You may be pleased and flattered by the offer, but before you say yes, make sure you pause and take these five critical steps. (Click here to tweet this list.)

1. Keep a cool head

Whatever you do, don’t let the excitement of the moment push you into a hasty decision. Your employers will probably discuss your candidacy in glowing terms and tell you how happy they were to meet you and how optimistic they feel about bringing you onboard. They’ve already decided that you’ll make a great addition to the team, and they’ll probably enjoy sharing this with you. But don’t get carried away. Accepting a job can be a major life decision, and before you say yes, you have the best possible opportunity to negotiate the terms of your agreement.

2. Say thank you

Before you get down to business and start talking about the terms of your employment, thank your potential managers for the offer. Saying thank you won’t lock you into a commitment — it’s just a pleasant and professional way of showing respect and gratitude.

3. Be honest about their salary offer

Expect your potential employers to include a clear annual or hourly salary rate in their informal offer. They should also include a clear explanation of your basic insurance benefits, commission details and bonus rates with the intention of listing these again in a formal written offer later on. But be aware that they may not do this and may expect you to speak first and clearly state the preferred terms of your employment. If you’ve done your research and have an answer ready, feel free to share your terms. But if not, don’t speak until you’re ready.

4. Ask for some time to think about your decision

No matter the terms of your employment, and no matter who speaks first during your negotiation process, ask for at least 24 hours before you provide your official answer. This will give you time to discuss your decision with your friends and family, and it will give you the time to conduct some research into the standard salary and benefit rates for this type of position if you haven’t done this already.

5. Consider your current position

If your current position involves an “at-will” agreement between you and your employers, then legally, you’re free to walk away at any time for any reason. But for the sake of courtesy and professionalism, it’s a good idea to give your employers two weeks’ notice before you walk away. Your new managers will probably factor this two-week period into your start date, but if they don’t, you’ll need to make this request on your own. Make sure you leave your previous employer on good terms, and make sure you’re satisfied with your formal written offer before you sever your existing ties.

Jenny Treanor is a career advisor and job search expert who provides consultation for staffing firms, hiring managers and job seekers across every industry. Her blogs and articles appear regularly on LiveCareer, home of America’s #1 Resume Builder.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post How to Accept a Job Offer: 5 Crucial Steps Before Saying Yes appeared first on Brazen Life.

Most of it surrounded the issue of women, leadership, and equal pay. Though that is clearly an important discussion, Slate’s Alison Griswold raised another question: Male or female, why is the top editor of the Times paid so little?

Sure, her half-million dollars a year sounds like more than enough money to most of us, but it’s important to look at the salaries of other executives at the top of their games. In others words, Abramson’s (and her predecessor, Bill Keller’s) peers.

As Griswold points out, $500K is less than what presidents of small colleges or heads of charitable organizations make — and is peanuts compared to the salaries of television execs.

So, how can the king of journalism pay less than everyone else? One word: prestige.

Griswold concludes:

“People like Keller and Abramson presumably don’t rise to the top of their field for the money; they’d be far better off chasing huge salaries in TV. They do it because they love the work, and part of the pay is prestige and intangible rewards. Pay them more and they would what, try harder? Salary is not necessarily commensurate with performance or with on-the-job fulfillment. If you need more proof of that, just look at the paltry $400,000 made by the president of the United States.”

What job would you work for less pay, but more prestige and intangible benefits? And we’re not just referring to power and politics — the article also mentions National Park rangers, who are “paid in sunrises and sunsets.”

Whatever your answer, one thing is clear: money isn’t everything, even when it comes to salaries.

What job would you take a pay cut for?

Susan Shain is a travel blogger who loves helping people discover adventure through international travel or alternative careers.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Why the Top Editor at The New York Times Doesn’t Earn as Much as Other Execs appeared first on Brazen Life.

Having that conversation doesn’t have to be an ordeal as long as your approach is well-informed and justified. Here are six easy steps for negotiating the salary you deserve:

1. Do your research

It’s important to know what the going rate is before you decide whether or not you’re being underpaid. Carry out job searches for similar roles that match your skill set, seniority level and location. Record the salaries of the jobs and compare the average with yours. This way, you can enter the conversation armed with justifiable data.

Job sites, such as Jobserve and Monster Jobs, are great sources for roles similar to yours because they’re not agents. Instead, agents and companies alike post their vacancies there.

2. Money isn’t the only way to get the salary you deserve

It’s a good idea to think about why you feel you’re not getting the salary you believe you deserve and ask if it’s just the money. Sure, you have bills to pay and you feel like you’re working too hard, but perhaps you can suggest a reduction of work hours or a company phone to balance your salary with your needs.

If you’re working every possible hour and you don’t feel like your salary reflects this, or if you can make your working life easier with something like a company phone, you may feel like you’re regaining the balance between your salary and your level of work.

3. Time it right

No matter how urgent you feel you need a pay raise, get the timing right. Give yourself a bigger chance for success by choosing your timing carefully. After all, this isn’t the sort of conversation you want to have every few months.

4. Get noticed

Before asking for a higher salary, know that the reasons you deserve it don’t need to be stated by you. But they do need to be fresh in your employer’s mind. Start going the extra mile and get noticed for your talents. Wait until people have noticed your efforts, then ask for the meeting.

5. Don’t be desperate

Remember that despite your boss’s office being an area where they typically hold all the cards, you’re both adults and, in that sense, equals. You shouldn’t present your case as though you’re asking for a favor. Instead, exude professionalism and conviction.

