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As these statistics show, regardless of how far you progress, your compensation depends in significant part on how well you negotiate. Failure to do so, at any point in your career, has a significant impact throughout the remainder of your career. Women are doing many things right to manage their careers these days. One thing that studies show that women still fail to do as effectively as men, though, is to negotiate for themselves. (and that sometimes requires negotiating differently than men.)
Failure to negotiate for an additional $5,000 at age 22 will cost a woman almost $500,000 in total lost wages by age 62 because that $5,000 is lost every year and the problem is compounded because future raises are a percentage of your base salary. One part of the solution to correcting the gender gap is for women to learn to negotiate more effectively for themselves.
Here are some tips for women when negotiating compensation:
- Don't be afraid to negotiate
- Negotiate for yourself as if you were negotiating for someone else
- Time your discussion to follow a success
- Know what you are worth
- Remember compensation includes many things besides salary
- Quietly test the waters in the market periodically
- Learn new skills and take on new responsibility
- Create the right image through how you dress and act
- Find an advocate to give you advice and to advocate on your behalf
- Be confident and display confidence
- Work on improving your negotiating and influencing skills
- Seek coaching if necessary
Lee E. Miller is co-author with his daughter of A Woman’s Guide to Successful Negotiating (McGraw Hill), and author of UP: Influence Power and The U Perspective- The Art of Getting What You Want (YCD Press) and Get More Money on Your Next Job (McGraw Hill).
