Women Negotiate Your Salary

Recently I wrote a blog about how women undersell themselves in the hiring process. How they don’t apply for jobs they are fully capable of doing.

I wanted to take a moment and drill a little deeper (especially since it hit a nerve with a lot of women who read the blog) and talk specifically about negotiating salaries.

Here’s one thing I really don’t want to hear from anyone, especially a woman, right out of the gate “I’m prepared to take a lateral move”.

It’s quite astonishing how many times I’ve heard female candidates say this to me.

And even if they don’t use the dreaded “lateral” word they often under negotiate based on the role and their value to the organization.

Of course this is a generalization but in my experience I see more women who underestimate versus overestimate their value.

I’m not sure why women, my self included, do this. Maybe it’s our number of years in the workforce relative to men. Maybe it’s about childhood conditioning and what’s considered “aggressive” behavior and therefore impolite. Maybe there’s something about the not for profit sector and the charities we work with that make us feel guilty for asking for more.

As much as I love to ask the “why” question, a more powerful question starts with “what”. What can women do about this?

Get help negotiating – A friend of mine use to show her offer letters to her brother in corporate real estate who made a living negotiating. He pushed her to see her value and to ask for more than she thought she was worth. If you aren’t good at negotiating on your behalf get the right kind of help.

Understand the market – You need to do your market research to understand how your skills and experience correspond with salaries in the market. Compare what women are making versus men in your industry. Negotiating isn’t just about throwing a big number out but understanding the role, your experience, and the capacity of the organization.

Give a wide range – Find out more about the role and responsibilities before you make any decisions about what salary is the right salary. You will be pushed to give your salary expectations so give a range that gives you room to negotiate depending on what you learn about the role.

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes – Think of someone you know or work with that you admire and respect as a good negotiator and try to imagine how they would handle the situation and what they would ask for. Sit in their shoes for a few moments and visualize what they would say and do.

You might ask why as a recruiter I would write a blog that would make my job more challenging.

Here’s why…

One, because I’m a woman and I want to see women value their worth in the work world.

Two, I want women to understand that when they negotiate on their own behalf they give a strong message of self worth and confidence.

And I want to be the first to present these amazing women to my clients.