Most women find salary negotiations intimidating and job threatening, not realizing that a satisfying career requires them to negotiate salaries. Aside from the dominant gender preference in the workplace today, not negotiating salaries professionally partly contribute to the gender pay gap in our various sectors. In a nutshell, salary negotiation skills are crucial in making a good career.
Women Negotiate Salaries
Women who feel underpaid are seldom open to negotiating salaries as men. In other words, they fail to justify their demand to get a pay rise. Just as their male counterparts, women need to be confident and properly score how to negotiate salaries professionally to reach greater heights.
Essential Steps That Can Help Women Negotiate Salaries Professionally
Research:
Before going into salary negotiations, embark on background research first. Discover your market rate and what other organizations pay their employees who are in the same position as you. Also, include from varieties of sources the various benefits and perks given to them.
Timing is important:
Those with excellent salary negotiation skills understand that timing is everything in negotiation. Usually, job candidates do their negotiation after they receive an initial job offer. For an employee, it is often tricky to determine the appropriate time. However, it is often ideal to ask for a salary raise after you have completed a successful project. It isn’t advisable to bring up salary matters at a time when the company is struggling or when you just failed to deliver on an expected result. While approaching your manager for negotiation, ensure it’s a one-on-one meeting and not in the open.
Promote your accomplishments:
Today, employers are willing to retain their talented and valuable employees to the degree they can. It gives women negotiating salary something to leverage on if only they can prove how important and valuable they are to the company. Your employer will not always be aware of your valuable contributions, so ensure you bring all your achievements to light by preparing a list of your successful projects (business case). The document helps you in making a strong case during any negotiation and your employer will go to any length to keep you satisfied if they notice how valuable you are.
Communicate your request clearly:
While going to negotiate salaries with your manager, remember it’s important to display a reasonable amount of confidence during the discussion. List our your latest achievements and the unique skills you bring to the table. Tell your employee the need for a rise, write down the number you have decided to start with and expect them to negotiate. You have a chance to possibly land on a suitable figure without too much drag if your communication is clear.
Good luck!
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