Women: Go Forward and Negotiate!

Most women will not negotiate. Men will negotiate for pay faster than a women will, when the two are compared. A women might be able to do some negotiation for more money when there is an opening made by someone leaving a company she is working at, for example. Start with a tip sheet that has your most important points listed for the salary negotiation. One of those points should be the median salary for your job in your area. You can then use that as a weapon given that your current salary is lower.

Print that out as a bar graph and take to the meeting. Be sure to show the sources for the information on the graph. When you get an offer be ready to give a counter offer. If your offer is rejected then follow by asking what the problems are with that amount. Try to get more information on the criteria that concerns are based on. You might be able to set up a method with milestones in your work that will lead to an increase in pay over time. That is better than a flat out, no. You have to get that offer in writing, of course.

In recent interviews the COO of Facebook , Sheryl Sandberg, pictured above, has pointed out that currently women are more likely to be viewed in a bad way for negotiating for themselves while men are admired for it. It seems that the tables are turning as this discussion is more and more in the open and the problem is looked at more closely. Again, start by knowing your worth, and get that on paper by researching the area and similar jobs with your experience and education. But the woman has to first decide that she will negotiate before she can be successful at negotiating.

SOURCES

Richards, J. (2013, October 13). Case study: A corporate recruiter's salary negotiation. Retrieved from http://www.salarynegotiators.com/corporate-recruiter-salary-negotiation/

Dugan, D. (n.d.). 7 salary negotiation tips for women- how to get ahead without negative feedback. Retrieved from http://www.salary.com/7-salary-negotiation-tips-for-women---how-to-get-ahead-without-negative-feedback/

Sheila House is a Grad student at Full Sail University on the MS Entertainment Business Degree Program.