Once you’ve said your piece, wait for the answer. You may not get a decision straight away, but when you do, think about the offer and don’t be scared to negotiate if you don’t think the offer is right.

6. Word it carefully

Make sure to phrase your argument carefully. You’re having a business-related conversation with a fellow professional, so adjust your language accordingly. Don’t reference your needs outside work, such as increased rent or a desire to get the latest iPad. Instead, justify your request with business-related reasons.

A useful tip is to phrase your question in relation to the amount you want your salary to be raised by. This sounds a lot less daunting than stating the overall salary you want.

In theory, when presented with sufficient evidence, it’s hard for most employers not to acknowledge their need to meet your requests. But companies have budgets to think about, and often what you consider a small increase doesn’t fit with their books.

While getting paid your worth is important, so is considering how the job fits in with your long-term goals. For example, perhaps accepting a lower salary for a year’s worth of experience will help you propel your career to the next stage.

But if you don’t feel like you’re getting a salary that reflects what you deserve and if your employer shows no signs of changing that, you should look for a job somewhere you’ll feel more valued.

Nick Williams works for Acuity Training, who provide hands-on professional training from their two UK offices. Nick works as an assistant on the negotiation skills training course as well as the majority of technical/development courses.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Asking for a Pay Raise? These Tips Will Help You Negotiate the Salary You Deserve appeared first on Brazen Life.

Conventional wisdom says you should resist the urge to ask. For instance, an article on CNN Money breaks down the negatives of salary talk, with a major reason being that learning what other people take home can make you dissatisfied with your job.

But that doesn’t close the case. While you may have compelling reasons not to discuss salary, you also have many reasons to have the conversation. Here are three reasons discussing salary can be to your strategic advantage:

1. Discussing salary helps you, not your bosses

Why do companies say salary is confidential information? One reason is that privacy benefits them. They don’t want you to know if you’re underpaid, that you could make more at another job or that they might have given an undeserving raise to a relative of the boss.

Job salaries are based on market forces, and companies do their part to research competitive salaries. You should ask yourself: Why are they telling you to be clueless while they’re informed?

Learning more about your salary and the options that might be available to you is one way to even the playing field.

2. You can negotiate better with more information

This point echoes several of those made by the author in this Brazen post on surprising facts about salary negotiation.

My friend started a job with a $1,000 signing bonus. Several months into the job, he discussed salary with trusted coworkers. It turned out that one person had started without a signing bonus, while another was given a $3,000 bonus.

My friend could have felt unhappy to learn he was paid less. But he took the information positively. It made him realize he missed an opportunity. He didn’t even know the company gave several tiers of signing bonuses, which is why he settled. The next time he goes on a job hunt, he can negotiate more strongly knowing he can try for more.

When I talk to my friends about compensation, I’m always surprised to learn what benefits companies can offer I didn’t know about — negotiable vacation time, transportation benefits, housing options and so on.

Every time you learn, it helps you know what you can ask for, making you a better negotiator.

3. You can decide about your career path

You might be satisfied with your job and salary now, but think ahead. If you’re on track to become a manager in five years, you’ll have to think about whether you’ll enjoy your manager’s job and compensation.

If you’re fortunate to have a friend in management, you might be able to discuss salary. Shy away from asking their exact salary, but instead ask about salary ranges for the position. If that doesn’t work, you can find general information at a salary website like Glassdoor.com. This also applies if no one at your level is willing to discuss compensation.

Not everyone is going to want to talk about salary.

And you might feel bad if you’re making less (or more) than others.

But the short-term pain is well worth the long-term gain for your career. (Click here to tweet this thought.) You should have the talk to find out what your market value is, learn about negotiating options and inform your career at your company.

Presh Talwalkar is the author of The Joy of Game Theory, a practical introduction to strategic thinking. Read more of his work at http://mindyourdecisions.com/blog or on Twitter @preshtalwalkar.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Why You Should Discuss Salary with Your Coworkers appeared first on Brazen Life.

Some might say we’re simply less aggressive than men when it comes to negotiating or making the ask, or we don’t even know the tangible value of our skills. (And, I get it: Some of us have no problem with this. We strategically get what we’re worth or hustle to make up the difference for what we don’t get. But too many of us don’t.)

One NPR reporter brings up a different side of this coin by exploring the link between our choices in major or skill-building with our career choices. Lisa Chow recalls interviewing Georgetown University economist Anthony Carnevale on the subject and finding that women are “overrepresented among majors that don’t pay very well (psychology, art, comparative literature) and underrepresented in lots of lucrative majors (most fields in engineering).” She continues to report that even when women choose high-paying majors, they often don’t choose high-paying jobs.

Read more at Black Enterprise…

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Passion vs. Profit: Ladies, It’s Time to Get What You’re Worth Today appeared first on Brazen Life.

So, what do you do when you’ve got a potentially good job offer, but the salary just isn’t good enough? Many would cut and run, but some job seekers are leveraging the negotiations to ask for other benefits instead of higher pay.

Alex Gedaninik, founder of the tech company Problemio, needed a day job while building his company but wasn’t happy with the best salary offered by a potential employer. As CBS News reports:

When he saw that they couldn’t meet him halfway, Gedaninik requested something that would dramatically improve his quality of life (both personally and professionally) but would cost the company nothing. “I asked to have a four-day workweek, in addition to being able to choose my task, because many of the tasks of this job overlapped with my business. So essentially I ended up working four days a week with some of that time still devoted to my business.”

