Negotiating your pay can be intimidating—it highlights your fear of how others perceive you and can also reveal a lot about how you perceive yourself. These are natural feelings to have but you shouldn’t let them stop you from asking for more because negotiating is worth it—literally. According to a Fidelity survey, 85% of job candidates who negotiate are successful in getting more than they were initially offered. As you prepare for a job offer, get in the mindset to ask for what you’re worth with these tips:
Remember, it’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility
The statistics about how much the average BICPOC woman, BIPOC man, and white woman make compared to the average white man are truly upsetting. In case you haven’t seen them lately, here is a reminder:
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On average, women earn 82 cents to a man’s dollar
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Latinas earned 57 cents to the non-Hispanic white man’s dollar
This is absolutely not your fault, but you do have the agency to move the needle in the right direction by negotiating your salary. Whether or not you’re successful in getting everything you ask for, negotiating in and of itself raises the bar. Failing to negotiate or accepting less than you deserve without a fight makes it harder for the next person who asks for more.
Set yourself up to avoid regret
People tend to regret the things they didn’t do over things they did do, even if what they did turned out poorly. This is true with salary negotiation too: you are way more likely to regret not negotiating than you are to regret making the effort. A survey from Salary.com found that 76% of respondents regretted not asking for more money. Some people worry they will regret negotiating if their offer gets pulled or in case it leaves a bad taste in the hiring manager’s mouth, but that is extremely unlikely. And if either of those things did happen, it would say a lot more about the company than it would about you.
Follow your own advice
Picture your very best friend. Then, imagine them telling you that they aren’t sure if they should negotiate their job offer. What would you tell your friend? Probably that they are kickass and they should absolutely ask for what they deserve. The same applies to you. If you need to hear it, just call up your best friend. I’m sure they will tell you exactly that.
Mentally spend that salary increase
While we advise against spending money before you have it, imagining how you would allocate those extra dollars is a powerful technique to boost your resolve to negotiate. When you are in your own head about the fear of negotiating, it’s easy to think that you have enough and don’t actually need more money. That is the type of thinking that created the pay gap in the first place. Even if you don’t “need” it, I bet you can think of a lot of great ways to use that extra cash whether it’s for you, your family, or your community. So estimate how much more money per month per year you would get in your paycheck from the salary you want to ask for and really dream about how you would use it.
Final Thoughts
Feeling fear or hesitation about negotiating your salary is normal, but you can’t let it hold you back. Overcoming that fear (or at least muting it for long enough to to make your ask) is a mental game. Find what puts you in the right mindset and go get that money!
