Speaker 1: So you find a job to apply for, you do the application, you actually get an interview, you do the interview, you follow up after the interview, and then you actually get an offer. You did it. But before you say, yes, please, I'll take it. Let this job hunt be over. Please, this process has gone on so long. There's one more thing and it's pretty important. I've never negotiated a salary before. I don't want to do this video. Why am I doing this video?

Speaker 2: People will absolutely pay you $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 a year less just because you didn't ask.

Speaker 1: Fine. Fine. That's Dr. Tiffany Janna. They're an author, speaker, and founder of TMI Consulting, a diversity and inclusion management consulting firm. Negotiating your salary is super crucial, especially early in your career. It really sets the bar for your raises and bonuses in the future, and it will even impact what others will make in a similar role to yours. What has changed regarding the negotiation dynamic? There definitely seems to be this different power in the labor force than ever before.

Speaker 2: Employees are driving this change. We are now standing up after being put on the front line of a global pandemic and being shown that corporations are literally willing to kill us for their profit. We're saying, no más, por favor. We're done. We're absolutely done. Everyone who's negotiating needs to be able to stand in that power and recognize, no, I'm not an interchangeable cog in a machine. I am a unique asset. It is worth holding out to be treated well, to be respected, and to be appreciated for what you're bringing to the table. So the change is real. If you don't win here, you'll win over

Speaker 1: there. Look, I've never negotiated a salary myself. I know that this is really, really hard, but let's get into it. I'm inspired. I'm excited to learn how to do this, but I'm also kind of interested, how much have I lost by never negotiating?

Speaker 2: I don't think that you can generalize it, but I would definitely say tens of thousands of dollars. I love this new movement towards everybody advertising the job range for every job, because literally, especially if you're working for a for-profit corporation, the corporate imperative is to maximize shareholder value, and that means the less I can pay you, the more the shareholders get.

Speaker 1: So let's talk about nerves. How do I get outside of my head when I'm feeling super nervous about this and feeling like I kind of don't really deserve anything more than their offering?

Speaker 2: If you're doubting yourself before you even start with the negotiation or start with the interview, there's something that you're not believing in in you. You're feeling like you are inadequate. You're feeling that you're insufficient. You're feeling that you're not bringing enough to the table. So the first thing to do is recognize, excuse me, you are amazing. You wouldn't even be pursuing this if you didn't have something in the bag that made you qualified, that made you amazing. So understand that what you're bringing to the table is not only experience and not only passion for what you do, but you're also bringing you. Then you'll have a little bit of power when

Speaker 1: you walk in there, a little swagger. This is an obvious one, but don't just pull numbers out of thin air. Do your research. Go on sites like Glassdoor, Payscale, Department of Labor. You've heard of them before, but what is most effective is talking about salary with your friends, your mentors, your teachers, anyone who might know. Go and get some context for what the going rate

Speaker 2: for a job like yours is. What you're looking for is the total compensation package, and that is your time off, your flexible time, you know, all the various benefits that are. So they need to articulate very clearly what those benefits are for you. If you don't know all of the benefits

Speaker 1: that are being offered, you can ask and you should ask. That background information is really, really helpful. The money is crucial, but think holistically. Would you be willing to take less money for more time off or for a flexible or hybrid work schedule? Be thoughtful, but also creative. If you're living in, you know, Virginia, but your company's in California, should you be asking for a California salary or Virginia salary or just a salary that reflects your personal value?

Speaker 2: So that's a great one. You need to index for the higher value, honestly, right? If it's a California company, then a California company can afford to pay California prices. And if they try to pay you Virginia prices in California, they're cheating you. Don't ever put yourself in a situation where you give someone permission to shortchange you. California company, you pay California wages. You ask for California wages that you get to benefit from living in a virtual society. Like you don't have to get shortchanged for that. The flip side is a little bit harder, right? I'm a Virginia. I have a, I have Virginia companies that are hiring people all around. I would love to be able to pay Virginia rates, but if my people are coming from California, I want them to actually be able to do well. So the onus is on me to be profitable enough to be able to afford the best talent.

