In our series Salary Stories , women with long-term career experience open up about the most intimate details of their jobs: compensation. It’s an honest look at how real people navigate the complicated world of negotiating, raises, promotions, and job loss, with the hope it will give young women more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.
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Previously, we talked to an HR director in central Texas, an electrician apprentice in Boston, and an executive assistant in San Francisco.
Age: 32
Current Location: Michigan
Current Industry & Title: Nonprofit, Executive Director
Starting Salary: $40,000 in 2013
Current Salary: $73,000
Number Of Years Employed: 6
Biggest Salary Jump: $48,000 to $73,000 (2018)
Biggest Salary Drop: $52,000 to $40,000 (2014)
Biggest Salary Negotiation Regret: “I regret not negotiating at every stage of my career. I started off negotiating from the start, which was fine, but I haven’t done it at every position. I figured because I started off strong that I was good, but that conversation should have been coming up every time I was promoted as well. Also, I regret not realizing that negotiating included things other than salary, like work-from-home benefits and paid time off.”
Best Salary-Related Advice: “If you’re offered the position, they need you — never forget that. As a woman, I always felt like I shouldn’t go back and ask for more for fear of losing the offer, but as someone who now hires as well, if a position is being offered to you, they want you. The hiring process is not easy, and it’s much easier to have those conversations with someone you’re already willing to hire rather than starting over with someone else.”
“I was about to graduate from grad school and had student loans, so I knew I needed a job. I applied for everything — I was even applying for director roles when I didn’t have the experience. I applied for one job in my hometown and got an interview at a charter school.
“For the interview process, I met with the founders of the school. A week before I graduated, I was offered the job. They offered me $44,000, and I said thank you and told them I would get back to them. I talked to a mentor, the director of a nonprofit I had worked with while in school, and she told me that I had to negotiate the offer no matter what. So I did my market research of what school social workers were making in the area. I asked for $50,000, and we landed on $48,000. I learned later that this was more than the person in the role previously was making.
“I was hired and was the only social worker for our high school charter school. The work was varied, including supporting students who were homeless or pregnant. I was wearing a lot of hats.”
“Six months after working at the charter school, there were rumors that the school was going to be closing. I didn’t want to get fired and stuck without a job or money in the middle of the school year. In June, I was looking to make extra money and considering summer programs at other schools. I found a job as a part-time summer-school teacher, and they ended up mentioning they were hiring for the fall. So I applied.
“The interview was pretty intense; I had to meet with administrators and also did a sample teaching lesson with students; they had a say, too. I ended up getting offered the job, and they offered me $48,000. I requested $55,000, but as a social worker, typically you can only make more when you’re fully licensed. To do that you need 2,000 hours, or the equivalent of two years of full-time work. I hadn’t done that, so they ended up offering me $50,000. I accepted.”
“Every year, we had an annual review. I was told they wanted to keep me on, and they handed me a new salary; it was very cut-and-dried. Since I wasn’t fully licensed, I wasn’t expecting a raise. I wasn’t really in a position to negotiate, but I was feeling okay about what I got.”
“They started piling on work that was not part of my job description, and I was teaching a lot of classes, even though I didn’t feel like it was my role as a social worker. I also wasn’t being supported by the administration; I wasn’t set up to succeed. I wanted to be more proactive as opposed to reactive, so I tried to find a position where I was really supporting students. In grad school I worked with a few nonprofits. I had stayed in touch with them, and I reached out to one and asked if they were hiring. They said they were looking for a volunteer and development coordinator, and I applied.
“I interviewed for and was eventually offered the position at a nonprofit for girls, and it was interesting because the executive director was actually my mentor who had always coached me on how to negotiate. I was taking a pretty massive pay cut, but I was able to negotiate for $2,000 more dollars.”
“I had taken a very large pay cut, and I didn’t want my husband to be the sole provider, so I started looking for a part-time job. I also wanted to become fully licensed, and so I started looking for a position that would allow me to do that.
“I ended up finding a part-time job at a hospital I had previously interned at to supplement my income. I had to interview, but I did not negotiate my salary at all, because the hospital used a hiring scale that dictated pay based on experience, education, and whether you were licensed.”
“Each year, we were given a cost-of-living raise with our annual review. I never negotiated my raises, they were just given to me. I trusted my supervisor to give me all that she could.”
“Another cost-of-living raise accompanying our annual review. At this time, all of the volunteers that we recruited typically went into the programs system. My title was changed to more accurately reflect the process.”
“Our nonprofit serves several counties, and I was previously looking over two out of five counties. I was promoted from a coordinator to manager, because I took over more counties and more responsibility. I was getting sponsors and individual donations, and this manager title reflected my increased experience.”
“I had a conversation with the former executive director and told her that my time as a manager was coming to an end, and that I didn’t know what else I could learn. I told her I was interviewing elsewhere, and she was very supportive of me. The positions were all program directors and executive directors within nonprofit and education. Within that conversation, she told me that she was leaving and asked if I would consider staying on and replacing her.
“I didn’t think that they had the money to pay me what I wanted; I was looking at jobs that were hiring at $85,000 to $90,000. Additionally, we didn’t have maternity leave, as such a small organization. I shared all of these concerns, and she said she would go back to the board. She told me that I would still have to interview, and I did. I continued researching other salaries for directors in similar organizations. I also used GuideStar, which does a lot of work with nonprofits and lists salaries. I sent my ideal salary range, which was between $70,000 and $73,000. At the time, my then-director was only making between $60,000 and $65,000 after 10+ years at the organization.
“I didn’t think I would get the salary I wanted, so I continued to interview with other positions. But I ended up being offered the position at the top of my range, $73,000. It felt great. My then-director had always counseled me that as a woman of color, we are often underrepresented and should always negotiate. That advice really helped me.
"I accepted the position and have been serving as director ever since. It’s been over a year now. But I make our budget, and we didn’t hit the goals I had set for us this year, so no one on the staff is getting a raise. But that’s also because I’ve decided to focus on offering healthcare benefits for our staff. I want our full-time employees to get healthcare, so that’s my goal.
“I’ve negotiated my salaries all along, but initially I just pulled numbers out of thin air. Now I do my research. There are so many resources available to find out what people in your area are making. That has helped me to figure out what is fair, reasonable, and equitable to ask for. I’ve also learned that there are other ways to negotiate, including negotiating for job titles. For instance, a manager title looks much better than a coordinator. If you can’t get the money, maybe the job title is where you can get something.”
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Source: Refinery29 – Ludmila Leiva