You can check out the full article here.

Would you consider taking a lower salary in exchange for better benefits? What would you ask for instead?

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Think Outside the Box When It Comes to Salary Negotiation appeared first on Brazen Life.

I knew what was coming. Our firm had recently gone through a merger, during which I went from being the only person in the company responsible for marketing to being one of about 20 people with my exact same role in different territories. I was making more than all of them. In some cases, almost double for the same work.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long for the folks at headquarters to pick up on the gap—it was an accounting firm, after all—and so the request came down for more “alignment” in my paycheck. The meeting with my boss was to determine how much. So he brought me into his private conference room, and he started to lay out the facts.

“Emily, as you know, since the merger, your role has changed a bit,” he said. “We now have more resources to help deliver the projects you worked on exclusively in the past. In looking at your compensation package compared with…”

Right then, without warning and without thinking, I burst out, “I know, I know. I make too much.”

It was supposed to be a joke (I guess), but my boss didn’t laugh.

Instead, he looked at me rather quizzically and said, “Well, actually I was about to say that everyone else with your level of responsibility makes too little.”

Great. Now I’m that girl: the one they talk about in workplace studies, the one they pull out of the research and say, “See?! Women really do have less confidence.”

Sadly, I haven’t gotten much better on this front. I still grossly undervalue my work, but I know I’m not alone. The question is: Why do women do this?

While everyone has different reasons, in my case, having a “poverty mentality” through childhood definitely carried over into adulthood. During my most formative years, I didn’t know anyone wealthy. Going “out to dinner” was Hardee’s and, at a particularly low point in college, I was rejected as a plasma donor on account of a freshly inked tattoo. When you’ve never had money, it can be super uncomfortable even to work around large dollar figures, much less ask for them.

Lately, though, it’s become increasingly clear that I’m meant to break this pattern.

At a recent dinner party, I met Debi Hemmeter, co-founder of Sheryl Sandberg’s nonprofit, LeanIn. Debi’s story of negotiating her salary early in her career is a must-read for every professional, regardless of gender. Debi chatted excitedly about how she used those same skills to garner her current role. “I watched Sheryl’s TED talk,” she said, “and just thought, ‘This needs to be so much bigger, and I can help.’” Debi knows her worth.

At the same party, I was seated next to Leslie Blodgett. When I asked what she did, she casually replied, “I co-founded Bare Escentuals makeup.”

“Oh, congratulations,” said another guest. “I read that sale was around $3 billion.”

“Actually,” said Leslie, “it was around $1.7.”

Just like that—no pretension or grandiosity. It was as if she’d said, “You know what? l would really love a Diet Coke right now.” Clearly, Leslie knows her worth.

I was surrounded by strong, amazing women, and I was reminded of a proposal my colleague Martha and I submitted just a few weeks earlier. When the client came back and said we could have the job if we cut our bid in half, I folded like a lawn chair.

Martha on the other hand, dug in her heels. “I’ve worked too long and too hard to break even on a job,” she said. “Our work is valuable, and we deserve to be paid for it.” Despite the fact that this was a huge opportunity with a marquee client, she was prepared to walk away. She knows her worth.

If we all knew more Debis, Leslies and Marthas, would standing up for our worth be so tough? I doubt it. I’m done selling myself short, and I’m done with telling other women to stand up for their value while being sheepish about my own. By saying it, I’m taking the first step to truly knowing my worth.

Now, it’s your turn. State your worth!

Have your own advice on how best to know what you’re worth and own it in the workplace? Share with us in the comments!

This post originally appeared on Levo League.

Emily Bennington specializes in two distinct forms of career transition: college students entering the workforce and women leaders entering executive management. She is the author of Who Says It’s a Man’s World: The Girls’ Guide to Corporate Domination, a co-author of Effective Immediately: How to Fit In, Stand Out, and Move Up at Your First Real Job and the founder of AWAKE EXEC mindful leadership coaching for professional women. She has led training programs for numerous Fortune 500 companies and has been featured in business press ranging from CNN, ABC and Fox to The Wall Street Journal, Glamour and Cosmopolitan. She can be reached online at www.emilybennington.com, on Facebook and on Twitter.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Do You Know Your Worth? appeared first on Brazen Life.

According to the series of diet books Eat This, Not That, the decision could make a big impact on your waistline. If you go easy on the milk and sugar, that simple coffee will be less than 25 calories. But if you opt for the Jamba Juice “Power Peanut Butter Moo’d,” you’ll be consuming a whopping 1,170 calories.

Making important decisions based on the nitty gritty numbers can hold true for your job search as well. Let’s explore:

1. Looking for a job

Do this: Network

Not that: Search online job boards

The data: While the numbers vary from study to study, one report from ABC News found that up to 80 percent of jobs are found through networking.

Despite these overwhelming odds, you may still spend your time doing exactly the opposite during your job search. Are you scouring the job boards day after day, competing with hundreds of other candidates, sending out resumes shotgun style and hoping a random company with an opening finds your resume interesting?

Instead, you should conduct targeted searches of companies you’d like to work for. While online job boards are a good source of research to learn about companies that are hiring, the numbers say it’s more effective to double down on networking—take an old coworker to lunch, reach out to contacts in your social network, join a local Meetup group, attend events in your industry, etc.

