For many women, negotiating for themselves, especially for their salary can be challenging. We are afraid of losing the job offer, appearing too aggressive or too pushy, and often feel almost guilty about asking for more money even when we know we deserve it.
That’s why, at our fourth Berlin Geekettes Mentorship Program workshop moderated by Juliane Möllmann, we brought together a panel of three experts - Hilary Klassen (Business Mentor) Nick Willer (Owner at ACT - Advanced Coaching and Training) and Matthias Kress (Trainer, Coach, Facilitator) - to share their hard-earned advice for how to speak up and confidently ask for - and get - what we are worth.
Here is what we learned:
1. Stop looking at negotiation as a bad thing - it's your chance to put into practice all those great business skills you have learned to invest in yourself. Remember, if you don’t negotiate, it can cost you a significant amount of money over the course of your career, and contribute to widening the gender pay gap.
2. Learn the market value of the position you are applying for by visiting a salary research web site or a trade association for your job or industry.
3. Be confident about the value of your contribution. What do you bring to the table? What are you worth? Being clear on what you have to offer will help you (politely) push to be compensated accordingly. Hiring managers expect you to negotiate and some will think less of you in terms of your skills and experience if you don’t.
4. Don't fall in the trap of talking about money before you're given an offer. If the subject comes up during the job application process, simply say something along the lines of, "I'm really excited about this opportunity and I'm sure we can work out the money side of things later if you decide to give me an offer."
5. There's a direct correlation between what you aim for and what you get, so throw out the biggest number you can reasonably argue for. You don't even have to say, "I want 80,000 EUR." or whatever you think it's a fair salary based on your research. You can instead say, "My research shows that 80,000 EUR would be a fair salary for this position."
6. If the salary offered does not align with your expectations, explore other ways you could be compensated, such as, more holiday days or the opportunity to work from home.
7. And finally, take a power pose before you negotiate. Posing for a couple of minutes in a position of confidence just before the negotiation can and will increase your chances of success!
By Melanie Fieseler, member of the 2015 Berlin Geekettes Mentorship Program organising team, and a business and career coach/ trainer passionate about helping women find and build careers they love. Connect with Melanie on LinkedIn - she’d love to hear from you.
With special thanks to all those who have made this year’s Berlin Geekettes Mentorship Program possible, including Scout24, our main partner for the program, the organising team - Denise Philipp, Bianca Walterspiel, Karolin Rühlmann, Juliane Möllmann, Kate Castellano, and Irina Botea - Markus Kretzschmar Photography, and of course our fabulous mentors and mentees.
The Berlin Geekettes Mentorship Program is a five-month program focused on the professional and personal development of female professionals. This year’s program runs up until February 2016, and brings together a total of 70 mentors and mentees matched based on areas of interest, background, goals and expertise. To meet our mentors and mentees, and find out more about the program, visit our homepage.
