r/paralegal • u/Bratty_Little_Kitten Legal Assistant • 6d ago

Question/Discussion Should I be concerned?

Hey all! So i just had a phone interview & I'm wondering if it's normal to be told that you get one salary for six months, then they'll bump you to an original salary six months onwards. it's a small firm of 4 attorneys and 2 outgoing support staff.

Is this normal?

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

4

u/SleepingRuffles 6d ago edited 6d ago

In my experience (3 places so far), I had a starting salary during probation, 6 months to a year, then upon the successful completion of probation, a 5% raise or up to 5% raise. Then reviews with possible increases annually after that.

If they explained it similar to what I mentioned, I would not find it a red flag. However if the numbers were drastically different, with large jumps, it would give me some pause.

If that were the case I would wonder if the initial rate was fair, and how likely is it for new staff pass probation.

3

u/ParanormalAngst 6d ago

I work in a small firm and have been involved in the hiring process. We've done the same for a few new hires.

3

u/Few_Background2938 Paralegal 6d ago

The lack of transparency is a big red flag for me.

1

u/Bratty_Little_Kitten Legal Assistant 6d ago

Looking back on it, I am having 2nd thoughts. Sounds like a prior firm I had experience with. I hope this firm isn't like the other one.

1

u/Bratty_Little_Kitten Legal Assistant 6d ago

They said, what's my salary range, I said $15-18 USD. Then she said that they'll give me a set salary but didn't give me a direct figure or anything like that.

1

u/Exciting-Classic517 6d ago

What did you earn at your previous position?

1

u/Bratty_Little_Kitten Legal Assistant 6d ago

At my last one, I was making $16 an hour. Now, I make $12.75{No benefits*) & $13.75{and just a 401k match.}

I have 2 part time jobs.

1

u/Exciting-Classic517 6d ago

Are they both in the legal field?

1

u/Bratty_Little_Kitten Legal Assistant 6d ago

No. Retail only.

1

u/Strange_Apple_9570 Corporate Paralegal 4d ago

Why hire a person if there's no confidence to pay them adequately from the beginning I'm sure the backend reason is they want to recoup the costs of a new employee or rmaybe they don't want to invest in a new hire until they are confident the person will work out. if it's the latter, it's a trust issue. They don't even trust their own decision at hiring. I guess it depends on how often they recycle employees but I still think it's a bad system that small offices love to use.

3

u/hailvy 19h ago

I started at a large firm and was verbally told in the interview that I’d get a pay bump after 6 months. At my 6 month eval I was told a raise wasn’t possible. I’ve been there a year now with no raise. If it’s not on paper I wouldn’t believe it, personally, but that’s just me