Imagine Me… Talking my way into a $14,000 raise with NO Corporate Experience
In the fall of 2007, I did something I swore I’d never do…I went out looking for a “real” job.
I’ve always been a self-motivated and headstrong kind of guy, and ever since I was 19, I had decided and been very successful out of staying out of the corporate rat-race by finding contracts and the like that allowed me to work from home.
As a self-taught programmer, graphic designer, and marketer, I figured that’s all I’d ever be able to do, because I had no “real education” to qualify me for the types of jobs I would actually want.
So, until last year, mine was a life of solitude and comfort.
Working from home for such a long time though had led to some fairly bad habits… Waking up whenever I pleased (and rarely with any regularity), spending wayyyyyy too much time “working” and almost no time socializing, and for the past year and a half up to this point, I’d completely forgone a social life.
It was getting to me, and my partner was pressuring me to get an office job so that I would have coworkers to socialize with. I was becoming (so we thought) socially inept.
So, with a little luck and a lot of focused effort, I found a programming job up in North County San Diego that suited my skill level, and since I had a friend at the company to recommend me, they were willing to interview and hire me despite my lack of corporate experience.
The pay was okay… but there was quite a commute involved, and I was having to pay taxes upfront (which I wasn’t used to).
What I thought was an agreeable amount quickly soured on me during my probationary period at the company. Even though I was making $4k more per year than I had been pulling in working from home, It seemed like I was actually making LESS.
Gas prices, paying taxes upfront, having to eat out, insurance, etc… I decided it wasn’t enough.
It was around this time that I also learned the company had performed rather poorly during the 4th quarter of 2007, and so they were cutting back bonuses, and raises at the end of this year. It did not bode well for my temp-to-hire interview that was around the corner. Not well at all.
But I still managed to talk them into paying me $10,000 more than they originally offered me, and a total of $14,000 more than I was making working from home. Here’s how…
It’s no big secret. First thing I did was I determined how much I was netting after fed, state and insurance were taken out of my pay check. This is IMPORTANT! I think a lot of us just pluck a round number out of the air when thinking in terms of salary, and sometimes we can me VERY self-depreciating with these numbers.
- Figure out by looking at one of your most recent pay stubs what the NET and Gross amounts you’re being paid each pay period are. For example, if you’re making 65,000 a year, then you’ll probably Gross 2708 and NET anywhere from $1,840 to $2,058 (if you’re a california resident and depending on your age, marital status, kids, etc.). NET is your take home pay.
- Decide what you think that NET number should be. Keep in mind that every Job Function in Every Region has a glass ceiling, and if you want your employer to consider paying you in the top percentile of that job function you better walk-the-talk or know how to fake it! A useful tool in deciding what that NET number (your take home pay) should be is using a salary survey site such as payscale.com or salary.com to find out. Keep in mind that these numbers are not 100% reliable as often these numbers are self-reported.
- When it comes time to negotiate your salary with an employer or prospective employer, be prepared by knowing WHO you’re talking to, and confident enough in your own ability to ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT. If you aren’t confident enough to ASK FOR IT you simply won’t get it. It’s a simple thing to think “I won’t settle for a penny less than 65,000 a year” but when you’re staring the VP of the company in the eyes and She says “How do you feel about $52k per year?” You have to be willing to talk her up. This does require a certain amount of fortitude and tact.
So… How did I do it? I found out that the ceiling for my region was 95k a year. Prior to coming to work for them I had been making $51k. She knew I was a beginner in the corporate world, that I only had a GED (yeah, that’s right… I didn’t even make it ALL the way through High School… But that’s another story for another time.)
I also knew that 95k was out of my reach with this company because of my education and because of their financial situation during that quarter.
Despite their crummy financial situation though… When I came into work the day after my interview with the VP, I had an offer letter waiting for me to the tune of 65k.
Know your industry and the industry averages when it comes to salary.
Don’t be afraid to disagree when they low-ball you. Could you talk yourself out of a job this way? Absolutely. But a lot can be done with an extra $10-15 grand a year.
Have a fall-back plan, and don’t be afraid to compromise.
In many people at that company’s eyes, I was a young punk kid that had no business being there.
Truth be told, my performance wasn’t stellar before that interview, and the saving grace was my ability to think on my feet and stay a step ahead of the management team.
When I was in that interview room, I knew what I wanted, and despite the other person in the room having the bigger ego, paycheck, better education, and more forceful personality, I still walked out with what I wanted.
I did it by knowing the game I was playing, knowing the facts, and explaining the facts to her. The fact… She was offering me less than my years of experience qualified me for. Despite never having held a corporate position, I had been programming for 5 years at the time of my interview, which JUST qualifies me for mid-level salary. So I told her as much.
You have to speak up. You have to ask for what you want, and you have to look them in the eye with the confidence and belief that they’re “doing you wrong” if they don’t comply.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as my partner is considering changing jobs… He’s grossly underpaid, and after we talked about this story the other day, I thought I’d share it on my blog.
I’m no expert, in fact I’m the opposite of an expert when it comes to corporate job interviews.
What I do know, though, is selling myself. I’ve sold myself for years as a developer, designer, copywriter, etc. It doesn’t matter if you have the chops for the job at hand. Really, it doesn’t. What matters is your ability to present yourself in such a way that you are irrefutably the right person FOR the job.
That’s how a high-school drop out like me walked into his first corporate job ever, and talked his way into $14,000 more than he was making before, and $10,000 more than they were offering. I hope if nothing else you’ve found this story encouraging, and for those of you that have other nifty tips and tricks to share on negotiating salary in interviews… the comments are open!
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