Tag Archive for: #salaryrequest

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Your #Career : What to Do About a #PayGap at Your #Workplace ….It Happens All the Time. Someone Who Has Just Been #Hired, or Hasn’t Worked for a Company for Very Long, Makes More Money than Someone Who has Been There for Many Years & Proven Themselves to Be a Valuable Employee.

April 13, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

It happens all the time. Someone who has just been hired, or hasn’t worked for a company for very long, makes more money than someone who has been there for many years and proven themselves to be a valuable employee.

For instance, there are many instances where a male is going to earn more than a woman who has more training and experience. Have you found out that you are earning a lower salary than someone who is a more recent hire, or has less experience than you? If so, it may be time for you to look for ways to be able to do something about it.

Don’t Blame Co-Workers

First of all, you need to remember that it is not your co-worker’s fault that they are being paid more than you are. Yes, you can be angry, but it is never a good idea to confront a co-worker about their salary. All it does is cause both of you to feel uncomfortable, and it causes a lot of anger in the workplace. Instead of being angry at them, use the fact that they are earning more as a reason to ask for a raise.

One thing that you should never do is ask your co-workers what they earn. Unless you are making comparable salaries, someone is going to end up angry because they are being paid less than others. This can lead to conflict within the team, and a lack of productivity that is not going to help you get the raise you deserve.

Learn About the Equal Pay Act

If you are a woman, it is important that you know about the Equal Pay Act. This act prohibits employers from paying women less than their male counterparts when they have the same amount of experience. If you are not a woman but are a minority, you may be eligible for some form of protection. If you think that you are being discriminated based on age, gender, or disability, the best thing to do is to contact the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EOCC).

Unfortunately, most other employees have no legislative coverage. If you are not in one of the above-mentioned groups, you will need to consider your situation and decide whether you should address the issue with your employer.

Do Your Research

Before you walk into your boss’ office and ask for a raise, do some research as to what you should be earning, based on your training, experience, years with the company, geographic location, etc. If you do know for a fact that some of your co-workers are earning more than you, this is good information to be able to arm yourself with. Of course, as mentioned, it is not a good idea to ask co-workers about their salaries.

Just because you shouldn’t ask co-workers about their salaries, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other ways to find out. For instance, if you work for a university or a public company, some of the salaries are going to be public information. Or, there may be an association for your particular industry that offers surveys about salaries. It is a good idea to research salaries at least once annually.

Consider Your Approach

One of the most difficult things about asking for a raise is how to approach the situation in the first place. It is never a good idea to ask if the company is going through a transition period, as the money just isn’t going to be there. You also need to be able to gauge your employer’s mood. If you get them on a bad day, you aren’t likely to get what you ask for.

When you do decide to approach your employer, don’t go in making demands. That isn’t going to get you anywhere. It is better to negotiate. Tell them why you feel that you deserve a raise, and have confidence in your own value. This is going to get you a lot further than just going in and saying you want a raise, or else.

Negotiate for More Responsibility

It may be that you are being overlooked for a lot of big projects at work. If this is the case, instead of asking for a raise right away, try asking for more responsibility. “Ask to be put on the teams that are doing the big projects, or to do an extra project on your own. Ask if there are training opportunities, and if not, take outside courses and workshops to gain more skills and knowledge,” suggests training manager at IGotOffer.

If you are given the opportunities you seek, don’t waste them. If you are getting training, take in every ounce of information possible. If you are given bigger projects to work on, show them what you are really made of. These are the things that are going to put you in the running for a raise, or even a promotion.

Set a Deadline

What will you do if your employer says that they will give you a raise, but they never follow through on their promise? Or, what if the company just can’t afford to give you a raise at this time? You can only wait for so long before you are going to become even more disenchanted, and your work is going to suffer because you will stop caring.

It is important to set a deadline for what you want. For instance, if you have been working at your company for more than a year without a raise, you may need to decide that if you do not receive a raise within the next six months, this may not be the company for you.

Consider Your Options

If you are not getting the raise that you deserve, or other forms of compensation such as extra vacation time, a paid bonus, etc., it may be time to start considering other options. There are other companies out there that will value your experience and skills, and be willing to pay you the salary you truly deserve. Basically, if your current employer doesn’t see your value, find one who does.

Glassdoor.com | April 13, 2018 | Posted by Jane Hurst

Your #Career : #SalaryNegotiation Scripts For Any Job… Communication can Make or Break Discussions & Impact your Confidence to Get Paid Fairly.

April 10, 2018/in First Sun Blog/by First Sun Team

Ask any job seeker or employee about salary negotiations and one of the most popular responses is, “I would negotiate but I don’t know what to say.” Having the right words to say, or write, during a salary negotiation is vital. Communication can make or break discussions and impact your confidence to get paid fairly.

Always remember, your talent is precious, and you deserve to be compensated for it. Learning to foster conversations about compensation is a vital skill that yields rewards.

First things first, determine your current worth in the job market. Use Know Your Worth to receive a custom salary estimate based on your title, company, location and experience. Once you have the information, it’s time to advocate for yourself.

Josh Doody, author of Fearless Salary Negotiation, knows how challenging it can be to learn to financially advocate for oneself. He took his first job without negotiating his salary. Once he got hip to the dance, he doubled that salary.

