Women Salary Negotiation Tips – Never Falter

Man gives girl money. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Someone tells you that women don’t earn as much as men do and you get all fumed up ready to place your wrath onto all employers and the paternalistic ways of the society. Agreed, being a woman is difficult and there are many reasons why they may fail to climb up the ladder in their respective careers. It may be because of domestic responsibilities, it may be because of discrimination, or it may be a result of another reason that isn’t in the hands of the working women. However, have you considered why the outcome could be a result of women’s own mistake?

Don’t hate me but I’m a woman and I know this to be true! According to authors Linda Babcock and Sara Lashever and their book Women Don’t Ask, “women are far less likely than men to negotiate at work and that costs them around more than half a million dollars in earnings over the course of their career”. This alarming statistic might have you thinking differently about women’s under-sized earnings due to discriminative factors.

Women, learn to speak up! A little extra cash in that bank account won’t hurt now, would it? So, Here are some salary negotiation tips that will help you compete with the men-menace society and set the balance straight.

1) Raise the Bar: Tell yourself that you are worth more than the world thinks. You have the skills, you have the experience, you have all the required qualifications, and you’re amazing at what you do (and maybe even more hard-working and determined than the male competition). If you’ve got it all, don’t be modest and be oh-so-happy with whatever they offer you at the first go.

Bear in mind that your employer is always expecting you to negotiate the pay (unless it is specifically stated that the salary is not-negotiable). Otherwise, every single first-offer is a less-than-we-can-afford offer because the employer has intentionally set a margin. Acknowledge this fact and decide to negotiate. Don’t think of their first bid as a take-it-or-leave-it option. It never is!

2) Do your Research: Try not to get overexcited about getting the job and just being happy with the fact that you made it. That happiness will certainly be short-lived when you find out later that your co-worker receives a higher pay for an unknown reason. The unknown reason will probably be the fact that she negotiated and you didn’t. By that time, the negotiating power is usually less than it is at the time of pre-employment.

Doing a little bit of research earlier will also be worth your time because what you find might not be what you had in mind. Take for instance the time when you needed say dissertation assistance from any UK dissertation service. Didn’t you research the quote well, before availing their help? If you hadn’t, you might have end up paying a lot more than the actual. Therefore, research is important in every aspect of life, even be it searching your twin-flame.

You need to know what to expect before you approach the “salary negotiation” inevitable step. Inadequate research and mere assumptions will lead you down a dead end on this path, so make sure you are prepared in advance. Find out what the organization is paying if you know an employee or two who works there. You can also network to discover this information. Do a bit of online research on the pays of other similar organizations in the same geographical locations.

3) Come up with a proposal: Convincing requires facts. And facts require research. After a sufficient amount of research you might be able to come up with a decent counter offer. But what about how to back it up? A counter proposal that lays out the reasons, current statistics, and reasons why you think you deserve an increased pay is a formal and commendable way to negotiate your salary.

4) Prepare: Prepare yourself for the negotiation phase by predicting expected questions and answers. Learn online what a typical negotiation conversation is like and how certain answers will increase your chances of convincing your prospective employer to raise the pay.

You’ll learn that a little positive can go a long way when it comes to salary negotiation. Take that positive attitude when you and make sure you earn what you’re worth—no matter what your gender is!

Rochelle Ceira takes great pleasure in helping people with finding their passion that ultimately leads them to the right career path. Presently, she’s working for an online service.