As you guys know, the reader conversations here on Corporette can be among the best parts of Corporette… in case you missed it, readers had some true gems in a recent threadjack with tips for negotiating a salary.
We’ve shared tips on negotiating a salary before, as well as talked about things like the best employee benefits (it sounds boring but that was such an interesting discussion, and it really can have huge implications for your bottom line), paid vacation days, when to give your salary history, and whether salary or title is more important. We’ve also talked about when a lower salary is worth it, as well as how to find jobs with high pay and low hours.
How To Negotiate Your Best Salary: Advice from Readers
We had linked to a study that Inc. magazine was reporting on, examining the myth that women don’t negotiate salary; the study found that women DID negotiate for salary, but were told “no” more often. As Inc. noted, “the debunking of the “women don’t ask” myth has broader implications for workplace dynamics and gender equality.”
Readers chimed in, especially to note that new salary transparency laws have been really eye opening.
One of the best, longest comments, noted that there were some important differences she had observed in how women and men negotiate.
So I didn’t read the actual study, just the linked article. Based on my experience hiring and managing men and women, I have observed:
1) women “are hoping for” and “would like” their offer to be “a little higher” than it was. Men “need to see something higher, more like X+$15k.” I’ve had to coach women, especially younger ones, to modify how they negotiate. It is a request, not a wish.
I did have a young woman negotiate once and I couldn’t meet her salary request. We ended up not hiring her and I did follow up that I was impressed with her negotiating, wished her well, and if she could ever work for my best offer to come find me :). To be fair, she was shooting for a number at the tippy top of the role’s pay scale and either HR was not clear or she didn’t realize what that meant.
2) men ask/insist on increased pay for increased work. Women assume it’s coming. I was guilty of this once; never again. As a manager of women I can curb this proactively but I am not the norm. Even when I promote and offer a new salary, it is pretty common for my male employees to try and negotiate that vs the women that take the promotion and increase and are happy.
My husband also has an example. When he was in his early 30s, he was hired for a job at the manager level. He was quickly promoted to a director role and negotiated additional stock options and a salary in line with “going rate for new hire directors.” He got to know a woman at his company who had been there for 7-8 years, promoted several times and was now at his level. She made almost 20k less than he did and had no stock options. Turns out she had them but they expired and she just assumed she’d get more (never assume).
They were good friends. She ended up leaving the company pretty soon after (as she should have) and when she got a new job my husband was a reference and coached her through salary negotiations. She ended up with a $15k signing bonus and $30k/year more salary. We got a nice dinner from her ;).
What are your best tips on negotiating for a higher salary, readers? If you’re in management, do you agree that women and men negotiate differently?
Psst: In honor of this series’ original title, Tales from the Wallet — here’s a wallet we love!
Stock photo via Scop.io / Gatot Adriansyah.
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