So it Was #EqualPayDay in The US: Let’s Talk How To Nail Salary Negotiation

“What’s your pay like?” Perhaps an all too sensitive question that most of us have faced in our careers. The strange thing is that people will be willing to disclose their electric bill, mobile bill, mortgage payment, or even whether they can afford to buy an iPhone next month and everything except for their salary.

For many of us, it is quite obvious that we associate self-worth with our salaries. If you have a lot, you may feel like you have a higher status. In short, your earnings and identity are directly correlated. The link between salary and feeling successful may be hard-wired within you—a human imaging study shows that wealth and social values are processed in the same part of our brain.

We are so fixated on our salaries and our self-worth but what happens when the system for our salaries becomes messed up? How do we nail a salary negotiation when there is a rise in gender-wage gaps?

Not too long ago on April 10^th, it was marked Equal Pay Day in the US. This date symbolises how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. The median annual difference is about 20%, according to US Census data.

Let us take a look at the financial sector for instance. While JPMorgan’s workforce is about evenly split among men and women, however, women remain underrepresented at senior levels. Men make up 70% of executives and 83% of corporate directors, according to data from the Bloomberg Financial-Services Gender Equality Index.

While in Asia, Standard Chartered has voluntarily divulged gender pay gap in markets where it stands at Hong Kong (33%) and Singapore (39%).

Recent data statistics have even indicated that women in Asia earned approximately 15% less than men. 

To stomach all these statistics and draw relevance to where you stand in making a salary bid can be daunting. By asking to be properly remunerated and pitching for the right salary can be tough on your nerves, and it’s even tougher for women. A survey published by Glassdoor stated that “Women negotiated less than their male counterparts. 68% of women accepted the salary they were offered and did not negotiate, a 16-percentage point difference when compared to men (52%).”

At The Edge, as recruiting consultants we spent hours studying the way talents put forth their thinking caps to negotiate a salary and advising them on their career choices. In honour of #EqualPayDay in the US, here are 4 key steps to a successful salary negotiation:

#1  Let’s revisit your “self-worth” again

“I feel bad for asking more. What if I can’t justify it?” Our candidate’s voiced trailed off when she was trying to negotiate a salary. With salary negotiation, the first point you need to understand is knowing your worth. It takes two minutes to do your research and even find what the average salary is like for the job title you have been offered at the city you’ll be living in. Resources like glassdoor.com or even payscale.com really paints a picture of the appropriate salary range for your position based on the data collected annually.

The second step is to place a request on what you think is reasonable given your experience, information about the company and the market rate for your job in the industry. Don’t be afraid to aim higher than what you’ve asked for, provided you can back it up with evidence and your experience. Instead of weakening your stance, take a proactive approach to demonstrate your desire to communicate your expectations.

#2 Make it a Winning Strategy

“I am not about caring, I am about winning!” said Suit’s best closer Harvey Specter. If you follow Suits closely, you’ll know that Harvey has always won his cases with his wits and words. It’s all connected to the fact he’s not going to lose.

Selling your success shouldn’t be shied away from being confident and firm. Work your way towards a winning strategy. For instance, go in for an ‘open-ended’ ask by saying “I feel the compensation should fall in the middle to upper end of that range. Would that be possible?” Rather than put forth a specific number, such as $50k (what you originally hoped for) or a 20% increase ($60k), you keep it open-ended.

#3 When your achievements seem vague and unclear

Walking in empty-handed with a vague idea of how you have achieved significant growth is not a good way to calm your nerves.

The last thing you want is fumbling through crumpled paper notes. You would feel clearer and confident if you took a piece of paper and wrote down three significant milestones you have reached in the past year. For instance, you brought in new business that boosted your company’s bottom line or reduced your cost-per-click and improved traffic and conversion levels. Rehearsing these achievements and memorising the specifics are a great way for you to control the conversation and lead with confidence.

#4  Demonstrate what makes you ‘YOU’

Your work matters, no doubt. But when it comes to nailing salary negotiations, it’s all about expressing how your work connects to what’s ahead and who you are truly as a person. 

It’s important to do your homework and take a step back: What’s the most important thing that you have achieved in your career and how can you mirror the same for this new position? Maybe it’s growing revenue or constructing out your team. Speak of your impact on the bigger picture and detail how you rose above and beyond that lets your personality shine through as well.

With these four tips in your hand, go on and chase that pay rise you deserve. If you’re feeling the need for a career change or looking to hire, reach out to us – we’re situated all over Asia in Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Malaysia.