Salary negotiation can be challenging and daunting no matter what stage of your career.
What advice do you have for FGB'ers on negotiating for the salary you want (and deserve)? How did you figure out what salary you should negotiate for?
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6 Comments
6 Comments
Joni Roberson Factor
42
Talent Strategy Expert
02/10/21 at 8:52PM UTC
New position: Do not disclose your current salary. Legally, the company should not take it into account to determine a future salary. If asked about salary you should always reply that your expectations are between x and y range. Women even overqualified women, tend to ask for a lower range than their male counterparts. If your range is high the company can let you know. Remember, the person having this conversation with you is trained to do so. Then candidate then gets to decide if they are willing to do the job for less or to move on to the next opportunity. In my honest opinion, you should never get further than the second round of interviewing without having clarity on the salary range. If you get too far down the road you increase the risk of wasting your time and the companies time. This should really be a priority for the company but not all companies are transparent about salary and this can occur for multiple reasons.
A company should also share if the range you shared is below market value, that conversation may happen in the moment or be made apparent when you receive an offer higher than expected.
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Michele Burling
188
02/10/21 at 9:49PM UTC
From a posted response last year:
Know Your Value (A great book by Mika Brzezinski, BTW highly suggest to anyone on this site who has not read it!).
Research your position and experience on sites like Salary.com, Glassdoor.com, LinkedIn.com and even Indeed.com - this will give you a good range of what the market is as a starting point. On Glassdoor, you can look up a company and see salary of positions within the company, perhaps there's a similar one to your role that would give you some insight.
When asked, pointedly in an interview or screening, I say, "I'm sure you/the company, have a range in mind that would be commensurate to my level of experience, perhaps we can begin there." This usually opens their eyes and their mouths. Get them to divulge first if at all possible.
If they push back, you can say, well, with my level of experience and market knowledge, salary.com (or wherever you garnered your base range from) says $xx is a fair beginning point for discussion. I'd be happy to work with you if you're within that range.
If they come back lower, don't simply jump at it out of desperation. Breathe, look away and say something like, well, that would work for the initial on-boarding. I would like to see that number increase by $xx after my 90 day review. I'm sure you will see my value by then and be willing to work with me on this. Negotiating is a 2-way street.
You don't have to play hard-ball. Generally you can negotiate with confidence as long as you have done your research and can back up your expectations.
I recently had a recruiter pursue me for a similar position to mine. He asked what my salary expectations were, I answered with the "I'm sure your client has a range in mind...I would have to do my research on S, Gd, LI and I before I could give you a $ for this position." He then said it's range is $-$$, I told him I would not have looked at the position in that range and would not have applied for it. So he offered to propose they bring the $ up a bit either at hire or 60 days in (in writing in the offer).... So yes, you can get them to tell you the range AND get them to discuss more. Just be aware, confident, and remember to take a breath before responding.
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1 Reply
Pam Romero
32
02/10/21 at 10:29PM UTC
This is very good advice.
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1 Reply
Michele Burling
188
02/10/21 at 11:06PM UTC
Thank you Pat!
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Deidra Bodkin
42
Marketing & Media Leader across Consumer & B2B
02/11/21 at 2:01AM UTC
Two responses. I saw this video series and thought it useful. https://fb.watch/3xu6NFUvXO/
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Deidra Bodkin
42
Marketing & Media Leader across Consumer & B2B
02/11/21 at 2:38AM UTC
There is an organization that I am a part of that helps women through salary negotiations. It's free and they will set you up with a mentor to discuss your unique situation. Website coming this month, but you can check them out here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/until-there-are-nine/
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