Last week, I decided test out a local, womens-only co-working space located not too far from where I live in Atlanta.
Not only would this give me a chance to network with more women (which I find is important we all do on a regular basis), but they also have an event space where I can host talks and workshops.
That day, I set up my laptop at a communal table where I sat next to an energetic woman who works as a VP Product Manager at a software development company.
We got to know each other a bit. After learning about my work as a speaker and author in the women’s leadership space, she swiftly shared her experience working as a woman in tech, which as you probably are aware, is primarily male-dominated.
As the leader of her team, she was quite intentional in her efforts to hire as many women as she could, which ended up being about half of her ten-person team.
She made an observation during the hiring process that unsettled her about the differences between how men and women approach the process.
Only one of the women negotiated her employment package, while most of the men negotiate their packages.
This really struck her as she’s always been one to negotiate on her own behalf. Thankfully she learned how to do this quite early in her career and assumed that most others would negotiate as well.
Unfortunately, I was not surprised in hearing about her experience being in a hiring position.
Through my own personal experience, along with my research and writing, I have found that negotiating is one of those things that most women tend to shy away from.
And this can lead to a massive difference in pay and our wealth down the line.
According this Forbes article titled “Why Don’t More Women Negotiate“, “only 30% of women bother to negotiate at all, while 46% of men negotiate,” according to Katie Donovan, founder of Equal Pay Negotiations. These figures add up to almost $2 million in lost revenue over a lifetime for the average woman seeking to climb the leadership ladder.”
But negotiation impacts more than our employment offers. It affects our finances when buying a car, house, and other large purchases. It impacts our lives when we need to negotiate time off for unexpected events, and even our personal lives and relationships.
In the latest episode of my show, I had the chance to interview Carolina Ceniza-Levine, a Career Coach, Executive Coach, Author, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and Forbes Contributor about how she preps her clients and students for negotiation.
Here are the 7-Steps To A Successful Negotiation that Caroline shared with me in this interview:
Step #1: Know what you want. Be specific. Prepare in advance. Communicate how you feel.
Step# 2: Know your worth/your market value.
Step #3: Know your own background and what uniqueness you bring to the table.
Step #4: Understand your counterparty and where they are coming from. What do they want? Be sure to empathize and acknowledge you understand their perspective as well.
Step #5: Brainstorm alternative outcomes before the negotiation so you are fully prepared.
Step #6: Increase your leverage – have another offer for example. Have money in savings. Be willing to walk away. Anything that gives you the confidence to stay in your position.
Step #7: Run a simulation with someone you respect as a negotiator/role-play in advance to practice.
Get more details about these 7-steps by tuning in to this interview where Caroline and I talk all about the art of negotiating and why this is an important soft-skill to master.
Click here to watch this episode.
Fast-forward to the 20:22 mark if you’d like to dive straight in to the details of the 7-steps.
That’s all I’ve got to share for today! I just hope you remember that you matter, your needs and your happiness matter. If you could use some help in self-love area, I hope you’ll consider signing up for my Love Notes To Myself email series.
