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Post by kyle1639 on Jul 7, 2023 9:39:35 GMT
I am currently in negotiation and requested a bump to GC15, as I have friends in Aramco who recommended I do so. Out of curiosity, how many years of experience do you have? I have almost 14 years and they offered me GC13, with what I perceived to be a lowball offer. We will see what they say, but curious if the GC15 is possible. Thanks GC15 is 25 years plus, maybe a bit less for a very specific and unique skill set. 13 is not lowball for less than 15 years experience and I doubt they’d jump 2 grades. I have 11 years experience and got GC12. Expecting GC15 at 14 years experience is a big ask. |
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jrs
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Post by jrs on Jul 7, 2023 10:17:52 GMT
Agreed - No way they’re going to go up two GC’s. I had over 25 years experience and received a GC 14.
Does the offer meet your salary expectations is more important than GC.
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Post by coyotep on Jul 7, 2023 19:06:37 GMT
Agreed - No way they’re going to go up two GC’s. I had over 25 years experience and received a GC 14. Does the offer meet your salary expectations is more important than GC. Base salary came in 15k lower than my base salary now. With the premium I am exceeding what I am making now by 20%. I consulted with Saudi friends of mine who work for Aramco with similar years of experience as myself and the advice was to not settle for anything less than GC14. One of them is 15 and the other is 14. I countered with a much higher number than what was offered as that is what I would consider to make such a big move and give up potential upside in my current situation. We will see, but I did so with the intent to walk away unless the offer is much higher. Like previous posters mentioned, it's not worth going in with the idea that you settled and be unhappy later. Recruiter did seems quite keen on expecting my counter. |
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jrs
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Post by jrs on Jul 7, 2023 21:57:29 GMT
Ok, I agree you should counter with at least up to your current base (assuming it’s a reasonable/market base for your experience & qualifications). I would offer up your current paystubs, if you hadn’t already.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2023 8:19:36 GMT
Agreed - No way they’re going to go up two GC’s. I had over 25 years experience and received a GC 14. Does the offer meet your salary expectations is more important than GC. Base salary came in 15k lower than my base salary now. With the premium I am exceeding what I am making now by 20%. I consulted with Saudi friends of mine who work for Aramco with similar years of experience as myself and the advice was to not settle for anything less than GC14. One of them is 15 and the other is 14. I countered with a much higher number than what was offered as that is what I would consider to make such a big move and give up potential upside in my current situation. We will see, but I did so with the intent to walk away unless the offer is much higher. Like previous posters mentioned, it's not worth going in with the idea that you settled and be unhappy later. Recruiter did seems quite keen on expecting my counter. Yes, you need to be 100% happy with the financial deal before signing, don't compromise with a promise of future raises that probably wont materialise. Consider that If you are currently well paid you may be hitting the Aramco internal pay band maximum at GC14, ask where you are in this as it will impact ability to get CoL raises in future years. GC15 requires higher sign offs and its very unlikely they will move an open requisition from 14 to 15 without months of delays. |
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Post by coyotep on Jul 11, 2023 18:58:43 GMT
I am currently in negotiation and requested a bump to GC15, as I have friends in Aramco who recommended I do so. Out of curiosity, how many years of experience do you have? I have almost 14 years and they offered me GC13, with what I perceived to be a lowball offer. We will see what they say, but curious if the GC15 is possible. Thanks GC15 is 25 years plus, maybe a bit less for a very specific and unique skill set. 13 is not lowball for less than 15 years experience and I doubt they’d jump 2 grades. They came back to me and didn't provide any change from the original offer. Essentially, their initial offer was their final offer. Seems weird given that the impression I am getting is that they give the initial offer with the intent to negotiate. |
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tamsin
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Post by tamsin on Jul 11, 2023 19:26:53 GMT
GC15 is 25 years plus, maybe a bit less for a very specific and unique skill set. 13 is not lowball for less than 15 years experience and I doubt they’d jump 2 grades. They came back to me and didn't provide any change from the original offer. Essentially, their initial offer was their final offer. Seems weird given that the impression I am getting is that they give the initial offer with the intent to negotiate. Sometimes it is final offer. I would really look at your numbers, they do not pay 100% of school fees (outside of camp schools) and Jeddah is more expensive than Dhahran. It can add up. |
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newbee
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Post by newbee on Jul 11, 2023 19:39:58 GMT
GC15 is 25 years plus, maybe a bit less for a very specific and unique skill set. 13 is not lowball for less than 15 years experience and I doubt they’d jump 2 grades. They came back to me and didn't provide any change from the original offer. Essentially, their initial offer was their final offer. Seems weird given that the impression I am getting is that they give the initial offer with the intent to negotiate. There is always a disconnect between HR sitting in the west and guys in KSA. HR here expects this on every offer and so the initial reaction you get from them is not surprising. It is either that they think what you have is a fair offer or alternatively they have another back-up candidate. |
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Post by coyotep on Jul 11, 2023 19:52:53 GMT
