$5k Today Means $600k in Extra Lifetime Earnings
I often think about a report from years ago that found that negotiating a raise of $5,000 in a person’s first job could result in more than $600,000 in additional lifetime earnings.
$600,000 in additional lifetime earnings.
If you're young or in mid-life, worried about retirement, but still thinking, "it's OK, I'm being paid well enough" or "I'd rather make less money than risk alienating my employer by asking for a raise," ponder for a moment what $600,000 in additional lifetime earnings can mean for a woman.
If any doubt remains, here’s a statistic worth keeping in mind: “Women are 10.7 percentage points more likely to fall below two times the supplemental poverty threshold than men (52.6 versus 41.9 percent).”
Image below by Ian Berry.
It's a negotiation truism that the negotiation doesn't really begin until someone says "no." Before that time, there's little reason to do the work of bargaining. If you don't hear "no," you've already agreed.
The point of a negotiation is to find a way to reach an agreement that satisfies both parties and gives you something more than you believe you can get. That requires the work of negotiation. But don't be deterred. It's not that hard and women are really good at finding ways to satisfy everyone's needs and desires at the same time.
Here's the scenario: It's your annual performance review. Your employer is giving modest raises again after a recession-era 1-year freeze on salaries. You've been working outside your job description for so long now that you simply consider it your job. You forget that you were asked to take over the duties of an employee who was laid off in March of this year and that the austerity re-organization and natural attrition loaded you up even more.
Before the recession, you used to end your day at 5 or 6 or 7. Now you stop working at six, cook dinner, bathe the kids, get them to bed, and then do two hours of additional work before you crawl exhausted into bed at midnight. You’re home afterall, and your work computer is right there.
You're giving your time away for free as corporate profits rise.
It's time to take personal responsibility for the growing income inequity in this country.
You don't need to elect a new President or make Congress live on minimum wage. You don't need to sign a petition at change.org or march for higher wages.
Political action is necessary, but that’s a conversation for another scenario.
Right now your daughter needs a new iPad to supplement her online learning needs and your son needs braces on his teeth. You've had to stop making contributions to your kids' college funds because your husband was laid off in March and, though working, is making half what he made last year. You skipped your last dental and your scheduled OB-GYN appointments because you can't afford the co-pay.
Here's your "get paid what you're worth" list.
Rewrite your job description to include all the uncompensated job duties you've picked up over the past four years.
Go to glassdoor.com to see what other people with your revised job description are making. Consider yourself entitled to make at least that much if it's more than your current salary.
Make a list of all the ways in which you personally and uniquely increase your employer's well-being, i.e., why you can't easily be replaced:
the quality of your working relationships
the institutional knowledge you carry in your head that allows you to work effectively and efficiently
the people who depend upon you to get their jobs done well or simply adequately
your unique skill set
the younger employees who depend upon you for guidance
your "superiors" who have come to expect and take for granted your loyalty, wisdom, diligence, and excellence
the workplace relationships you keep smoothly humming along which, in your absence, could easily become vitriolic
That's just a list off the top of my head.
Think deeply about your own role in the workplace.
You needn't share this list with the person who can greenlight your raise, although you might remind them of the way in which the smooth functioning of the workplace depends in large part on your presence there.
The primary purpose of this list is to remind you of your own value because we women chronically underestimate our value because the culture has taught us to do so.
Build alliances within the workplace
Learn as much as possible about the salaries of your co-workers.
Decide who would be the best person to approach first. It's not always the person with greenlight authority. It might be that person's deputy, formal or informal.
Learn as much as you can about the challenges your employer is facing right now. If you'd like to give yourself a six-month window before you ask for a raise, start offering solutions to those challenges today.
If not, simply be prepared to talk about the ways you already are contributing to the solution and how you might contribute more over the next year.
Come to your "raise" meeting with your new job description and the market data you've gathered.
When you "pitch" your raise, you'll want to:
frame it as a way to compensate you for the value you uniquely provide and as your value on the open market (without threatening to leave)
ask questions about how you might be of greater value to the organization and stress your willingness to be flexible, self-starting, and more efficient (which doesn't mean working longer or harder, just smarter)
"anchor" your raise request aggressively - at least two to three bargaining "moves" greater than where you want to land at the end of the session
Having comparable salary data on a sheet of paper you can give your bargaining partner is helpful.
It frames the conversation as simply paying you your market value rather than asking for something your negotiation partner may or may not subjectively believe you're "worth," all the while remembering that both men and women chronically and unconsciously believe women are worth less than men.
Always be closing
"I see that you're not in a position to greenlight my raise today; let's reconvene to discuss it further after you, i.e., talk to your superiors, have a chance to think more about it, ask me for and take time to consider the additional information you've requested," etc.
"There are so many working parts to this deal that I'm certain we can find a solution that will serve your needs and mine equally well. Let's schedule a time to follow up with one another."
"We've already agreed on two of the three items we've discussed and that gives me confidence that we'll be able to find a way to serve the company's interests, your personal/work interests and mine at the same time."
"I'm not simply invested in my own well-being. As you know, I'm vitally interested in the health of the company.
"I'd also like to make this discussion a victory for you. Let's talk about some of the ways I could help you achieve some of your personal/work goals at the same time as we work together to achieve mine."
You will, of course, say all of this in your own words through your own authentic personality based on your unique situation.
If you have specific questions about what might stand in the way of your getting a substantial (10-20%) raise this year (which simply closes the wage gap for women in most industries), email me or book a time to chat with me on the phone. And, yes, raises and promotions are happening - even right now. Imagine the possibilities for you?