NEGOTIATION SALARY 101

BY COURTNEY THURSTON

The importance of negotiating a job offer cannot be overstated It is easy and culturally encouraged to say things like, “Money isn’t everything ” Indeed, it isn’t, but it is a lot. Women are paid less than men in nearly all fields, tech notwithstanding. Concerningly (or excitingly, depending on who you ask,) research shows that the first salary commanded by a person in their desired field of work can have long-term impacts on their financial trajectory over time. This phenomenon exists for myriad reasons, including that financial incentives like performance bonuses are often calculated as a percentage of base salary, something which new graduates may not be aware of nor attuned to (yet)

Though negotiating an already strong job offer may feel a bit like tedious penny-pinching, one of the simultaneously greatest and also most frightening things about money is that it compounds Just as a series of financial victories can compound on each other and yield increasing interest or dividends over time, so too can seemingly small financial minutiae translate into huge losses over time. Neglecting to negotiate a job offer where possible can mean less base salary, which can mean less performance bonus, which can mean less money saved, which can mean less invested in the market, which can mean fewer dividends, which can mean… hundreds of thousands less for retirement.

With that said, don’t panic too much: just recognize the importance of negotiating a job offer if you can. It may feel inconvenient and some employers may try to convince you that you ’ re doing too much but money is important, and negotiating is actually a signal to any company worth its salt that you are a competent candidate Some other red flags to look out for, company-conduct-wise, when negotiating: mentions of loyalty to the company (why should that translate to less money for you?), needing to pay dues (for better or worse, we live in a capitalist society, so salary is theoretically supposed to be determined by market rate skills and experience), and other statements which feel like gaslighting. Hold your ground. Feel free to remind a company politely that business is business, no hard feelings.