2. Acing the interview

Do this: Cultivate your online presence

Not that: Leave the fate of your career up to Google

The data: Reports show that 75 percent of recruiters are required to do online research on candidates, and 70 percent report they’ve passed on candidates because of information they found. The New York Times claims that your social media history has become the new job hurdle, while Mashable reports as many as 90 percent of recruiters look at the social networks of candidates.

It might be as soon as when you submit your resume or as late as the offer stage, but one thing is near certain: you will be Googled. The question you need to ask is, “What comes up when someone searches my name?”

Common results include:

• Facebook: If your privacy settings are open and HR sees photos of you acting unprofessionally, it could cost you the job.
• LinkedIn: This isn’t a bad thing, as long as your profile tells a good story.
• You have a common name, so it’s hard to filter through the results. Once again, while not a bad thing, it’s not a positive, either.
• Something inappropriate comes up. This will not help your job search.

Know what a winning response would be? “Well, I know that just about every recruiter will Google me, so I built a quick personal website to highlight my skills and enforce my brand.”

It’s fast, easy and inexpensive to create your own Web presence and boost your rankings. Seriously, it takes about 15 minutes and costs a whopping $1 per month for a hosted site with your own URL. Or you can get up a free account for a simple one-page website on a site such as About.me.

The Guardian makes an argument for why everyone should register a domain name, so don’t wait another minute.

3. Negotiating your salary

Do this: Negotiate your salary

Not that: Leave thousands of dollars on the table

The data: In a salary negotiation study of MBAs at Carnegie Mellon quoted by Sheryl Sandberg in her TED talk, just seven percent of women negotiated their starting salary, while 57 percent of men negotiated theirs.

The fact is, far too many job seekers—both men and women—fail to negotiate their salaries when they receive a job offer. It’s not because they don’t want more money. They’re probably just nervous. LinkedIn reports that 39 percent of US job seekers are anxious when it comes to negotiation.

The good news is negotiation skills can be learned. The first thing you can do is adapt a salary negotiation mindset. Knowing your worth and making a counter-offer is not only accepted; it’s expected.

4. Asking for a raise

Do this: Show them what you’ve accomplished

Not that: Tell them what you’ve accomplished

The data: A picture is worth 1,000 words, and in October 2012, Apple announced it had sold 100 million iPads. How does this help you get a raise?

The average person does little preparation when deciding to ask for more money. They sit in their manager’s office and list off two or three things they’ve done in the past year. Often they frame their request in terms of their own needs, asking for a raise because their rent went up or they can’t pay their bills.

Don’t be average. Be a memorable rock star employee.

Pay attention to things like preparation, presentation and design. One tip is to create a digital portfolio of your work on the iPad or another tablet. Once the realm of only designers and photographers, now that most of our lives have gone digital (photos, videos, music, movies), why not stand out and create an engaging presentation that uses words, photos, videos, images, charts and statistics to illustrate why you deserve a raise and how you contribute to the bottom line?

Harvard education specialist Tony Wagner says you should start even younger, saying, “All students should have digital portfolios to show evidence of mastery of skills like critical thinking and communication.”

Securing the career you want at the pay you deserve is already a difficult task. By incorporating some data hacks into your job search, you can “tip the scales” in your favor.

Jim Hopkinson is the author of the book Salary Tutor and helps professionals negotiate their salary (his record is a $43,000 increase). His entertaining and informative online course, How to Negotiate a Raise or Promotion, teaches specific steps to get a raise, including templates for presenting salary research and creating a digital portfolio. (Use coupon code Brazen60 for 60 percent off.)

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Better Ways to Look for a Job and Ask for a Raise appeared first on Brazen Life.

Here are four tried-and-true tactics to help you get closer to the salary you want—without touching any employer sore spots:

1. Keep it professional, not personal

Whether it’s right or wrong, for a lot of people, money is knitted to self-worth. If that’s the case for you, the first bullseye to aim for is learning to be professional and unemotional during negotiations. This is often easier said than done.

Without being brusque or cold, assess the offer from the company’s point of view as well as your own. Each conversation should end with you saying (or writing, if negotiating by email) thank you. Ask yourself: Have you kept things positive but also gotten quickly to the point?

For instance, to negotiate a salary of $42,000, a good response to hiring manager X at company ABC Corp. might look like this:

Hello X,

First let me say that joining ABC Corp. is an extremely exciting prospect for me. I believe I can produce for ABC and exceed expectations for this role. After reviewing the offer, most points reflect what I hoped to see.

One point I would like to discuss further is the offered base salary. Currently, I earn $38,000 and am ideally looking to progress to $45,000. If there is a time today when we can discuss this over the phone, I would be happy to work around your schedule.

2. To decide how high to go, weigh risk and reward

A key thing to remember about compensation negotiation is that it’s still very much part of the interview process, even though you have an offer before you begin. If you’re attempting to negotiate above 15 percent of your current salary, be careful not to come across as high-maintenance or entitled.

Even with the offer on the table, at the end of the day, the hiring company still has the final say. If you decide what you’re asking for is commensurate with the market rate and reflects your skills and history, proceed professionally and know going into the negotiations whether you’re willing to compromise.

3. Be brutally honest with yourself

Evaluate your own qualifications. Are you more than 50 percent sure you deserve more money? If you are less than 50 percent sure, err on the side of not pushing for a higher salary and instead prove yourself once in the job.

But if you do meet that 50 percent threshold, go for it. The fewer strong candidates a company has, the more likely they are to give the hiring manager leeway.

4. Depend on research, not guesswork (tweet this idea!)

Research what similar jobs at similar companies pay.

