New Year, New Salary: Negotiating Tips & Tricks
As we enter a new year, many of us are in a position to either seek a new role or request a raise from our current employer. For many creatives, a new fiscal year is accompanied by new expectations, goals, and metrics.
If we dropped the ball last year, we have a clean slate to get our act together next year. But on the other hand, if we absolutely killed our job responsibilities and crushed the competition, a new year gives us yet another opportunity to show what we’re made of. And what better way to reward a year’s-worth of hard work than a raise? Or potentially even a new job with higher pay?
When facing salary negotiations for a position you’re interested in, or asking for a raise/promotion, keep the following tactics in mind.
1. Do research on common salaries for your role.
Never enter the Zoom call (or in-person meeting) to negotiate salary without doing some baseline research first.
Depending on the type of work set-up you’ve got, it’s likely your employer or client will ask how you came up with your new salary or rate.
It’s much more reasonable to negotiate your rates based on statistics and metrics in your industry rather than pulling a number out of the blue. Even in creative fields, employers want to allocate their funds strategically. To put their money where their mouth is, so to speak.
2. If salaried, don’t show your cards.
If you’re negotiating salary, it’s likely your employer will ask how much you currently make. Same goes for freelancers.
However, when negotiating salary for a full-time or in-house position, contrary to preconceived beliefs, you’re under no obligation to disclose numbers to your interviewer.
There’s an art to negotiating a high salary, and part of this art includes challenging your employer to be up front about what they’re willing to pay for your work.
For more tips on negotiating salary, read some in-depth insights from finance guru Ramit Sethi.
3. Balance knowing your worth and perceived stubbornness.
Yes, you’ve likely accepted jobs in the past that don’t align with your goals or don’t compensate according to your perceived value.
While it’s important to stand strong in salary negotiations, you don’t want to seem aggressive or hostile. If you give an “all or nothing” attitude, it’s likely the employer may not deem your ultimatum worth it.
Remember, you want the employer to come up with the number. The second you drop a number and it’s less than what the role typically pays, you best believe the employer will offer the lowest amount possible (if they’re strategic and looking to cut costs while maximizing the quality of work delivered). In this negotiation, even if your employer is the one offering a number, you should always aim higher than the salary you truly want.
Know your worth, do your homework, and let your employer “woo” you with a salary offer first. Just like any great poker game, you’ve got to maintain a sort of poker face when it comes to compensation.
4. Use positive language.
It can be infuriating to discuss salary with hiring teams or interviewers. We all know it. But try to bite your tongue during interviews if offered a lowball salary.
You may find the urge to yell, “Are you kidding me?” at the top of your lungs mid-interview. And we’ve all been there, but try to keep your cool.
Using language like, “I’m sure we can come to a fair agreement,” is a much lighter, more neutral way of expressing your persistence without showing any hints of anger or frustration.
If the employer says a number that’s clearly not a livable salary for you, make it clear you’d like to keep negotiating—but within reason, of course.
5. If negotiating a raise, keep a timeline.
Some of us may choose to negotiate salaries for new jobs, while others may prefer pitching a raise with their current employer. In the case of requesting a raise, it’s important to collect your thoughts before meeting with your supervisor or whoever oversees salary discussions.
Depending on where you work and what you do, the recipient of your pitch may request some sort of metrics or outline of your performance over the past year, quarter, or specific duration of time to justify a pay raise.
Again, don’t come up with a random number. Do some research. If needed, ask around if you know others in your same position. You may need some intel to reasonably determine a raise within your employer’s budget.
Let’s say you put together a concise deck and pitch to present to management why you deserve a raise and you feel you nailed it—but then your boss calls you into their office to deny you a raise.
Don’t get discouraged after one “no.” There could be many reasons the plan didn’t fall into place, but if you feel a raise is long overdue, and your contributions aren’t being matched pay-wise, it might be time to start job hunting.
It’s one thing to build a solid foundation for your role, and it’s another for your employer to take advantage of your work ethic and fail to provide incentives for your continued wins for the company. Have the awareness to know when it’s time to walk away from a job and find an opportunity with undeniable growth potential.
Discussing Salary Isn’t Just Black and White
Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to negotiating salary or raises at your job. Whether you’re a freelancer, a contractor, a part-time worker, or a full-time employee, you’ll inevitably face a time where you need to re-evaluate your going rates and whether your employer or client is compensating you sufficiently.
It’s important to keep a big picture mindset when approaching topics like salary. Will your compensation support the lifestyle you currently have? Could your compensation better support the lifestyle you want for yourself down the line?
As long as you approach negotiations from a place of objectivity and thorough research, you have a much larger chance of swaying an audience in your favor.
So, let’s put our heads down, clear our minds, and open our laptops to ring in a new year of opportunity and education. Let us all cheers to a new year—and deeper pockets.
About the Contributor
Cassandra Arrigo-Pastore is a writer and editor based in NYC, passionate about mental health advocacy, work/life integration, and neurodiversity. Born in Arizona and raised in Florida, she received a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations from the University of Central Florida, and post-grad remains actively involved in ethical branding and the global advertising space. Aside from her freelance and agency work, you can find Cass at your nearest aboveground train, with the New Yorker mag in one hand and an iced dirty chai in the other.
