I got ripped off by corporate America. It didn’t help that my mother was a military accountant. Her advice certainly didn't start with "negotiate your salary." She was in the military. They don't do that. She had no idea what people in the business world made. All she knew was her own definition of what “a lot of money” was and
Our definitions of “a lot of money” are set early and take some time to evolve. When she was growing up in the 60s and my family couldn't afford a $1 lunch, $50,000 was a lot of money. When I told her I got an offer for that amount of money, she was ecstatic. What she didn’t get was in D.C. even 10 years ago, “a lot of money” barely covered my living expenses and vehicle maintenance.
I knew I was underpaid back then but the reality is that I thought I was making a lot of money, too. I had no idea how to research pay or advocate for myself. Instead, every time I wanted a jump I went to a new company. That works, but it also made me feel like I was stuck for 2-3 years at a time to avoid looking like a job hopper. It all felt like a double-edged sword. That's why as much as I want to do this series to help corporations get pay transparency right, I did it because I don’t ever want what happened to me to happen to anyone else.
Addressing Pay Inequities To Negotiate Your Salary
Our psychology around money can hurt us when it comes to negotiating pay. Where you come from and everything you know about money will directly affect your ability to address pay inequities. If half the room thinks they have to earn something and the other half thinks they deserve it, take a guess at who’s going to speak up first. If you said the people who think they deserve it, you win a cookie.
Everyone is a little weird about money because it’s a tool for power. It motivates people and makes them scared. It’s inherently powerful simply because it’s so influential to make people take action (good and bad). Even insanely wealthy people who sit on yachts worry about money. They get weird about how much things cost and how money is spent because with it goes at least a dash of their power.
I wish I had some cure for that but I suffer from it, too. I think the lesson here is to get money on your agenda in therapy. If you grew up where what you thought was a lot is a little now? Go to therapy. If you are anticipating a negotiation, it’s probably time to schedule some sessions. Work on that “too much” feeling around numbers and how you associate your personal worth with your salary. We all have something to work on in that realm.
Asking The Right Questions
As far as how you negotiate your salary, there’s 1 power question that recruiters aren’t expecting you to ask, but will get you farther than pretty much any other question. “What does someone at the top of the range know how to do or what credentials do they have?”
If they don’t know, that is a sign you have free range to make a case and negotiate your salary for the top of the pay range. When I say make a case, I mean if you get an offer that isn’t at the top of the pay range, present your applicable experience to them again and ask “does this qualify me for the top of the range or close to it?”
The red flag? It means they’re paying the best negotiators and not the best talent.
Tools To Support Negotiating
Tools can help you get data to understand your market value. Indeed and LinkedIn Salary Insights provide free access to salary data based on job title, location, experience, and industry. These platforms will make sure your negotiations are backed by data that reflect market trends and standards.Don’t get underpaid or forced into job hopping because you didn’t ask for the salary you needed during the application process. Be clear. Ask questions. Do your research.
But remember, what you make isn’t just the salary. Think about total compensation. Free tools like Salary.com and PayScale will show you total compensation, including health benefits, retirement plans, bonuses, and stock options for companies. When everything adds up, these factors significantly impact your overall earnings.
Next week in my last post of the pay transparency series, I want to talk about implementing pay transparency from the employer’s POV. On the surface, it’s posting a range. Behind the scenes, this can unlock some conversations companies have been avoiding like explaining how pay decisions are made or the ever awkward explaining of pay discrepancies on a team.
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