What doesn’t count as research? Asking your friends what they think someone in your job should be making. Much better is some intense Googling or researching on Glassdoor.

Salary negotiation might make you feel nervous, excited, indignant, entitled, unsure and ultra-focused. But a savvy professional—that’s you—is able to take a step back from any emotional response, assess the facts gathered from reliable sources and proceed in the professional manner you plan to carry the first day you walk through your new office doors.

Ken Sundheim is the CEO of KAS Placement Recruiters, an executive search firm specializing in sales and marketing recruitment. You can see Ken’s blog at http://www.kensundheim.com.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post 4 Salary Negotiation Tips That Will Help You Earn What You’re Really Worth appeared first on Brazen Life.

Want to get an edge on negotiating a raise at work?

You probably know you should prepare for the conversation, but what’s the best way to do that? Here are six surprising facts about negotiation that will help you walk out of your boss’s  office with a raise in hand:

1. You actually have to ask

Negotiation is a conversation. But your manager is probably perfectly happy with things as they are, so to start that conversation, you have to ask.

Leaving things as they are saves your manager time and money, and she doesn’t have many incentives to give you what you may deserve or even initiate a discussion with you about what you want and need. You are the only person who’s motivated to change the status quo, so if you don’t ask for a change, it won’t happen.

2. Not asking means leaving real money on the table

We often don’t appreciate how much we might be leaving on the table over time by not asking or not asking for enough.

To illustrate this, consider the case of two 30-year-old candidates who are offered the same salary. Susy negotiates for $6,000 more, and Grace takes the original salary offer. If Susy stashes away just the additional $6,000 a year, she will have more than $350,000 more in savings than Grace (assuming a savings rate of 2.5 percent) at age 65. That’s a decent chunk of additional change Grace is missing out on!

See how much more you could be saving if you got a salary increase here. When you don’t negotiate, you’re leaving real money on the table.

3. You don’t have to assemble a broad array of arguments

Remember the phrase “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit?” While you don’t want to get yourself in that situation, this is a perfect example of how to get the result you want in a negotiation. Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to come up with 20 reasons why you deserve what you’re asking for. One or two strong arguments are actually more effective than throwing out four or five.

Do some thinking about the strongest reasons why you deserve what you want, and keep the focus of the conversation on those reasons.

4. The process itself is often negotiated

Some workers don’t realize that getting to the negotiation may itself be a negotiation. Learn to recognize when higher-ups are negotiating the process. Have you had a boss who brushed you off for weeks or months when you tried to set a time for a yearly review? Or maybe that manager wanted to have the discussion at that exact moment, even if that happened to be in the hall after the group meeting?

These are actually negotiation tactics—one of delay, the other of hurrying you. It’s important to remember that you can negotiate when you’ll negotiate. You can also respond to this tactic by asking for a more appropriate time for you. Similarly, for the brush-off, ask for a fixed date when you can meet.

5. The secret is, your boss hates negotiating, too

Believe it or not, your manager or boss may dislike negotiating far more than you do. Her dislike could have a wide variety of origins, including not liking to say “no” or disappoint people, thinking she is bad at negotiating or worrying she’ll “lose.”  Avoiding conversations often signals the former, while being combative or aggressive indicates the latter.

Approaching the conversation as a persuasion exercise and highlighting a win-win option—or at least showing it won’t hurt your manager—will make the process easier for your boss, which means it’s easier for you, too.

What else can help? Consider how your boss or manager likes to be approached and what gets her to change in other settings. When is she most relaxed? What makes her uptight? Use that knowledge to make her feel comfortable so that you’re more likely to get what you’re looking for.

6. It doesn’t have to be only about money

We tend to focus on asking for a higher salary or a bonus and may miss asking for other perks that can be helpful in our career and life. Would additional (paid for) training or courses help you on to greater opportunities? Would flex time or telecommuting allow you to spend more time on non-work interests or obligations? How about more vacation? What about taking on a different role or getting to do something you’ve always wanted to try?

These asks have tangible benefits to you and sometimes to your company. And, as a bonus, it can be easier for managers to give them than money.

Does negotiating at work make you nervous? What’s the scariest part?

Katie Slater is a recovering finance attorney who now coaches people on their professional development and leadership. Find out more about her and read more of her thoughts at http://careerinfusioncoaching.com and on Twitter @careerinfusion.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post 6 Surprising Facts You Didn’t Know About Negotiating Your Salary appeared first on Brazen Life.

You might not be middle-aged with three kids and a mortgage, but that doesn’t mean your salary expectations are infinitely flexible. As an educated career starter, you probably have some amount of student debt ranging from bearable to horrific. Plus, you were hoping to expand your diet beyond Ramen noodles and upgrade your shoebox apartment with a few pieces of shiny new Ikea furniture now that you’ve finished college.

But you’ve gotten your first job offer or two, and it doesn’t look like even those modest goals are going to be met. The salaries on offer are less than you expected, and once you subtract out your rent, bills and loan payments, the bottom line is pretty pathetic.

So what do you do now?

Are Your Expectations Realistic?

The first question is deciding whether the offer is fair or well below the going rate. With so little experience in the job market, this can be a tough one for young careerists to get their minds around.

“There’s so much information that it can be overwhelming. When that happens, I think a lot of young people ignore it and they get frustrated that they’re not familiar with things. They feel a little angry that they aren’t prepared for these ‘real-life things’ that come at them when getting a new job,” Lindsey Pollak, author of Getting from College to Career: Your Essential Guide to Succeeding in the Real World, recently told Business Insider.

