MY WORTH AS A PRODUCT MANAGER IN NIGERIA

Here your mini-dilemma is, you sit in front of the hiring team wondering what to say after reminiscing on accomplishments, challenges and now work to be done at the new job. You’re still not sure what aiming too high sounds like in figures and aiming below a standard is too.

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Salary negotiations can be very awkward when you do not understand the importance of your contribution to product development. As an APM or Junior PM, you want to accept what you’re offered and get the interview over with because you assume that promotions will fall in place and you’ll soon start to earn better. Although you state a fair sum to be paid, you accept what you’re offered regardless. After getting the job, at dinner every evening you think, ‘this isn’t compensating my efforts so what should I have done instead and why am I doing this?’.

What you can do is learn from others ahead of you and that’s not too late if you’re reading this. I reached out to those who didn’t have anyone to learn from and had to learn the hard way.

In a recent meeting with product managers from different tech industries, we spent 3 hours talking and sharing information about the “pay some companies offer their product managers regardless of experience”. In a tech company with all mid-level product development team members, a frontend engineer might earn N300,000 -N600,000, a designer maybe UI earns N250,000 – N350,000 and the P.M? The hiring team can offer N100,000 – N150,000.

Now, this part is between You and I, thinking about figures and budgets based on underpaid earnings in a Nigerian city is not very motivating to start every day of work with. If your Nigerian city is Lagos, I’m as sorry for you as I am for myself, it’s dreadful here.

In a week full of spare time, I created a google form that had responses recorded as this. With all the information I gathered by kind people who provided their data, in June 2021, an associate product manager or entry-level product manager in Nigeria is on average earning N250,000 after good negotiation BUT, that isn’t what is happening because it is uncommon. The majority of the PM’s who knew the salary range of an APM in 2019 were earning higher than those who didn’t regardless of their years of experience in product management. This justifies knowledge really is power, the minority who did not have prior knowledge of an APM’s pay now seemingly want similar high earnings with their knowledgeable counterparts.

In the survey results received, an APM has been earning as low as N30,000 since the commencement of a PM role while still a student in 2020. A year later this APM is still earning this amount and stated that he/she wants to earn N80,000 in 2021, when asked what should be earning. The bar is indeed low and this APM is being taken advantage of. A good friend will tag it “MODERN SLAVERY” because it is exploitation regardless of organisation size.

However, that sad story is exactly why I am writing this, the knowledge of the earnings of a PM is not known because of the usual “competitive salary” advertised. People with no product industry colleagues are unsure of what is acceptable or below a standard because figures aren’t discussed openly and communities of product managers do not express any disapproval at these vacancies (publicly, or to my knowledge).

One perturbing thing about the survey results received were the huge differences between each person’s pay. One product manager with less than 6 months experience was earning N500,000, one with a year of experience was earning N300,000+ and another with more than 2 years of experience was earning N200,000. While they might all arguably bring different things to the table and possess different skill sets, be from different industries, work in different cities, the differences in pay are very unusual. Still on these odd differences, a little birdie shared with me information about a fellow PM who started the journey in 2019 and is now a Product Lead. Sounds like good news right? Not exactly, this PM earns less than N400,000 and manages a team of other product managers in a popular tech company. It begs the following questions; Why is this happening? Is there a standard? Why do product managers mostly earn less when compared to colleagues in the ecosystem? What are associate product managers supposed to earn? What are associate product managers with justified experience supposed to earn? What are senior product managers supposed to earn?.

I was once a member of ‘Design Twitter’ and a few design communities, I’ll tell you for free they do not go below their rates for any reason, and if they do? Expect a higher figure in an invoice for your next project. They will request pay for the value they bring, the time they commit to your projects and efforts put into it, for this unwritten rule amongst them, they all have my respect.

How can you do your little bit in the product management community like the designers?

Set your standards, then you understand the assignment.

HOW TO NEGOTIATE

Understanding specific salary data is essential, it could vary because of location, industry, years of experience and knowledge accrued amongst others. Practiced sentences at the tip of your tongue make you sound knowledgeable, so do pitches and these can encourage you to request a particular monetary compensation.

When presented with an offer too low, what you can do is let the recruiter know you have knowledge of how much money the role is deserving of. I would advise mentioning “on an average in the (company industry), xxxxx is a better monetary compensation considering the value I will bring to your team, it is more aligned with the effort I will put into it”. Some hiring teams play the budget card but you shouldn’t seem too disappointed, ask instead if your experience and skills do not align with the salary expectation you have previously mentioned. If they confirm this, inform them that your expectation is what will be a better compensation for you. At this point, they let you go or hire you and compensate you accordingly.

HOW TO RENEGOTIATE

Put forward good work and approach the team in charge of hires, explain that the industry average does not align with what you currently earn and you want a raise that aligns with your experience and impact since you joined the team. If you have up-skilled, mention how this new qualification or skill has added advantages to the achievement you have accomplished for the organisation. Remember not to justify your request by making it personal, while they are valid reasons to you, it sadly doesn’t concern your employer.

In all of this chitchat, it is also important to remember again negotiation is a conversation (where you are requesting) not a dictation.

Let me use this opportunity to plug in my invite to the PIP community, We are doing a great job and you can join the community too!

Thank you for being here with me till this paragraph. I hope all of this was enlightening and will serve you as it served me.

I will appreciate comments, opinions and thoughts so if you wish to reach out to me, my LinkedIn and Twitter are linked.