The Subtle Art of Salary Negotiation

One of the most frequently asked questions for teachers looking to break into a new industry is also one of the most complex with a layer of variables - salary. We often hear from teachers looking for their next play ask about potential salary, express concerns about making a pay cut, or want to make at least what they make today. So how much will you make in your new role? Like most answers in life, it depends.

There are many factors that go into the salary that businesses offer their employees. We’ve collected a few but this is far from a comprehensive list:

• Cost of living for your area
• Years of experience
• Title or role
• Expectations of the role
• Are you a Manager or Independent Contributor (IC)?
• Industry

And many more!

It is hard for us to give you a salary range for every role that you may qualify for because even if you isolate a specific role the compensation for that role may change based on responsibilities and location. For example, a Curriculum Developer in a big city may earn 120k for a mid-level role but that same position in a population with a lower cost of living (COL) may only earn 70k. That difference is huge but when you compare rent and living expenses between the two locations you’ll notice that the percent is almost equitable.

You can’t do much about what a company will offer, but you can take a few simple actions to make yourself more competitive and earn a salary that makes both parties happy. Here are the topics we will cover in this article.

1. Conduct Industry Research
2. Network
3. Applying Your Research
4. Negotiation Tactics

Let’s begin with the first topic, how to use our old friend Google to isolate a salary range.

Conduct Industry Research

This is one of the most important but overlooked steps. Do the research. Don’t rely on what others tell you about salary because they may not have the same variables as you. Fortunately for job seekers, the internet has plenty of resources to make this easy. Not as simple as going onto the district website and downloading the teacher salary but a little research should give you a pretty good range.

Use websites like Glassdoor, Salary.com, and Linkedin Jobs. They will at least give you a range of your earning potential. Be sure to have one role in mind before you do this or else you’ll get stuck in the web of chasing a salary but without clear direction on landing that role.

Pro tip: Glassdoor is a great way to look into a company’s culture. What are current employees saying about working there? What do former employees say? We recommend looking at the 3 star reviews as they tend to be more honest about their experience. If you see a common theme come up in the responses, bring it up during an interview. Ask about the expressed areas of concern and be willing to interview them about the company in a conversational, but respectful manner.

Now that you’ve done the research, how do you know it is correct? This is where the power of a strong network comes into play.

Networking

There is no magic number or formula for increasing your network on Linkedin. We recommend aiming for 100 but others believe the magic number is 1000. It is completely up to you but you want to aim for people who are in the position you want and not just people in the same boat. The last thing you want to see is an echo chamber of the blind leading the blind. So be sure to make your connections meaningful, share resources you find, or job opportunities that you want to pass along.

Alright, how does this come into play while discussing salary? It is all about using your market research and verifying it with your connections. The last thing we recommend is undersell yourself. So if you have a Linkedin connection who is in your desired role and lives near your desired work location, run your research by them. Asking how much they make isn’t recommended but stating, “Hi XYZ! I’m in the process of moving into ABC role and noticed a range I should ask for is between 70k - 110k. Does that sound about right in your experience?”

This leaves them the opportunity to provide you with input, feedback, or at least confirm your research. It also gives you confidence to take the next step by applying your research with a recruiter or hiring manager.

If you need tips to maximize your impact and expand your network on Linkedin take a look at a few ways to make it work for you.

Applying Your Research

This might be our most controversial input yet. It is time to take your hard earned information and put it before a recruiter/manager. Some believe that salary is a taboo subject but we need to break those barriers and practice transparency.

It is a real confidence boost when a recruiter asks for your compensation and you can provide accurate market research with a range that shouldn’t surprise anyone. After sharing your expected range then query them to see if they can meet those expectations. By this point you should be more than comfortable with the amount you’ll make and are okay with making said amount. So if they can meet your expectations then continue to express excitement in the opportunity, if not, gracefully step away but ask if you can share this opportunity with your like-minded peers.?

We do a lot of Curriculum Development and learning so we recommend you join Devlin Peck’s ID Community. When opportunities come our way and we just can’t take them, they are always passed along to thousands of others who work in a similar space.

Negotiation Tactics

Another point of true controversy. There are more books, articles, blogs, and everything in between when it comes to negotiating your salary then almost any other topic. This point in the journey should be easy after the first three steps. You already know your worth. You have your market research. The recruiter/manager has already confirmed that range is acceptable. Now they’ve made you an offer and it is the lower band of said range.

Now what?

It is time to take some risks. They already like you. They’ve analyzed your resume, references, and have committed resources to getting you on the team so you have some leverage. You can use any of the tips covered by themuse but in our experience the best kind of pressure is a competing offer. If you are interviewing for a new job then you likely have a few in your queue that are at various stages of the recruiting cycle.?

Generously thank the recruiter for the offer in hand, ask for time to think about it, and while you are in the process of crunching numbers and determining if this is the right fit for you, let the other companies know you have an offer in hand. This lights a fire under their butt to make quick moves if they really want you. This is very common in the corporate world and can even be used to help you close faster offers with higher salary comps. Market research doesn’t always do the trick with some companies so you need to bring in a bit of competition to get the best offer.

Final Thoughts

Out of Class was created to help anyone in the midst of a career transition make the jump to their next role. Our content contributors are former teachers who have shared their point of view with the Out Of Class community. If you're interested in being a part of this group then subscribe to our newsletter for monthly articles and announcements.

Which of the above skills will you commit to refining in 2022?

Best,

Matt S.