all. Meanwhile, the 6 speed A/T of the Forte does give it a very smooth drive, with a very quiet engine at 110km/h with the engine revving at only 2500 rev/min which results in good fuel efficiency as well.

Features

Machas advice, feature wise my list is like this:

1. Preve

2. Forte

3. Vios & City

For around the same price, the Preve and Forte give you almost everything you can wish for in a car. Your comfort and entertainment are all taken care off. The design had been very thoughtful with Auto Head Lamps, GPS units, Paddle Shifters, large boot space. In this case, Im going with either Preve or Forte.

In terms of build quality however, I personally prefer the Vios and City. Because everything just feels solid and of high quality.

Looks

There is no point in putting up the pictures to describe which car is the best looking. As beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The answer to this question is simple, touch your heart and you will know which car you can imagine yourself getting out of. My pick is with the Forte. However, my good friend loves the City's looks. So to each, his own.

Deciding

The fact is, you have seen the general facts regarding each car. It depends on you to decide which factors rank high or low in your list. My list is like this: 

1. Safety

2. Power & Fuel Efficiency

3. Features

4. Price

5. Looks

So it really depends on you to weigh the factors and decide. Lastly, once you have decided, you definitely need to book a test drive to ensure that you truly feel great in the car you have chosen. So do go for a test drive and take the car through its paces, after the drive, you will know for sure. 

Also do speak with the sales agent and find out what extras would you be entitled for if you buy the car. Sometimes they tend to offer freebies like GPS and etc if it doesnt already come with your car. (Note: Preve and Forte both come with built in GPS systems)

Making the purchase

Once you are certain regarding the car you want to buy, do ensure that you have enough finances to place the deposit. Usually it is 10% of the car's on the road price. Macha's advice is to ensure you have at least 15% of the cars price available when you are making the deposit. This is just a measure to make sure you always have extra cash for things like "Tinting", and other additional accessories that may come at a bargain from the car dealer. Go with your heart, you will know which car seems worth it to you. (Note: Do resist persuasion by salesmen to "book it now" and other sales tactics, to make sure you have made the best decision when you finally place your booking)

Reference:

Toyota (http://www.toyota.com.my)

Honda (http://www.honda.com.my)

Kia (http://www.nazakia.com.my)

Proton (http://www.protonpreve.com)