We teamed with Doody to equip job seekers and employees with exactly how to tackle tricky salary negotiation conversations.

Situation #1: Prying During the Prescreen

How should you respond when you’re asked about salary right off the bat? You want to demonstrate that you’re enthusiastic and cooperative, but you don’t want to tip your hand. Doody explains: “It’s a salary negotiation tactic disguised as a gatekeeper-type interview question.”

Suggested Script:

Recruiter: What’s your current salary?

You: “I’m not really comfortable sharing that information. I would prefer to focus on the value I can add to this company and not what I’m paid at my current job.”

If the interview team doesn’t know your salary, they can’t use it as their starting point. Doody writes, “that’s probably going to mean a higher initial offer for you.”

Recruiter: What’s your expected salary?

You: “I want this move to be a big step forward for me in terms of both responsibility and compensation.”

Doody points out, “sharing your current salary or your expected salary is not in your best interest. . . They’re interviewing you because you’re a qualified candidate, and they need a qualified candidate. . . They would also like to get a good deal. . They’re not going to stop interviewing you just because you don’t make it easier for them to get a good deal on you.”

If they pass because you won’t acquiesce, that’s a red flag. Doody says, “then they’re extremely motivated to get a bargain…That’s bad news for you even if you get the job.”

One last thing, resist the temptation to tell a white lie when asked for your salary during the prescreening process. If you underestimate what they’re willing to pay, you’re leaving money on the table. If the real answer is that they would compensate someone like you up to $75,000 dollars, and you guess they would pay a salary of only $65,000, you very literally may have just cost yourself $10,000.

If you overestimate and tell them your salary expectation is $85,000, you may set off red flags that cause them to rethink the interview process altogether. This is pretty rare, but you could disqualify yourself by being “too expensive” for them. If your expected salary is well above their budgeted pay range, they may just move on to other candidates with lower salary expectations.

The bottom line is you probably aren’t going to guess what their salary structure looks like, and if you try to guess you may cost yourself a lot of money.

Situation #2: Savvy Counter Offering

After you’ve secured an offer, Doody recommends using this formula:

“The counter offer calculator accounts for four factors—the base salary of your job offer, your minimum acceptable salary (“walk away” number), how badly the company needs you to accept the job offer, and how badly you need the job.”

Use “firm and neutral” language like this:

Suggested Script:

“Tom offered $50,000 and I would be more comfortable if we could settle on $56,000. I feel that amount reflects the importance and expectations of the position for ACME Corp’s business, and my qualifications and experience as they relate to this particular position.”

Or, if you had a competing offer:

“Thank you so much for the offer. As I mentioned during my interview process, I am speaking with a couple of other companies. If you’re able to move the pay to [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][insert your number], I’d be eager to accept.”

Doody explains that email is the perfect medium for this message. This way, the hiring manager can share it in a format that clearly makes your case to each person with whom it’s shared. Your case won’t get the same treatment if it’s restated recollections of a conversation.

The hiring manager will likely come back with a figure between your base salary and your counter offer. For Doody, the distance between these figures represents your “salary negotiation window.” He recommends compartmentalizing this window into increments. In the example above, the window is $6,000, so he recommends devising a response for each possible offer.

If, for example, the offer is $55,000 or above, Doody says it’s a taker.

“If the company comes back with $53,000, then you say ‘If you can do $54,000, I’m on board!’ If they stick with $53,000, then you would say, ‘I understand the best you can do is $53,000 and you can’t come up to $54,000. If you can do $53,000 and offer an extra week of paid vacation each year, then I’m on board.’”

Decide which benefits, like vacation time or flexible working hours, are most important so that you can apply them to bolster the deal. Rank those benefits in your mind and use those in your bargaining.

Extra vacation time
Work from home
Signing bonus

If they do not accept your second-priority benefit, you move on to your third-priority benefit. Regardless of whether they accept your final response, then you’re finished; don’t get nit-picky or greedy. You have maximized your base salary and maximized your benefits as well.

Situation #3: Raises & Promotions

Doody explains: “Your primary reason for requesting a raise is that the salary you’re being paid doesn’t reflect your current value to the company. That salary was set some time in the past, so your argument is that you are more valuable now than you were. . . ” You have a fair justification. Now you need the right plan.

Start by mentioning, via email, to your manager that you’d like to discuss compensation in your next private meeting. After that conversation, Doodly advises preparing a strategically constructed, easily sharable salary increase letter.

Suggested Email Script:

“As we discussed, it has been [amount of time] since [“my last significant salary adjustment” OR “since I was hired”], and I would like to revisit my salary now that I’m contributing much more to the company. I’ve been researching salaries for [job title] in [industry] industry, and it looks like the mid-point is around [mid-point from your research]. So I would like to request a raise to [target salary].”

The letter should also highlight your accomplishments and accolades. Doody notes that if your proposal isn’t accepted on the first try, you can work with your manager to create an action plan.

“I would love to work with you to put together a clear action plan and timeline so we can continue this discussion and monitor my progress as I work toward my goal.”

Always remember, your talent is precious, and you deserve to be compensated for it. Learning to foster conversations about compensation is a vital skill that yields rewards.

GlassDoor.com | April 9, 2018 | Posted by Eileen Hoenigman Meyer

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