Ask Jo: Working through Tough Salary Negotiations

Every month on the Anita Borg Institute's site, I will answer a new career or leadership question. In this first installment, a reader asked for suggestions for successful salary negotiations.

Question: I have been interviewing for a position for which I meet all qualifications. They gave a salary range and asked what my salary expectations are, and I successfully avoided answering. However in my last interview, they asked what I am currently paid, which is below the market rate. How can I negotiate to be paid what I am worth?

Read the column at AnitaBorg.org

Negotiation as a Way of Life

As part of our presentation, Negotiation as a Way of Life, for a group of Oracle's high-potential women at the Oracle Women's Leadership Conference (OWL) today, Leslie and I shared some of the most recent (scary) data on women and negotiation from Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide, By Babcock and Laschever:

In surveys, women were 2.5 times more likely than men to say they feel "a great deal of apprehension" about negotiating.

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Men initiate negotiations about four times as often as women do.

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20 percent of adult women say they never negotiate at all, even though they often recognize negotiation as appropriate and necessary.

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When asked to pick metaphors for the process of negotiating, men picked “winning a ballgame” and a “wrestling match”. Women said “going to the dentist”.

I asked the group of 100 women "How many of you would rather go to the dentist than negotiate? I was joking when I asked, but a few hands were raised!

The solution we advised is to stop thinking of negotiation as a skill to be used only in rare, high-stakes business circumstances. Instead, think of negotiation as a way of life, meaning that the best way to master this skill is to negotiate everything, every day, in every conversation you encounter.

Examples are: negotiate who cooks dinner, negotiate who will drive the carpool, negotiate which movie to watch, negotiate who will help you on a project... etc. Until negotiation becomes a natural way of life.

Q&A: Salary Negotiations

Q: I am currently interviewing for a position I am highly qualified for. They have given me the salary range, and asked what my salary expectation is, however my current pay is below market. How can I avoid being offered less than I deserve?

A: When they ask this, deflect their question. A savvy and diplomatic answer is, "I expect that if we decide this is the right match, we will come to a mutual agreement on salary". Try not to reveal your current salary, or delay for as long as is reasonably possible.

Aim to defer salary discussions until the field of candidates has narrowed to just you, when you will have the upper hand in negotiations.

When you get into negotiations, ask for the highest salary in their range, then explain "I believe I am uniquely qualified for the position because..." and give three or four brief bullet points explaining what qualifies you as the best candidate for the job.

If they then offer you less, say "Hmmm. Is that your best offer?" then go silent, let them do the talking.

If they put the ball back in your court, say "I believe I am worth the top of the range because...” and repeat your bullet points. Then go silent, and let them talk.

If they persist in low-balling, explain that one of your reasons for leaving your current position is the below-market salary. Remind the employer that with your level of qualifications, you expect a competitive offer to be at above the market average rate.

Q&A: How can I ensure I am fairly compensated?

Q: I have accepted a job offer from a large technology corporation (Fortune 1,000). I am concerned that pay discrepancies between men and women are still prevalent.

In addition to renegotiating my salary and benefits package, what other advice do you have on how can I ensure that I am being fairly compensated.

A: Renegotiation is one of the most impactful steps you can take. If all women were to follow your lead—there would be less of a gender pay gap! The authors of Women Don't Ask state that women who negotiate their salary at every opportunity earn at least $1 mill more over their careers.

Beyond salary negotiation, the rest of my advise falls into the category of good career-management. To maximize your compensation, try to maneuver into a job that…

1. Is in a division of the business that is growing, not shrinking or stagnant.
   
   
2. Is in a division that is a revenue center, not a cost center (Example: work in areas like Product Management or Sales rather than in Finance, Operations or HR).
   
   
3. Allows you to demonstrate the link between your work effort and business results, and make those results visible to senior level leaders. (Example: If you are in Marketing, measure ROI of your marketing programs, and present results/metrics to senior leaders)
   
   
4. Reports to a manager who you get along well with, who mentors you, and opens doors for you, who a manager that does the same for them. That way, everyone’s careers advance faster.
   
   
5. Affords you opportunities to work on high-profile projects that demonstrate your leadership capabilities and challenge you to grow.