The Importance of Negotiating Your Salary: An Important Read for Women and Minorities.

Throughout the course of my career, I have truly witnessed the significance of negotiating one's salary. Oftentimes, it can be an uneasy conversation and rather nerve-racking as a job-seeker. According to Robert Half, approximately 68% of men and 45% of women negotiated their salaries in 2018 (shrm.org). Furthermore, Robert Half also found that 70% of 2,800 managers indicated that they expect candidates to negotiate their salaries (shrm.org). What does this mean? It means that you are likely doing yourself a grave injustice by not negotiating your salary. Another recent study indicated that 60% of women do not negotiate their salaries and 72% indicated that they'd leave their jobs due to feeling underpaid (cnbc.com).

As a Professional Development and HR Consultant, I have personally witnessed this countless times. During my consultations with women and minorities clients, I reference the fact that many women and ethnic minorities do not negotiate their salaries. Instead, they frequently accept the first offer extended to them. All too often, I hear the chuckle in agreement on the other end of the phone. Or, I get the "Yeah I don't think I have ever negotiated my salary" - especially from black women. According to Morela Hernandez, an Associate Professor at the University of Virginia, "Racially-biased job evaluators see black job-seekers as less deserving of higher monetary awards and take issue when the black job seekers ask for more" (cnbc.org). Hernandez and her colleagues argue that such racial biases may contribute to earning gaps in "Bargaining While Black". According to the Pew Research Center, college educated black men earned 80% of wages earned by college educated white men in 2016. I believe this is due in part to racial bias in hiring decisions, but also due to the lack of salary negotiations. In fact, I recently had a client who was a Talent Acquisition Manager at a major consulting firm. She relayed to me how she constantly witnesses African-American hires accept the first salary offer. Of course, she knows that the organization can offer the candidate a higher salary, but she can't directly say this. She told me that she has even made subtle hints, and yet the candidate still does not "take the hint" and negotiate. This results in being underpaid throughout their tenure at the organization. Always know your worth and don't be afraid to turn down an offer if the offer is not beneficial.

So why is it important that you negotiate your salary? Simply put, the graphic at the top of this article explains it all. As previously stated, most hiring managers expect that candidates will negotiate their salaries. What does that mean? It means that the first offer you receive is likely a lowball and there is room to negotiate. It is crucial that you negotiate the highest possible salary that you can initially because once you're in the organization, you're in. In fact, I've heard of many employees leaving a company for a pay raise, and later returning to their former employer to negotiate the higher salary that they couldn't secure before. When one fails to negotiate their salary, they run the risk of "leaving money on the table" and earning significantly less than their counterparts. If two people with similar credentials start a similar role, receive the same salary offer, and one party negotiates but the other doesn't; then two similarly qualified candidates will sit right next each other and perform the same job at different pay rates. This means that the lesser paid employee will continue to earn less throughout his or her tenure. Even assuming a consistent annual raise increase between the two parties will always result in one employee earning more than the other. Morale of the story? Negotiate.

So, how do you negotiate you ask? Here are some best practices and tips. It is helpful to present a convincing proposal as to why your counteroffer should be considered. I would create a high level synopsis (more succinct than a résumé) that briefly incorporates career highlights, relevant/transferrable experience, results, and quantifiable impact (i.e. money saved, projects managed, etc.) to substantiate your request(s). Remember, nothing beats a failure but a try; the worst the company can do can say is "no".

So what if your counteroffer is not accepted? Don't worry. There are other terms and conditions that you can still negotiate. These include (but are not limited to):

• a remote/flexible work schedule.
• student loan repayment.
• learning and professional development allowance (additional trainings, certifications, etc.)
• home office allowance for supplies.
• Additional PTO days.
• Sign on bonuses and/or relocation if applicable.

Remember, everything is negotiable. I recently helped a client negotiate an extra $2,000 onto her base salary and an additional $5,000 on to her sign-on bonus. Had she just accepted the first offer provided, she wouldn't have received these additional incentives.

Happy job hunting!