How to get Paid your Worth

So you’ve just gotten this amazing job offer or promotion. You’ve been dreaming about this position for years and now you are finally there. You get the contract and hurriedly tear open the envelope. Your smile turns upside down and you mentally calculate what your monthly take home would be after tax and pensions…..not what you expected but its ok, you’ll work really hard and get a raise in a year….right? WRONG!

Truth is many women, for various reasons find themselves in this position. Whether its selling a product or determining an appropriate salary, we find it difficult to accurately determine our worth. I have always believed that a salary should be commensurate with its responsibility. Granted there will be sector variations and you must also consider the value you bring to a role, but once this has been accurately (and realistically) analysed, nothing stops you for determining your worth and asking for it

I found the tips by Alanna Vagianos for Huffington Post Women very informative. Although much of the research and statistics used are from the US, the tips are practical and can be applied in Nigeria too. Check on it and don’t forget to share your tips/stories in the comments section……

1. Don’t be afraid to discuss your salary.
Out of the women surveyed, 50 percent reported talking to a colleague about how much they make and 72 percent said they’ve discussed paychecks with their best friend.

2. Be knowledgable of what other people are making in your field.
Seventy-one percent of women said they had compared their salaries with that of others in similar jobs. If you know your relative value in your field, you’re well-positioned to ask an employer to adjust your pay accordingly, Zappos.com HR director Hollie Delaney told Glamour. “Say: ‘I’d like to talk about the ways my job has changed. I was hired in [month, year] and my responsibilities were [list of tasks]. Over the past [period], I’ve gotten great feedback, and you’ve added [new responsibilities]. I’ve looked at what similar positions pay and found salaries in this ballpark. I’d like to discuss getting my pay closer to that,’” Delaney said.

3. Negotiate. Negotiate. Negotiate. 
“The biggest mistake I see women making is simply not asking. They think, ‘I’ll just take on the extra work and someone will reward me for it.’ But very few companies will come to you and offer more money. So set up that meeting!” Delaney told Glamour. Sheryl Sandberg didn’t start a whole movement for nothing: We all need to lean in a little. When asked if they would negotiate their salary at the beginning of a job, 54 percent of men reported they would compared to only 39 percent of women. Only 43 percent of women Glamour surveyed had asked for a raise over the course of their careers — and out of those 43 percent, a whopping 75 percent received raises when they asked.

4. Many women still feel underpaid.
Although women have generally begun to feel better about their pay (77 percent of readers felt underpaid in 1988), 59 percent of women still reported thinking their salary was too low. Forty-four percent of respondents thought their paycheck would be higher if they were a man.

5. In several fields, women actually make more money than men, on average.
While women only earn 77 cents to every man’s dollar, we out-earn men in jobs that heavily involve “organizational, design or interpersonal talent,” lead economist atPayScale.com, Katie Bardaro, told Glamour. For example, Glamour cited corporate counsel jobs as one where women on average out-earn men with a woman making $128,000 compared to a man’s $112,500.

6. Money really can’t buy happiness.
Out of the women surveyed, 89 percent said that flexibility and work hours were more important than their paycheck and 53 percent of women said they would take a pay cut to be happier at work.

7. Loving what you do trumps all.
When asked if they would stay at their jobs if they won the lottery a surprising 40 percent of women responded yes.

Source: Huffington Post Woman