Negotiations, such a daunting word, especially when you know what you want but don’t know how to get it. Having the confidence to go after it is a whole other story. As a woman it’s even tougher knowing that we are already at a disadvantage – only making 82¢ for every dollar a man makes. I am of the opinion that, as long as we prepare ourselves, we can get the exact salary we deserve. If not, we walk away to something better. But we need to at least try.
I see so many individuals forego the opportunity to squeeze a little bit more lemonade into their glass simply because they are afraid of asking. Whether you are buying a home, applying for a job, or asking for a salary raise, it’s important to prepare yourself to ensure you are quipped for these discussions. Here are a few things that have helped me throughout the years:
Market value
Know the market value for your position in the city that you are in. If you google what an Associate Lawyer in Medical Malpractice makes in Boston but are applying in Nashville the salary ranges are going to be drastically different. Make sure you have your facts straight so you aren’t going into negotiations with a ludicrous or ill-informed salary expectation.
Don’t give a range
After you have figured out what the market value is, use that range to figure out what your desired salary is. Helpful tip: Never ever ever ever ever ever give a salary range. If you walk into that same law firm and request a starting salary of $60,000 -$72,000, what incentive do they have to pay you even $1 over $60,000? You just told them they can save themselves $12k by offering you $60k. Tell them the top end of your range, in this case $72,000 and let them negotiate you down.
Non-salary negotiables
Before you head into negotiations, take note of other things that are important to you. If more vacation days are important or working from home X number of days a week, then use that as a tool for negotiation if they don’t give you the salary you requested. I once negotiated not having to put my time into a time tracking tool (Reason: It sucks.). For certain companies and positions this is feasible, if you are billing clients it might not be. The point here is that you can be creative.
Show the data
Come with facts and figures, things that take the emotion out of the discussion. The people across the table from you think in numbers and efficiencies. I encourage you to beat them over the head (not literally 😉) with the amount of money you have saved them and/or previous companies via efficiency, process and technology improvements. Don’t tell them that your wife just had a baby or that your basement just flooded. This has nothing to do with business and should be left entirely out of the negotiations.
Don’t forget your Ace
Always carry an Ace. Any time you walk into a negotiation, always remember you have the opportunity to walk away from the table. I find that when I go into the discussion with multiple offers on the table (job offers outside the organization), then I am the best negotiator I can be. Why? Because I know I can walk away to something equally as good or better. What I won’t let myself do is suffer in silence and accept a lousy offer someone has put on the table (been there, done that). All it takes is a little bit of your time to apply and interview. And, who knows, you might find another company you like even better throughout the process.
Anything is negotiable
I’m not telling you to do anything I haven’t done. In fact, I negotiated certain company policies within one of the organizations I worked for. The one big negotiation that I will always continue to pursue is a better maternity leave policy. When I was pregnant with my first two children, I negotiated my personal maternity leave policy. I refused to accept that a partially paid short term disability policy is a policy. I did that using every step above except for “What else do you want?” (there wasn’t anything else that was important to me other than a great policy for all women).
The end result is that my previous company implemented an 8-week fully paid policy for women (2 weeks for men). This was a change for the better and for that I am grateful. While it did not match the exact proposal that I submitted (far from it), I made it clear that I wasn’t completely satisfied with their changes. Instead of being angry I continued my fight.
As you enter into negotiations to purchase a house or advance your career, don’t ever sell yourself short. Don’t feel like you need to ask for a very low salary just so you can get your foot in the door. You are just undervaluing yourself – and that tells companies that they, too, can undervalue you. We won’t ever close that pay gap if women aren’t willing to stand up for what they truly deserve. So put on your big girl pants and prepare yourself for a great negotiation.
