Take a pay cut to land a job?

The labour market is not unlike any other free market in the sense that wage levels ultimately function as a product of supply and demand. There is a regulatory framework in Canada which provides a modicum of safety for the worker...but the unfortunate reality is that these minimums might not even be as secure as we would like to believe.

It would appear our largest trading partner (the US) has its own economic problems. First, with household net worth down $14 trillion, real unemployment at 16.8%(down 7 million jobs since the start of the recession) and consumer credit down $110 billion from last year's peak, it would seem to us as though there are too many gaping holes to believe we are going to be seeing anything remotely close to “normalized” earnings any time soon.

Potentially, if foreign investment, private sector and consumer spending all continue to decline in Canada, even the most secure wage levels could face reductions in both nominal purchasing power and in real dollars if the government decides not to finance globally inefficient and relatively uncompetitive business models.

Would I take a pay cut? If I was out of a job, what choice would I have? I do not believe in welfare, and sitting around waiting for a higher paying job is not productive. If I took a 50% pay cut, I would still be better off than most fully employed people, so I should have no reason to complain.

I am currently at risk of losing a job I have had for 22 years, with 3 years to go before retirement. Looking around now, there is no way that I would find one the pays anything close to what I making now.

It happens. When you need a job you need a job. Of course i'd take a pay cut if i had to, but i'd keep looking for another job all the while. Hopefully i could work my way up back to where i was before. Some tough times out there for sure. Unemployment gave me more time to spend on http://www.chimpout.com/forum but I'd rather be working and productive. That's just me though. You gotta do what you gotta do out there unfortunately. Hopefully the economy will improve.

yes i would take a pay cut if i had a job.thats whats wrong with people today,they are greedy.well i say if everyone took a pay cut we would not be in this mess

no..never.i would take a job that pays less..but the trade unions have fought long and hard for what we get and no union employee should undercut another. there is too much going out as golden handshakes to the "top"...there is no need to feel greedy when all you want is to maintain the status quo

Please remove Frank's post.

Check the link he posts if you must figure out why I must insist upon this.

Very not cool.

Yes, I would! Been living on my savings for so long, not sure how much longer I can continue. Unfortunately, employers feel that once a better job becomes available, I'l be out of there and onto a better job at the first opportunity, hence, I'm still unemployed for the moment. To my fellow unemployed, "Keep the faith".

OMG please please delete Frank's post...

There are always ways of supplementing a persons income if they should happen to take a pay cut for the sake of being employed. The real go getters of this world will always figure out a way to maintain their income. I dont get why a person would adjust their lifestyle to accommodate their pay when they could easily adjust their income to match the lifestyle they want. Too many people live on autopilot and rely on the security of a job when in fact there is no more security with jobs. They can be taken away from you at any time. I learned to never rely on just one source of income. Three streams of income is a minimum for me and that keeps me busy enough.

No way. I would not bargain my knowledge, expertise, experience & education away. If a company I'm working for or want to work for is making a profit, then my worth will easily be justifiable. and fair to me. Otherwise, they would not benefit from my contributions.
If they're not making a reasonable profit then ALL personnel & expenses I would expect would want to trim expenses & handouts...think about it.

I have an idea. We have minimum wage right? Why not institute a MAXIMUM wage? Just set a rate and no body can make more than that, period. End all this CEO kickback crap and multimillion dollar gift stuff for athletes and just give it back to society. Really, if you can't live on say 500 grand a year, then you had better put a bullet in your head. We live in an age of efficiency. The rich are far from efficient if they can't make ends meet. Greed is the problem... and it's a huge problem. Instead of giving out more money, why not build a statue in their honour for all the extra monmey returned back into society on their behalf? Statues, parks, name a friggin hospital after them or whatever, just cap the amount of wealth they can earn. It'd fix an awful lot of problems.

I once took a pay cut when I couldn't match my former salary. Everyday I went to work, I berated myself as a failure for going backwards on my salary. Finally, after 1 year, I did find a job that paid better and now my self esteem is restored. However, with the economy down at present, I'm a prime candidate for a layoff. If this happens, I will just try to live frugally on my savings, rather than take a lower paying job again.

I somewhat dissagree with career coach Patrina Campbell's view that "Job seekers that take severe pay cuts in order to secure a job today may find it extremely difficult to recoup forfeited wages once the economy recovers,".

You need a job to get a job. When you're employed, you increase your barganing power with potential employers.

Salaries can be re-ajusted and bonuses added; it's not uncommon. It all boils down to delivering what is asked, displaying good attitude and being responsible.

Perhaps a better personnal financial planing could ease the squeeze; when one looses a job, the weight of making those payments greatly affects that important sense of perspective that is more often than not replaced by a sense of urgency to find a job. Loosing a job can sometimes be a gift to a better career.

Losing a job is one of life's tougher moments. It hits us and people around us. It hits us even more when the process was botched and disrespectful.

At the onset, pain, sense of failure and loss of economic value makes us feel sidetracked. Some of us even loose friends. Really? friends? I'd take time to question that friendship...

As an HR Director, I will advise:

1- Never stop networking; market yourself!!! meet the right people!!!!!! via activities, school, sports! make it happen!!!
2- Always have a good attitude; you never know when a former colleague could be of helping hand.
3- Stay interested; take classes than can increase your market value.
4- Keep a good situationnal awareness; get a head start on job hunting if the sea gets rough.
5- attitude, attitude attitude.