MM: Finally Asked for a Raise!

bmo88 · June 2016

As some may know, I took over my organization last July. I happily accepted the offer that was about $20k more than I previously made. I thought I was making good money. Well, I had a really successful first year and hit all my performance indicators. I also went through our 990 tax forms and realized I was making quite a bit less than the previous Executive Director. I was surprised and disappointed. But I really only had myself to blame for not researching and negotiating. I have been stewing on it for the past two months.

So, I went to my board today and asked for a $20k raise and progressive increase over the next few years (it's a multi year contract, with payback penalties if breached). They are taking it into consideration this week and will let me know on Friday. But they said it was likely to go through.

Lesson learned: Do your research and negotiate! I am sure others are better at this, but I have never negotiated my salary before.

It was daunting at first, but also feels empowering. Only downside now is whatever I do get, I will have to fundraise for...but I guess it's extra motivation!

jtmh2012 · June 2016

Congrats!

I should have researched better when I took my second job out of college, but it was such a large jump in pay from the job I was at that I took it not knowing any better. Fortunately, I did such a good job that my manager felt the need to correct the situation. That's when I found out how much I shorted myself.

als1982 · June 2016

Congrats!

labro · June 2016

Congrats!!!

formerlyjessica490 · June 2016

Awesome! Good work!

hoffse · June 2016

Good work. Research shows that women advocate for themselves far less than men do (on average), and it's great to hear that you took those steps.

It's very uncomfortable to ask for that sort of thing, but when you have leverage it's important to recognize and use it fairly. So far I have only had serious leverage once. When my previous law firm was going under, I ended up in a group of 14 lawyers who all went to the same (new) firm. The partner who negotiated the transition approached me, and during that conversation I had a moment where I realized we were a package deal. He had to get all 14 of us to sign off on it, otherwise the deal could fall through.

So when he asked me if there was anything else I needed, I asked for his support in getting the new firm to pay for my master's degree in tax. He promised to help and managed to get it approved.

It's an additional benefit worth about $35K to me (tax-free) over two years, which none of my colleagues received.

You have to ask! Congrats and great work!

bmo88 · June 2016

hoffse said:

Good work. Research shows that women advocate for themselves far less than men do (on average), and it's great to hear that you took those steps.

It's very uncomfortable to ask for that sort of thing, but when you have leverage it's important to recognize and use it fairly. So far I have only had serious leverage once. When my previous law firm was going under, I ended up in a group of 14 lawyers who all went to the same (new) firm. The partner who negotiated the transition approached me, and during that conversation I had a moment where I realized we were a package deal. He had to get all 14 of us to sign off on it, otherwise the deal could fall through.

So when he asked me if there was anything else I needed, I asked for his support in getting the new firm to pay for my master's degree in tax. He promised to help and managed to get it approved.

It's an additional benefit worth about $35K to me (tax-free) over two years, which none of my colleagues received.

You have to ask! Congrats and great work!

I agree! I have read so often that women do not negotiate or ask for raises.

Nice job on the previous negotiation. A free degree is a huge cost savings and will boost future earning with the education/specialization. It was smart to throw that into the deal when you had the opportunity.

I haven't negotiated in the past because I always felt I was being compensated fairly and generously. So I think I got in that habit and just accepted the first offer for my current position. After being in the position for a year, realizing the previous ED's pay and having met my marks, I was in a position to leverage it. I didn't want to seem greedy or over zealous, so I asked for what would put me close to the previous ED (still not 100% the same), but considering I still haven't raised as much as he did and I hired someone to help me with fundraising, I think my new salary would be just right. I also threw in a request for an additional increase annually for the next few years, contingent upon performance. So we will see what happens.

For future jobs, I definitely plan to research more before accepting any offers and making sure that my salary is competitive for the position and experience.

vlagrl35 · June 2016

great work! That is so awesome!

short+sassy · June 2016

Great to hear! And perhaps it has worked out best this way. I'm assuming the previous person had more years of experience in the position, which would explain some of why they were paid more.

By being in the current position already for one entire year, you have now really shown your value and why you are entitled to the raise. Whereas before, they might have been more hesitant.

MM: Finally Asked for a Raise!

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