How Women Can Negotiate for Better Salaries, Benefits, and More
A woman received a job offer with a decent and competitive salary from a company clearly eager to hire her. She had never negotiated compensation before, but because she was encouraged by others (including her career coach) to try, she did. Knowing her qualifications (high) and the job market (a candidates’ market) gave her additional confidence. She increased her pay by 7% just by asking. She also got the start date she wanted simply by sharing when she could start and not asking for permission. Knowing what to negotiate and when to negotiate worked. But, is this typical?
Conventional wisdom says that women rarely negotiate salary and that men often do, and research bears this out. But the idea that this variance is simply because women aren’t as assertive is a bit misleading, according to some interesting work done by George Mason University scholars. It’s not just that many women don’t like negotiating, “there is also the (very real) fear, backed by research, that negotiating may come at the cost of being disliked.” So, if negotiating is something you don’t think you can do, you’re not alone. But, learn some more about how and when to do it and you might feel more comfortable trying.
PayScale has some great tips on how to negotiate, but it also can be help to practice with a career counselor. My client who successfully negotiated the pay bump planned her negotiation by writing her thoughts down first before she went in to negotiate and then accept the offer. Writing down what you plan to say ahead of time will help you stay on message once the conversation begins.
Kyle Hietala, my son and the associate in this business, was a state and Ivy League champion debater. He taught me a few things about negotiating. Here’s one of his great points: When you give options, don’t give a simple binary. Don’t make it easy for them to say no. “I’d like to discuss compensation. Might there be an opportunity for a sign-on bonus? If not that, a performance-based bump after six months or a slight increase in the (hourly/monthly) pay?”
And do your research. PayScale has easy tools to show you what’s competitive. Glassdoor provides useful information, too, but keep in mind all their data is self-reported.
What’s the hardest things for those of us of the more extroverted variety to remember? Once you ask, stop talking. Wait. Give them time to respond. Silences aren’t awkward, they are pauses for thought. Good luck!
