Would like some opinions... Re: upcoming job negotiation

[DPancoast]

Alright TST, I'm not the smartest kid when it comes to negotiations. I usually end up settling, only to later find out from others that I didn't reach high enough and could have done better. This particular situation concerns my current job.

I currently work at a private/retail chocolate factory. It is a family owned company (well over 50 years), and the staff count is small. Between the office and the factory, including myself, there is probably 15 of us at the most. The factory is 3 production lines (soon to be 4) and there is a ton of manual labor things like making boxes up, packing boxes at the end of the line, mixing chocolate, moving pallets around with a pallet jack (2 working forklifts in the building... Only 3 certified operators. I am not one of those) and stuff like that. I have been here since September and work here under a temporary agency, since I got the job through them.

My job is alot of paperwork.. well it was at first. I keep track of raw materials, customer orders, stock, and some others things and enter them into a program on the computer. 80% of the numbers game is on paper so I do a lot of math and lot tracking by hand. Along with that I also work in the production area packing/making boxes, tagging pallets, etc. Along with that I also deal with my boss. He is very indecisive and the production schedule changes with little or zero notice. Most recent example is that in the busy season (when I started) we worked Mon-Fri with an occasional Sat. to cover extra orders if needed. It worked out well. However it then became Mon.-Sat. every week which was fine for overtime but was not fine with one days notice. Anyway, after a while it died down. Next thing we knew he changed it to working Sun.-Thurs....Occational Fri. which quickly became Sun.-Fri.

Now with summer here my boss like to play golf. So he has been skipping Fridays and sometimes closing Sundays. Again, short to no notice. Pair that with unpaid holidays and not making 40 hrs every week and you see the crap I put up with.

With all that said, I make $11/hr from the temp agency....My boss offered to hire me perminatly and with my school schedule arriving, I am due to sit down to discuss logistics. But I'm not sure how much to ask for with everything considered... I know that they pay alot more than $11/hr to the temp agency, but I don't know how to say "look I want to make between what you were paying them and what I was actually getting." without sounding rude or smart. Plus I don't know how much they pay the agency. My school schedule is Mon/Wed/Fri 8-12 in the fall so I'm not missing much of my "required" hours and never take sick days or off unless I have too.

Sorry for the long post but i figured details would help you guys answer.. But with that, how do you guys think I should approach the convo when my pay comes into question? I don't want to shoot lower than they may want to offer, but I don't know how to get a number from them first to have the upper hand. Basic medical and vacation time is standard, so no need to factor that. Please keep the "find another job" out of here.

I would also like to add that since they are short handed, I will be offering to be trained as a fork lift operator to relieve the backup that builds up on Fridays when the main person is not here. AND I will be offering my will to learn the retail packaging lines (chocolate chip bagger) to run/work them when needed.

[Scapegoat]

they're paying at least 2-4 times to the temp agency as to what you are making.

Hiring you for anything less than that would be a huge bonus to them since they're saving a ton of money through that. But also keep in mind the benefits of being an employee of that company.

I worked for the current company I'm working at through an IT temp agency. I actually came in well under what they were going to offer me... so they offered me more than what I asked for. So i'm not the best person to take advice from ;)

I fully expected them to offer me less than what I was making through the agency... but they offered me more...

[DPancoast]

Thats kinda what I figured. With some ballpark math I figured this much.

I get by on my current weekly pay and break very close to even each month. Which means I pay all of my bills on time, plus gas, little food, and other not so pressured bills including rent to my dad which I rarely pay more than a week late. Now with school coming he said that I may be able to stop paying rent while I am in school or at least get a break. We are close, and understand each others needs so it will get worked out.

But reguardless of school, when its said and done after taxes, I technically make $7/hr take home. To keep my weekly income the same with my reduced hours once school starts, I estimate that I need $15/hr before taxes... And that is to just not make anymore money haha. But even so... Between now and school, i would make money to save but school staets at the beginning of september so time is short...And to me that seems like a TON to ask for as it is, let alone more than that. But there are older people with families and kids that have been her for over 10 years... So I guess there is a reason to believe my pay can be increased a small amount haha.

[den9]

11 bucks an hour seems alittle low, i would atleast ask for a steady schedule since you are going to school now, im also not the best negotiater, but if u think u can make more somewhere else, ask for a raise.