So, how does she recommend tackling this feeling of powerlessness and confusion? In short: research. She tells BI:

Compensation has a lot of fear around it particularly if you don’t have a lot of experience with negotiations or talking about money, so it’s something you have to prepare for. [You need to know] what ranges are common in particular industries, companies…regions of the country or the world also come into play. Do that research then think about the experience you have and decide whether you’re on the top or middle of that range. Industry web sites can give also you benchmark of what’s common in a field.

Chris Forman, CEO of job search organizer StartWire and HR expert, agrees that research is key. He suggests Glassdoor in particular, calling it a “great site for employer reviews and salary information—it’s like Yelp for jobs” in an email to Brazen.

Should You Negotiate?

Now you know exactly where your offer falls on the salary spectrum. Should you negotiate (Brazen has lots of tips on how), refuse the offer or hold your nose and simply sign on the contract’s dotted line?

Forman recommends that in the current economy, young folks simply stock up on bulk rice and beans and accept whatever is on offer, keeping in mind that it’s not forever. He writes:

Everyone has a ‘first real job‘ story. Your focus should be on getting a position at a great company…not the salary. It’s the proverbial foot in the door. Your first position is a stepping-stone. If you join a good, growing company you will have opportunity for advancement. If you have little or no experience, you don’t really have the ability to negotiate a salary. It’s better to take what’s offered, put your head down for a year, and earn a raise based on performance.

Self-Knowledge Through Poverty?

Pollak, for her part, views disillusionment as an opportunity to clarify what’s important to you. Whether you accept a particular offer is obviously very much down to your individual circumstances, preferences and budget. But whichever way you choose, she advocates paying close attention to what you like and dislike about these early, less-than-perfect gigs. As BI reports:

If you do take a job and realize that it’s not what you imagined or wanted—which happens often with first jobs—Pollak said that this is ‘an education thing’ that young people have to deal with and decide for themselves what it is that they want and don’t want in a job.

Exactly how much does being poor annoy you? How important or not is finding a very specific sort of job or finding your gig meaningful? The data that these answers represent will pay off when you’re looking for your next career move.

What’s your first real job story? Were you disillusioned by the work or the pay? And if so, how did you cope?

Jessica Stillman is a freelance writer based in London. She writes a daily column for Inc.com and has blogged for CBS MoneyWatch and GigaOM.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Your First Salary Offer Is a Bummer. Now What? appeared first on Brazen Life.

Many people turn to a variety of free data sources when it comes time to negotiate their salary. But which source is best? And what we mean by that is: which do employers respect the most? The two biggest players are what you might call the Nicki Minaj (Salary.com) and the Kim Kardashian (Payscale.com) of free salary data.

Let’s compare the two:

Nicki Minaj (a.k.a. Salary.com)

In the pursuit of becoming rich and famous, Nicki Minaj followed a well-worn path: she was a failed actress and struggling rapper in New York City whose consistent hard work and talent eventually allowed her to overcome years of failure and become perhaps the greatest female rapper of all time, not to mention a fashion and cultural icon.

She followed the time-tested formula of talent + hard work = success.

Salary.com also takes the traditional route in the way they provide salary data. Their data comes from employers, provided in wage surveys that they purchase and aggregate. In the HR world, the most respected data is from validated, industry surveys with documented sources, and Salary.com purchases more than 450 salary surveys each year, following industry best-practices.

The only downside is that they don’t disclose which surveys they purchase because they sign non-disclosure agreements to get the data. If Salary.com could disclose where they get their data from, they would be an A+ data source in the eyes of HR professionals.

(A more detailed explanation of Salary.com’s data sources and methodology can be found here.)

Kim Kardashian (a.k.a. Payscale.com)

Kim Kardashian took a different route to fame and fortune. She became perhaps the most famous and wealthiest reality TV star of all time. As with most reality TV stars, it is not immediately apparent what Kim’s talents are, other than her looks. But dig a little deeper, and it becomes clear that she’s a talented businesswoman who parlayed her reality TV fame into multiple businesses, including clothing lines, fragrance products and endorsements.

She blazed a new trail to fame and wealth: leveraging reality TV stardom.

Likewise, Payscale.com is blazing a new trail when it comes to providing salary data. Payscale’s data comes entirely from individuals—4.5 million per month—submitted via their website, making it the largest and most nuanced salary survey in the world. They have 13,000 job classifications, dwarfing Salary.com’s 4,500. Payscale.com has taken a modern, pioneering approach to salary surveys: crowdsourcing information via the Internet.

But despite their innovative approach and impressive data, the vast majority of HR professionals are skeptical of Payscale.com’s salary data because it’s submitted entirely by random people on the Web. There’s no way to verify the authenticity of their information, something that scares HR professionals. Like many people’s skepticism of Kim Kardashian’s “talent,” the HR community has yet to be won over by Payscale’s data.

(A more detailed explanation of Payscale.com’s data sources and methodology can be found here.)

So, Who Comes Out on Top?

The big question is: which source should YOU use?

When preparing for a salary negotiation, it’s best to gather information from a wide variety of sources and to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each one. So check out both of these resources, and let us know which one you prefer.

Would you vote for Nicki Minaj (Salary.com) or Kim Kardashian (Payscale.com)?

