Negotiating, Part 1: Arguing for My First Raise
I’ve negotiated my salary at every job I’ve had as a 20-something millennial. This article is part of an ongoing series where I share my experiences, in the hopes it’s helpful to others in the same position. Please enjoy Part 1!
At the age of 21, armed with nothing but a college degree and unjustified optimism, I attempted to negotiate the starting salary of my first job.
It was terrifying, mainly because I felt lucky to even have a job. I had slid through my senior year with the help of copious amounts of Keystone and three-credit bowling classes, in the grand American tradition that is the Senior Slide. After halting my slide on the other side of the graduation stage in May, I began to consider the job offer from a company I’d interned with the year before.
I liked the company and was excited to work for them. But there was something bothering me.
They had offered me a below-average salary.
It goes without saying that it was still a good salary, for a great job, at a great company. I could easily have shrugged and just rolled with it. All my peers at my new job, I discovered later, had done exactly that and accepted what was offered to them.
Nothing wrong with that. But I didn’t feel good about accepting an offer that was several thousand dollars below what I felt I could get at another company.
Not because I’m some special, exceptional snowflake #millennial. (I mean, I totally am though).
And it wasn’t because I felt ‘entitled’ to anything. (Looking at you, comment section — simmer down.)
Rather, my parents had instilled in me a philosophy, which went like this:
It never hurts to ask.
Those who do not ask, do not get.
But those who ask just might.
With this in mind, I resolved to ask for a higher offer. If there was a chance to raise it, why not try?
A few weeks before I was scheduled to start my role, I called the hiring manager.
The hiring manager was a Senior Vice President, who also doubled as the Chief of Staff to the Chief Marketing Officer, of what was a multi-billion-dollar global financial conglomerate. And I was a college grad.
A snowflake’s gotta do what a snowflake’s gotta do, I guess.
When the VP (we’ll call her Emily) picked up the phone, and I asked if she had a moment to talk, she responded:
“I’m actually shopping for groceries right now… but I’ve got a minute. What’s on your mind?”
“Um.” I could hear the sound of cash registers ringing up produce and a baby crying in the background. Timing, not great. To bolster my resolve, I pictured a snowstorm filled with a flurry of snowflakes –strength in numbers! I dived in.
“Well Emily, I called for two reasons. First, I wanted to share how excited I am to come work for Company X. Thank you again for extending me the offer.”
“Of course! We are so excited to have you join us, Austin.” I could hear Emily smile over the phone, between sounds of shopping carts whizzing by.
“Likewise. The other thing I wanted to discuss, though, was the starting salary. I’m wondering if there’s some flexibility there.”
The line was silent for a moment — Emily had not been expecting this.
She replied, slightly off-put, “Austin, the number we offered you is very generous. It’s what we offer everyone starting at Company X.”
“That’s true,” I replied, before launching into my main argument. I’d researched and discovered that the salary offer was below average for comparable entry-level positions nation-wide, several thousand dollars below average for graduates from my school, and so on.
I presented these statistics to Emily, and her voice got a little colder.
“Well, that may be, but Company X is prestigious. The training program you are joining is top notch. We don’t want to lose you, but that said, we want employees who are excited to be here for the program, not the money.”
Uh oh, not good not good not good. I backed off a bit; I assured her I definitely wanted to be there. I just thought that in regards to the salary… it couldn’t hurt to ask.
The end of the call was punctuated with the bleeps of cash registers and Emily promising to “check with HR to see if anything was possible”, which I interpreted as “check with HR to get you fired as soon as possible.”
I mean, what had I been expecting, really? I was a college grad with no relevant experience, and therefore no negotiating leverage. This job was my only option. And according to the media, as a millennial I should feel lucky to even be employed.
I spent the next couple days feeling pretty bummed out. Sure enough, two days later, I got a call from HR…
“Hi Austin. We just wanted to let you know that your offer has been modified to include a $1,500 signing bonus. Let us know if you have any questions.”
Wow.
Not only did I still have a job offer, but for the effort of a 5-minute phone call, I’d just made $1,500!
I was over the moon thrilled about that bonus. $1,500 may not seem like a lot, but I was living on a college campus, and my ‘budgeting’ practices consisted of buying 2-for-1 rail drinks at Blarney’s because they were cheaper than beers. My long-term savings plan was dedicated to purchasing the new Call of Duty game when it came out in November.
It never hurts to ask.
When I was younger, and my mom would repeat this philosophy to me, I would think to myself in youthful rebellion — of course it can hurt to ask! What if they say no? What if they get mad about you asking? It can totally hurt!
But the reality is that it rarely does. Asking almost always helps you, even if the answer is no.
After I accepted the offer and started the job, I found out that Emily was actually impressed by my asking for a raise. There was absolutely no risk of getting fired for asking — I actually strengthened my standing with her and the company, and she became a trusted advocate for me during my career there.
In the stories I’ll share in future articles in this series, this will come up again and again — every leader I’ve worked under has been impressed, rather than annoyed, when asked for a raise. Asking (in the right manner) shows you know your value and you’re courageous about standing up for yourself — a trait that not a lot of people in corporate America display.
It never hurts to ask.
Those who do not ask, do not get.
But those who ask just might.
-Austin