acting or interim
How should I negotiate a salary for an “acting” position?
I have been offered an “acting” or “interim” position. If things go well, I will be appointed to the position in May. The problem is that I am being asked to take on the “acting” position as well as continuing my own.
The offer is only about $200 a month over my current salary to do both jobs (which I have already been doing for 5 months) and take on additional responsibilities.
Advice?
There are no plans to backfill the lower position. I have had to let some things slide these past few months and I have been told that these areas must be significantly increased. I have been feeling overworked but a friend told me that is the culture at our institution and that people think I should just suck it up. I have researched the salary and it is in the lower 10% of the median range.
Usually when moving into a higher position, the lower position will be backfilled somehow. And when moving into an acting role, your focus should be the new role. You want to prove you can do the higher job. Though you cannot totally let the lower job slide, it will likely be expected that some things won’t get done. As long as they plan to backfill the lower role, proving yourself in the higher role is key.
You should negotiate the salary in the higher role as a permanent position. What will you make if the acting role becomes permanent? Is that good enough for you? What does your local job market pay? You can check www.salary.com for general information. Negotiate your future raise now, and if you become permanent, that should be what you make.
Maybe they don’t want to pay you until you can prove yourself, which is actually not uncommon. $200 now may not seem like a lot, but if they are going to pay you even more if you become permanent, then at least they are giving you something while giving you the chance.