Joseph Richards is a Labor Economist and Salary Negotiation Consultant specializing in presenting compelling economic arguments to help clients get maximum salary increases. He has represented unions, management and individuals in wage and benefit negotiations.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Salary Negotiation Research: Nicki Minaj vs. Kim Kardashian appeared first on Brazen Life.

It’s not free for employers to attend career fairs or advertise job openings through newspapers or job boards, and it takes a lot of time and Benjamins for employers to sift through job applications, conduct phone screens, etc. Plus, when employers use a staffing agency or external recruiter (also known as a “headhunter”) to find and hire a candidate, they have to pay a commission—generally 20-30% of your first year’s salary—to the recruiter.

That’s a $20,000-$30,000 fee (maybe even more) to identify a candidate with a first-year salary of $100,000.

What does this mean for YOU, the job seeker?

At the start of the recession, one employer increased their initial offer to me by $50,000, partly because that company had virtually no costs to find or hire me. (I mention this only to prove my point, not to brag or to try to impress you.)

That company didn’t have to travel all over the country to attend career fairs, they didn’t have to sift through thousands of resumes and they didn’t have to pay an executive recruiter $25,000 or more to find me. Because I networked my way into a meeting with a company higher-up, I made the hiring process easy for them and saved them a lot of money up front. Outside of some minor administrative costs and a few brief meetings, their cost-per-hire on me was only $7! (They treated me to a rum and Coke during one of the evening interviews at a restaurant.)

So, how do you put this into play for yourself?

First, you have to network your way into an interview and land a job offer. After you receive that job offer (in writing), you could send an email like the following to the hiring manager:

“Thank you again for your offer. I’m very excited about the opportunity to work for your company as an XYZ employee. Having said that, based on ______ [insert brief, compelling evidence here, (i.e. “my consistent track record for increasing revenue and for turning around IT sales departments”)], I was hoping that your offer would be higher.

I’d like to run an idea by you. If you were to fill this position with the help of an executive recruiter, you’d probably have to pay them a 20-30% commission, maybe even more. Since we connected through my own networking efforts, there were virtually no additional costs for recruiting or hiring me. (Well, other than the $7 rum and Coke you bought me at Rock Bottom Brewery last week!)

As a result, how would you feel about increasing your initial offer by 10-15%? This would still be a savings of $10,000-$20,000 off what you would have had to pay an executive recruiter, and it would put your offer in my target salary range. If this sounds reasonable to you, I’m ready to move forward. What do you think?”

Let’s break down this script, which features 9 secrets for salary negotiation:

1. Start on a positive by thanking the employer for the offer and expressing your interest.

2. Remind the employer why you’re worth more money.

3. Include some light humor, if possible (i.e. how I joked about his $7 cost for recruiting me).

4. Talk in percentages (or hourly rates) when asking for more money. For example, it sounds a lot less expensive to increase your salary “by 10%” (or “by $5 per hour”) than it does to increase your salary “by $10,000” even though they all mean the same thing.

5. Use big numbers when discussing the employer’s savings (and your value).

6. Throw out a range for your suggested increase and aim high with the upper end.

7. Use the word “reasonable.”

8. Tell them you’re ready to move forward if they agree to your proposal.

9. The entire tone of your message should be non-confrontational.

The employer can only offer 3 possible responses to this strategy:

1. The employer says yes. If their initial offer was $100,000, you just made an extra $10,000-$15,000 for ONE minute of work.

2. The employer comes back with a lower counteroffer (i.e. an increase of $5,000-$10,000).  Still not too shabby for one minute of work.

3. The employer simply says no. This will probably only happen if the employer views you as a commodity that’s easily replaceable. In that case, you don’t deserve to be paid more money anyway. (Sorry!)

If you have concerns about losing your offer altogether by asking for a little more money, remember offers are only likely to be taken off the table if you are easily replaceable or arrogant during negotiations.

As with any salary negotiation script or strategy, this approach will bring out the cynics. But remember, you’re looking for bold advice, right? This is a drop in the bucket (even in a recession) for a top employer who decides to invest an extra $10,000-$15,000 to secure a candidate who is in high demand and extremely valuable.

Salary negotiation is all about leverage. If an employer sees you as valuable, that person will do what they can to convince you to join their company.

Pete Leibman’s career advice has been featured on Fox, CBS and CNN. His new book, I Got My Dream Job and So Can You, features lessons from young professionals who recently landed their dream job in a variety of fields.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Want to Earn an Extra $10K from Your Job Search? appeared first on Brazen Life.

If you’re less than thrilled with your job, you’re probably looking for a way out. But with today’s job market, it may seem impossible to make a career change.

I know I thought it was nearly a year ago when I was stuck in a teaching career I just didn’t find rewarding. I wanted out, but there were so many unknowns: What else was I qualified to do? What did I want to do? Would I even be able to get an interview let alone an actual job?

I read a million articles on career changing and found the advice to be largely, well, vanilla. Nothing they suggested seemed like advice for real life! And while trading one line of work for another is inherently difficult, there are a few things I learned along the way that actually made my transition a little smoother.

You’re Not as Young as You Used to Be

Sad, isn’t it? But true. And if you’re a career-changer, the chances of you working for someone younger than you are rather high.

But don’t let your ego get in the way! What you lack in field experience, you’ll make up for in life experience and maturity. So keep your head down and be patient with your younger superiors. Because you have general work experience, you’ve been able to develop interpersonal and time management skills that will serve you well in any career.

So let go of the age issue and put in your time. Let yourself learn from the younger folks, and trust that you’ll catch up.