They came back to me and didn't provide any change from the original offer. Essentially, their initial offer was their final offer. Seems weird given that the impression I am getting is that they give the initial offer with the intent to negotiate. Sometimes it is final offer. I would really look at your numbers, they do not pay 100% of school fees (outside of camp schools) and Jeddah is more expensive than Dhahran. It can add up. That's truly what is confusing me. In the offer they say that my cost of renting a 3 bedroom place is $500/month. When I reached out to my RA she had no idea what the subsidized cost of renting was and there is no housing allowance mentioned at all in the offer. My recruiter mentioned that I would be living in a Aramco compound, but that doesn't exist. The RA sent me a bunch of links to rent locally in Jeddah and anything nice costs between $3k to $5k per month. There is too much uncertainty and unknown about the location, living quarters. The job description is the only clear item, but even then you don't know what EXACTLY you would be managing. This lack of clarity is bothering and to be honest making me quite squeamish about moving the family, even though I am from the Middle East and would acclimate without issue. |
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Post by coyotep on Jul 11, 2023 20:02:13 GMT
They came back to me and didn't provide any change from the original offer. Essentially, their initial offer was their final offer. Seems weird given that the impression I am getting is that they give the initial offer with the intent to negotiate. There is always a disconnect between HR sitting in the west and guys in KSA. HR here expects this on every offer and so the initial reaction you get from them is not surprising. It is either that they think what you have is a fair offer or alternatively they have another back-up candidate. I doubt about the back-up candidate since this req has multiple opening across the company and they are hiring many people for it. I suspect the former, but even then any company negotiates for experience and highly talented people. I was offered a more junior position many years ago when I had less than 5 years experience and I turned it down - when I turned it down they were throwing money at me to reconsider. Now with more experience and a much stronger resume they are playing hardball. A sign of the time I would say. |
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tamsin
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Post by tamsin on Jul 11, 2023 20:04:30 GMT
Sometimes it is final offer. I would really look at your numbers, they do not pay 100% of school fees (outside of camp schools) and Jeddah is more expensive than Dhahran. It can add up. That's truly what is confusing me. In the offer they say that my cost of renting a 3 bedroom place is $500/month. When I reached out to my RA she had no idea what the subsidized cost of renting was and there is no housing allowance mentioned at all in the offer. My recruiter mentioned that I would be living in a Aramco compound, but that doesn't exist. The RA sent me a bunch of links to rent locally in Jeddah and anything nice costs between $3k to $5k per month. There is too much uncertainty and unknown about the location, living quarters. The job description is the only clear item, but even then you don't know what EXACTLY you would be managing. This lack of clarity is bothering and to be honest making me quite squeamish about moving the family, even though I am from the Middle East and would acclimate without issue. I hate to ask, but it has happened before, is the role with aramco directly or through a contractor? |
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Post by coyotep on Jul 11, 2023 20:11:03 GMT
That's truly what is confusing me. In the offer they say that my cost of renting a 3 bedroom place is $500/month. When I reached out to my RA she had no idea what the subsidized cost of renting was and there is no housing allowance mentioned at all in the offer. My recruiter mentioned that I would be living in a Aramco compound, but that doesn't exist. The RA sent me a bunch of links to rent locally in Jeddah and anything nice costs between $3k to $5k per month. There is too much uncertainty and unknown about the location, living quarters. The job description is the only clear item, but even then you don't know what EXACTLY you would be managing. This lack of clarity is bothering and to be honest making me quite squeamish about moving the family, even though I am from the Middle East and would acclimate without issue. I hate to ask, but it has happened before, is the role with aramco directly or through a contractor? It's directly through Aramco. It's a direct hire position for a discipline they need people in and is a little niche, so I thought I would be valued higher. Guess not |
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tamsin
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Post by tamsin on Jul 11, 2023 20:18:25 GMT
It doesn’t sound overly inspiring. I wish you luck.
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BlueStaff
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Post by BlueStaff on Jul 12, 2023 15:28:12 GMT
coyotep, Aramco have a system within the HR manual that describes the rental assistance allowance. This was available to all employees prior to 2016 or so and was either an non-invoiced sum of 3.5* base salary or an invoiced sum up to the value of the actual rent - whichever was the greater. This is one of the reasons compounds around Dhahran were so expensive. It was however changed to be only applicable where there was no Aramco housing available (eg. Riyadh, Jeddah). So based on the fact that your residence / workplace is Jeddah where no accomodation is available you should be eligible for 3.5* base salary or the actual rental paid, whichever is the greater. Beware tho that typical Saudi rentals are 6 months or even 1 year up front. Clarify with your RA that you are eligible for full rental assistance - it's possible that they do not fully understand the system.
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Post by darthmole on Jul 12, 2023 17:30:23 GMT
coyotep, Aramco have a system within the HR manual that describes the rental assistance allowance. This was available to all employees prior to 2016 or so and was either an non-invoiced sum of 3.5* base salary or an invoiced sum up to the value of the actual rent - whichever was the greater. This is one of the reasons compounds around Dhahran were so expensive. It was however changed to be only applicable where there was no Aramco housing available (eg. Riyadh, Jeddah). So based on the fact that your residence / workplace is Jeddah where no accomodation is available you should be eligible for 3.5* base salary or the actual rental paid, whichever is the greater. Beware tho that typical Saudi rentals are 6 months or even 1 year up front. Clarify with your RA that you are eligible for full rental assistance - it's possible that they do not fully understand the system. And in that case, do I pay the upfront myself or does Aramco support with that? |
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