Salary Negotiations

All about the Benjamins

I don’t think it’s right or fair that a woman makes 70-90% (best case) of what a man makes for the same job and the same level of experience. So, lets attempt to close most of the gap. I’m going to attribute this horrible discrepancy partially on the female knack for empathy.

Negotiations are a cold, heartless process wherein one party attempts to take advantage of the other party by getting what they want in exchange for as little as possible. Most women just don’t operate on this wavelength. At least, not ones that I like to associate myself with.

Ladies: do not take guff for your physical lack of cohones. You have metaphorical cohones. Take advantage of ‘em.

Now, if you’ve followed my advice so far, you’ve successfully avoided talking salary until you received a job offer. They’re going to give you an offer and probably ask you what your expectation is. They’ll then offer you 5-10 thousand less than what you want and what is fair. This is to shock you. Don’t let it. Let’s put it this way:

We’d like to offer you $30,000. (The average salary for this position is $45,000)

The most effective thing you can do: laugh. Not rudely, but like you just saw someone get kicked in the balls and hit in the face with a pie all at once. Don’t insult the offer, but the laugh lets them know that you are so onto them.

Now – you need to research your field before this conversation ever occurs. Right after you send your thank you letter, go out and come up with a range of salary expectations that is realistic and based on market data for your area. There are plenty of salary data websites out there. PayScale is just one – this link will take you to their site for the Data Analyst salaries. Use multiple sites – and then use the site with the highest numbers. You can play with these numbers knowing that they are not always exact, but aim high rather than low. The worst you will do is raise their expectations of what they need to be paying experts like you.

In all, you need to know four numbers before you ever start talking salary. And lets take benefits OUT of this equation for the moment. These sites often let you choose with benefits or without benefits… since it’s hard to value benefits before you know what the offer is going to be, you want to take those benefit calculations out.

1. The highest salary you should expect
2. The lowest salary you should expect
3. The average salary for your field
4. Your goal (or target) salary

Again, these four numbers are BEFORE benefits. You want to get this salary in addition to any benefits you receive (benefits are also negotiable, as well as vacation time accrued from start, rate of accrual, and several other fun bits). The goal is determined by what you WANT to make and what you think your skills are worth. It’s okay to aim high, but be flexible.

Reject the first offer but counter with one of your own, supported by the evidence you gathered. It will sound something like this: (you’re in green – note that this may not all happen in the same conversation. Sometimes THEY take time to think about it. Or YOU might even want a break to “think” about what you want – it makes them sweat.)

We’d like to offer you $45,000. (The average for this job is $48,000, high end of $53k, low end of $42k. Your goal is $50k.)

Oh. Well, unfortunately that falls outside what I was expecting. Survey data says that professionals with my level of experience and degree in this job should be making between $50k and $53k. The average is $48k, but I feel that I bring more to the table than the average candidate. Can we agree on $50k?

I see you’ve done your homework. Well, I guess… yeah, we can go to $50k.

Awesome, thank you! So, what sorts of benefits are there?

We’ve got some great blah blah blah blah plans.

Really? Well, that sounds awesome. Is it possible to negotiate for some automatic accrual on those vacation days?

Remember: You are worth what you are asking for. Be secure in your number – you have done your homework and they are trying to play you. Everything is negotiable.

Getting To Yes

Always reject the first offer.

Here’s the deal – you can usually squeeze a good deal more out of the negotiations than you’d expect. Even in a tough economy, there’s a lot of room to wiggle, usually. The other thing of note here is that the higher your starting salary, the higher your lifetime expected salary is… and that’s just plain good news for everyone. It’s almost kindof a duh moment, but if you start off at $40k/yr, you’ll be much worse off over your lifetime than had you started off at $60k/yr.

Bonus, Baby!

Bonus is not continuous salary, but if you can wrangle one, that’s awesome – but do not sacrifice salary for a bonus. The reason is simple: you might get a huge boost in year one, but over the course of years 2-5, a higher salary will always allow you to earn more than had you taken a bonus.

Always Be Nice!

Even if they’re being jerkish, relax. Smile. Be courteous. Negotiate with confidence. But, you never know who that jerk is friends with… could be your next interviewer. They could “blacklist” you in a heartbeat. So, instead, be nice, always. No matter how much you want to punch ‘em in their face.

Patience Is Key

There’s no doubt about it. Negotiations are a stressful, sucky experience, no matter how much you try and make them fun. I mean, name me another time besides a bank robbery at gunpoint when you are arguing for your own livelihood?

Stick to your plan. Know your four numbers. Know what you want for benefits. If they fall short somewhere, ask them to pick it up somewhere else. Compensate, think on your feet, and you’ll be just fine. Plan it out ahead of time by having several options planned out that would be acceptable to you. Compromise, but not too much – you want the job, but not at the cost of your health or happiness.

Ladies – if you are continuously low-balled or offered a reduced rate from what the salary data says you should be making… you need to either walk away or call them on the carpet for it. One can be rather uncomfortable… especially if you actually end up taking the job. That poor bastard in HR is always going to know you as the woman who broke his balls over a few thousand dollars. But remember – that few thousand dollars is a monthly house payment or a few months worth of great dinners or half a new purse from Coach! Fight. Claw. Break that damn glass ceiling – and help your female friends to do the same.