6 Steps to Negotiating the Salary You Deserve
The idea of negotiating the salary we deserve is fraught with setbacks. There’s the discomfort with negotiating in general. It’s hard enough to talk about money, but having to ask for more money from our boss or manager can take us over the edge.
Women tend to fear the repercussions of these conversations more than men. Will this hurt my career at the company? Will they view me as greedy or pushy?
And then there’s the question - “what is a fair salary given what we do?” With fewer and fewer of our jobs fitting neatly in a category and pay band, it can be more confusing to know what fair compensation even looks like. More and more of us are switching careers with experience under our belt, and that has to count for something!
Given all these concerns, it’s no wonder we’re not chomping at the bit to get negotiating. However, it is extremely important that we do it for our current financial state and for our future selves. Often our raises and bonuses are calculated as a percentage of our current salaries, so negotiating now is sure to help us down the road. When we’re working in a job where we feel undervalued, we often hold resentment and that doesn’t feel great, to say the least.
Here are some steps you can take to determine how much you should be earning in today’s market and then how to go out and get it.
Find Your Market Rate.
One of the reasons it’s hard for us to talk about what we earn is that we collapse what we earn with our self-worth. For many of us, income feels like a measure of self-worth. It’s not the same thing - at all. We’re just looking for the going market rate for the type of work that we do. That’s it.
Start by talking to friends and colleagues (especially men) about what they earn. It can feel really awkward to talk about our salaries. You can even acknowledge the awkwardness but share how important it is for you to know that you are being paid fairly for the job you are doing. It’s perfectly legal to talk about what you earn and by having these conversations with men, you’re giving them the opportunity to be an ally. You can also talk with people who used to work in your role. This can feel a bit less daunting as they aren’t sharing their current salary information.
You can also call up recruiters (they have all the insider pay info!) and do some online research at Salary.com, PayScale, Glassdoor, and the Career Contessa Salary Project. The more specific you can get about your role, location (it matters!), and level of seniority, the more accurate the range will be.
Start a log of your successes.
One of the most important things to bring into a salary negotiation is a list of our successes. We want to be able to share the value we’ve brought to the company and in many cases, show how we have already stepped into the position we want to be promoted to.
When we have a big success at work, we might think we’ll never forget it, but over time, it’s hard to recall all of the things we’ve done. We might even draw a blank: “what have I even been spending my time doing these last few months?”
Keeping a running log of our successes allows us to be ready for these conversations with our managers. We can pinpoint projects where we’ve had an impact and share exactly how we contributed to the team or company’s success.
Start tracking your successes, big and small, in Google or Word doc. Make it part of your weekly routine to add a win or two. Not only will this serve as a great resource, it will also be a big confidence boost!
Toot your own horn.
You know that amazing success log you started? It’s time to share it with people (specifically, your colleagues). We want to talk about our successes as well as give feedback on projects we enjoyed (or hated) throughout the year so that we’re giving our managers ammo and time to sponsor our careers.
If you aren’t used to sharing your successes, it can feel uncomfortable at first, but I promise it gets easier. And your boss will come to expect it. Pop into their office this week and share a success. You can update your boss on a project that’s going well or share an exciting result you and your team achieved. Then build the habit of doing it at least once per month.
Start the conversation.
Now that you know your market rate, created a success log, and have been sharing your wins with your manager, you are ready to have a salary conversation. If you are overdue for a salary conversation, you can have it as soon as you are ready. There is no need to wait!
If you found out you are being paid less than your male colleagues or below market rate, bring that up. Given all the publicity and work being done around equal pay, it can work really well to call the issue out directly. “It has come to my attention that I’m being paid less than my peers (or even my male peers).”
Share your vision for the future.
When I was on Glamour’s podcast with their editor, Samantha Barry, she shared a really beautiful tip around salary negotiation and interviewing in general. We often get caught up in the nuts and bolts of what we are currently working on and even the next step in our careers, but don’t be afraid to share your bigger vision.
Where do you see yourself at the company? What are your bigger goals? Not only is this inspiring to the higher-up(s) you’re meeting with, it also helps them see the big picture and can bring them on as a sponsor or advocate for you within the company.
Keep the conversation going.
We often think of these salary conversations as happening once a year or once per promotion cycle. The pressure is on, and they can feel really formal and nerve-wracking. But the truth is, we want to be having these conversations throughout the year. Every time I pop into my boss’s office and share a win, that’s a salary conversation. If my boss shared the three things I need to do to get a promotion, you better believe I’m going to be checking in with updates as I complete them.
Most raise or promotion conversations get passed up the chain of command. Your boss has to talk to their boss who has to talk to their boss in order to get permission. If you aren’t able to get an answer right away, check in and keep checking in.