Speaker 1: Know your floor. Figure out how much it's going to cost for you to just live. Throw the list up on the screen. Rent, groceries, student loans, your wellbeing. Make sure you're going to get more than that amount. Don't rely on promotions, raises, bonuses. Your starting salary is going to calibrate all of those other numbers. So if you start too low, it's going to be a lot harder to raise that number. I've always been told that going into negotiations, I should always ask for like a lot more than I want. So say that I actually want like a salary of $60,000. How much more

Speaker 2: should I be asking for? So that's where you have to know the landscape. If it's absurd to ask for $80,000 based on industry experience and geographic region, then you're going to get yourself kicked out of the running because you don't know the industry. So do I give a salary number or a range? You go in with a number, I feel like then I'm putting you on the defensive to tell me why you don't think I'm worth enough because I'm prepared to tell you why I'm worth that. Now, I know a lot of people do go in with range. If you have a bigger flexibility in terms of like your floor, right, but I wouldn't put my actual floor anywhere near the bottom of that range.

Speaker 1: Where should it take place for me to have the best leverage? Is it over the phone, over email? Is it something that should happen in person? Where do you think is the best place for that to

Speaker 2: happen? So you can't always control that because you don't always get to have, you know, every level of access. So it just depends on the situation. Try to move towards a platform that where you feel empowered, right? So if you are a mistress of the written word and you know that your command of language and your ability to formulate your thoughts is best when you can sit back, compose, sit on it, hit send and go, then I would, then I would do it there. If you feel like I want it to be personal, but sitting in front of them, I'm going to sweat in my armpits and it's going to be terrible. Then you can ask for a phone call and you can do it that way.

Speaker 1: Say it's an email. How do I respond back? Is it just like, well, you know, 75 is what I asked for. I can't really budge on that. Or is that where I start to build the case?

Speaker 2: You would say, thank you so much for the offer. I was really looking for 75,000. Can we discuss the total compensation package? That shouldn't be a long email. Shouldn't be a lot of stuff there, but, but what you're saying is, all right, I said this, you're seeing this. There's a lot in between those things, including how I get to work, where I get to work, how much time I have off. But what do I say? This is not the time to be shy. This is when you're in, if you're in your introvert is not your best friend, right? You've got to bring, you got to bring those big guns out and say, okay, oh my gosh. So you're, you know, you're looking for somebody with, you know, positive energy. Who's, you know, got the right number of years experience. Like I've got that. And then you reiterate it to them and you say, this, this is really exciting because exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. I know that I can do this because here are the ways that I feel these things. And then look for their concerns, look for the things that they are afraid of. Look for any reasons that you could see them justifying paying you less. Say, you know, I've done a fair amount of research and then, you know, and I, I understand based on the people that I've talked to and the research that I've done, that this role commands, you know, anywhere from 60 to 90,000. Every negotiation expert will tell you this,

Speaker 1: and it's a tough one. Like I cannot even picture myself ever doing this, but if it gets to the point where you're not getting what you want, you have to be willing to walk away.

Speaker 2: You actually have more power when you walk away, right? When you're the person who was the best candidate who they were willing to go back and forth and back and forth and back and forth with. And you finally said, you know what? Thank you all for trying, but this is not going to be what I need. They're going to remember you. You're going to build a reputation in the industry as the one who didn't compromise their standards. And then you're going to go and get an amazing job somewhere else. And that's the thing that we, we, we, we think that there's scarcity, so much scarcity because we're scared not to have the job. And you can always find a company that's willing to value you. And that's what I see it as in the, at the end of the day, do you value me and my presence and my experience and what I bring to the table? If you feel like these people don't value what you bring, I don't care how much money they give you. You shouldn't go. All right, let's recap.

Speaker 1: Don't let nerves get the better of you. Do the research. Know your floor for how much you need to make. Remember the whole compensation package. The negotiation will most likely not be in person, but if you want to take the negotiation to your strongest medium, go for it. Phone, email, whatever you feel most comfortable. Bring positivity and research to back up your salary ask. If you can't come to an agreement, always be ready to walk.