On December 7th, Minimes was the place to be to attend the International Program event “Ask For More: Negotiate Your Salary”. Organized by Erin Douglas and Elsa Delpal, leaders of the program, the event united around 25 members and non-members, all keen to negotiate better the next day, week or year. The overall format was pretty simple but it perfectly suited the atmosphere: starting with some mingling time so everyone could get to know each other and have a drink, followed by speeches from the experts and ending with more networking, giving participants the chance to talk more about the topic. 

Four experts – Dominique Fougerat, Ulrike Lehmann-Deroche, Helena Beaurenaut and Saskia Gentil - were invited to share their experience and give advice to the attendees. Their tips were very interesting as they all presented the topic from a different angle, making their advice complementary. From the perspective of the employee trying to get a salary raise and that of the Human Ressources Director knowing the law and what is possible in a company, to the overview of women’s relationship with money, the topic was thoroughly covered. 

So what do you have to do to properly negotiate your salary? Here are some tips to remember from the panel: 

1 - Know yourself

The first step to negotiating your salary is to know all about your plans, objectives and what you are looking for. For instance, if you want to make a lot of money, then choose the sector in which you will able to do so. Knowing who you are and what you want will help you to be confident, not shy and to avoid holding back when negotiating. It might sound logical but to be clear where you stand is a real strength. Also, be aware that you may have to make some sacrifices to obtain what you want. Taking the family example, it is generally accepted – unfortunately - that women going on maternity leave will not have an increase in salary for two years. In order words, you might not achieve professional and personal goals simultaneously when asking for a higher salary. 

2 – Know your company

Risk and impact are not the same in each company. Your company’s culture is crucial to understanding how and whether it is possible to negotiate your salary. For some, the only way to earn more money is to be promoted and this comes from overperforming. Other companies rely on other criteria to decide, perhaps based on politics or revenue generation. Understanding a company’s culture is hard as it is not written. To counterbalance it, gather information from studies to know how much you can expect and, at least, to make sure your salary will not defer from a man’s. Another point is that the salary increase depends on the budget of the company. This means sometimes, the best way to increase your salary is to change companies. Start to work on your network, you might get unexpected opportunities.  

3 – Know your sector 

In the same spirit as with knowing your company, develop knowledge on the sector in which you work to be aware of how much you can negotiate. If the variable part of your salary relies on your competencies and know-how, the base salary depends on the market. Read studies and see if your salary is above, on or below market rate. Besides, there is always competition for new skills; try to acquire those which will be assets and make you super-employable and thus, higher paid. 

The speakers pointed out that sometimes, if the salary negotiation deadens, there are more creative things you can ask for to be better off Starting with it, you can then ask for bonus and/or company equity but also other elements such as a liberal expense account. Negotiating your working conditions is also an option and you should keep it in mind. 

A lot of questions and comments came from the attendees, inspired by everything they heard. Some tried to catch more tips and advice to apply to their personal stories, others wanted to share their view regarding what they experienced. All seemed to have obtained what they were looking for participating to the event. One thing was sure: everybody agreed to say “women, we have to support each other”.