I got the job, but the salary is lower than was promised

Q: Should I accept a lower salary than promised because I lack experience? The advertisement said that the job would pay Sh45,000, but when I got a call from the hiring manager telling me that I had gotten the job, he told me that I would be paid Sh38,000 because I lacked experience. I feel short-changed. Should I take it or leave it?

Rather than start a new job with negative energy, take a look at the job requirements of the role, check and confirm that you match every requirement listed, from education, professional training to work experience. If you do, renegotiate the offer and demonstrate how your skills and competencies match the role, and then ask for the salary that had been promised.

State that this was one of the key aspects that attracted you to the role in the first place, and ask the employer to keep his word. Sometimes hiring managers like candidates who challenge them, and who are not desperate to settle for less when they know their worth. If you find that your qualifications are slightly lower than the job requirements, swallow your pride and accept the offer.

The hiring manager states lack of sufficient experience as the reason for offering a slightly lower salary. If this is true, take the job and negotiate for an increase to the original salary if you deliver on key objectives that would be agreed upfront.

This needs to be time-bound, so you could suggest that the salary be revised at the end of your probation, or on successful completion of your first set of objectives within three to six months.

There is one aspect of this dilemma you still must look at. You need to ask yourself what it is you are seeking to gain in this new job, what attracts you most to the role. If your focus is on the salary offered, taking a lower salary will be a waste of time since you will not be motivated to deliver. If looking at career growth and experience, focus on the bigger goal, knowing that once you are more equipped, you will have an upper hand in negotiating a better salary. If your main attraction is to work for a leading company, what many would call an employer of choice, you definitely need to reflect some more.

An employer who backtracks on a documented salary for flimsy reasons is one to avoid. This is a sign of poor decision-making and lack of integrity in honouring commitments. If you choose to go in, keep your eyes open, learn fast, enrich your CV and get out at the earliest opportunity.