Money Isn’t Everything

OK, OK, I know money is important. However, if you’re entering a new field with little-to-no experience, you can’t demand a high salary.

That’s right: you’re probably going to have to take a pay cut. Spend some time researching entry-level salaries in the field you’d like to pursue and decide if it’s even a possibility for you financially. If you get an offer that’s lower than you’d like, don’t be afraid to ask for more, but tread lightly—you don’t want to scare off a potential offer!

It’s also worth asking whether or not there’s room for growth, stock options, and an insurance plan. All factor in to your overall budget. Consider, too, that you could always take on a second job, like freelancing, in the interim. You’ll be busy, but at least you won’t be broke – and you’ll be doing something you actually enjoy.

Move It

The reality is, there aren’t jobs everywhere. Depending on the field you want to pursue, you might have to consider a move, and you might have to fund it yourself.

This might seem like a lot to take on, especially if you’re taking a pay cut, too. But if you can swing it, being mobile makes your job prospects that much greater.

I had to fund my own move across several states, but was able to do it relatively inexpensively by enlisting the help of family, driving the moving truck myself, and getting my new landlord to lower my security deposit. Moving isn’t fun or easy, but in this case, it was worth it.

Invest in Yourself

Find classes, webinars, or networking events where you can work on your professional development. A lot of opportunities are offered free or at low cost either on the web or through local community centers.

I was able to learn some basic HTML skills and a lot about social media via free classes and webinars online. LinkedIn is also a great resource for professional development communities and networking. Use your resources and spend time (and maybe a little money) to add some skills to your resume.

Will Work for Experience!

Intern. Apprentice. Do something pro bono for the community. Maybe there’s no pay involved, but can you really put a price on resume builders?

The answer is no! Make the time to gain some experience and hone your skills by working for free. While many internships are offered to college students, a lot of smaller companies are happy to have extra help from anyone willing to give it.

Search for local businesses in your field of interest, call them up, and offer your services. You’ll gain valuable work experience and make connections along the way.

The added bonus to this is that you get to try out the job. If you find it’s not for you, you haven’t lost anything.

Are you trying to make a career change? What’s the most challenging part for you?

Melissa Woodson is the community manager for @WashULaw, one of the premier LLM programs offered through Washington University in St. Louis. In her spare time, she enjoys running, cooking, and making half-baked attempts at training her dog.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Practical Advice for Transitioning to a Career You Actually Enjoy appeared first on Brazen Life.

The Wall Street Journal reports on a study that shows you can put a dollar figure on happiness.

The bull’s eye? $75,000 a year.

That’s for everyday happiness though, not overall, year-over-year satisfaction (which continues to increase with your income, according to the study).

Details from the piece (or you can read it in full):

As people earn more money, their day-to-day happiness rises. Until you hit $75,000. After that, it is just more stuff, with no gain in happiness.

That doesn’t mean wealthy and ultrawealthy are equally happy. More money does boost people’s life assessment, all the way up the income ladder. People who earned $160,000 a year, for instance, reported more overall satisfaction than people earning $120,000, and so on.

“Giving people more income beyond 75K is not going to do much for their daily mood … but it is going to make them feel they have a better life,” Mr. Deaton told the Associated Press.

So what do you think? What’s YOUR perfect salary for happiness?

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post Hey, Have You Seen This? The Perfect Salary for Happiness is $75K appeared first on Brazen Life.

by Ryan Stephens

Starved for time and content, I decided I would share some notes I took after hearing salary negotiation specialist Jim Dixey speak at an event:

• It’s not about you, but the employer.
• The recruiting process is the most discriminatory part of business.
• You’re not the most important person to the recruiter.
• You have to be the best.
• The employer environment is extremely competitive.
• You can throw the concept of a level playing field out the window.
• They will hire the person they like the most virtually every time.
• A paper candidate doesn’t matter.
• Don’t waste your time comparing yourself to someone else.
• Compensation is a lot of things; salary is just one of those.
• A signing bonus locks you in; it’s the least important thing you should worry about.
• Re-location: you won’t get much unless you’re a bigwig or have a family.
• Always focus on salary.
• Your raise is based on your salary.
• Your bonus is based on your base salary.
• Your benefits package is based on salary level.
• Always counter or negotiate the offer; you’re foolish not to.
• Until it is in writing, it does not matter.

Negotiating an Offer:

• Know yourself.
• Know what you bring to the table.
• Know the range you can negotiate within.
• Always negotiate over the phone or face to face, never via email.
• Ask three questions.
• Ask two innocuous questions you would like clarified and bring up salary on the third.
• Start with something like this: “I am following up on the offer. I had a chance to look over it and I have a few questions I would like to ask you.”
• For example:
• Ask about relocation (i.e. fees such as deposits (first and last), cost to turn on electric, etc.).
• Ask about the bonus—is it paid in the first or second paycheck, or separately?
• Finally, ask about salary: “The last point I want to discuss is base salary. I would like to ask you to consider…”
• Always give a range (i.e. mid- to high-$60,000s), NEVER a firm number.
• This gives them something to ponder, to go and ask about rather than just a firm number to quickly dismiss.

What do you think? What strategies have you implemented in the past? Were they successful? Please leave a comment and let me know what has (or has not) worked for you in your own salary negotiation situations.

Get our best career advice delivered to your inbox. Sign up today!

The post 31 Things You Should Know About Salary Negotiation appeared first on Brazen Life.