Negotiating Your Next Salary Raise

Written By WIN Coach and former WIN Summit Speaker, Bonnie Marcus

Despite the fact that there are now more women than men with college and graduate school degrees today, women still face a gender pay gap. A few companies, like Microsoft, have responded to this challenge by becoming more transparent about their pay practices. But the reality remains that most companies are not ready to make drastic changes to their policies. Therefore, each of us has to take responsibility for narrowing our own pay gap.

Here are some tips for how to narrow your pay gap.

Negotiate cash first. 

Look at the total compensation package, but don't use that as a substitute for the money upfront. Companies are now offering more generous leave programs, and many women negotiate for things that are more important to them than just the cash money. That contributes to the wage gap that we have. We can learn a lesson from our male colleagues. They negotiate the money first and get the cash that they want. And then the perks generally come with it. If you're going to get the perks associated with this level position anyway, there's no reason to give up cash in lieu of something else.

Keep track of your accomplishments.

Talk to your boss and take your list of accomplishments that you've generated over the course of the last review cycle. Ask to be considered for a raise or promotion and state why. “These are the 6 things that I did that were above and beyond the call of duty in the last 6 months.” 

You can also say you did something that was significantly special. You brought in a new client or you created an efficiency that now saved the company thousands of dollars, or maybe you found an accounting error that was a major coup to the company. You want to point that out and be recognized for that. 

Have a dollar amount in mind before you negotiate.

Gather as much salary information you can from colleagues who left the company or from competitors in your industry. Know what is fair compensation for your position before you request a raise or accept a job offer. If you're way behind market-based upon 4 or 5, even 6 pieces of information that you've gathered specifically related to your company and your role, you can let them know you have that information and where you got it from. "Listen, I have a friend who works and does the same job at a competing company and they're making this. I feel that where our pay is a little bit behind the market here.”

Request a performance review more often than annually

There’s a trend in a lot of companies moving towards bi-annual reviews and even quarterly reviews, instead of annual reviews. Rather than having to wait a year to have a sit-down with your boss, you can ask for informal quarterly reviews as well as a more formal biannual review. You don't have to wait a year to get a review. And if your company doesn't institute this, you can softly go about changing that culture yourself by asking for it.

If you’re asked to take on more responsibility without a raise or you’re offered a position with a salary below your expectations, ask for a six-month review or probation period with set expectations. You can negotiate to raise your salary when meeting those expectations rather than waiting for the full review cycle.

Raise your hand for stretch assignments.

You have to be able to complete your first and primary responsibilities first but volunteering for special projects, especially high-profile projects, will help you get credibility and visibility with key stakeholders. That credibility can pay off in terms of getting sponsorship, getting allies and champions for your work, as well as general support for a raise and/or new position.

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