STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

bostongal · BCBG

Internal promotion - can I negotiate salary?

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

Always negotiate. Money, perks, time off, office redo, whatever you can think of. You go about it by thinking to yourself "I am worth this" and banishing the voice that says "They'll reward me for keepign quiet and being good." And you do it with an air of "Hey, I'm just throwing this out there so we'll get something that will balance my having to give up,..." whatever you'll have to give up. Don't act like your entitled (usually not a problem for most women) just act like you assumed they would want to compensate you fairly. The less you show stress, or that you think it's a big deal, the more likely they are to just give it to you. But if they can see that you think it's a big deal, they'll know they have you and they're more likely to say no. Also, don't apologize for wanting more.

Congratulations!

PS - my last company liked to promote people internally because they could usually get awy with giving them a small raise, whereas a new person would expect to be paid at the going rate for the job. A little research on current salaries for the position, both inside and outside your company, couldn't hurt.

-- Edited by Dizzy at 10:16, 2006-01-10

Karina · Chanel

how should one go about talking about salary if going for an internal position (maybe not promotion) within the company?

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

Ideally, you can get the salary of the last person who had that job, then assume you'll get something less, based on experience or whatever. If that's not possible, a ballpark idea of the going rate for that job, and a good idea of what they would have to pay someone brought in from the outside, should be helpful. As for bringing it up, companies count on you being more hesitant to push as an internal shift, and they like to look at what you're making now and try to give you a little bit more (or, in some places, THE SAME, which pisses me off). So you also need to know what extra efforts you'll be giving, to counter when they try to lowball you. And you need to have a pretty good list in your head of what you bring to the table as an internal transfer (already know the culture, have contacts, blah blah blah).

The key thing to remember, though, is to keep them from comparing your current salary to the salary for the job. It doesn't matter what you make. It matters what you offer and what they would have to pay someone outside. This has to be done LIGHTLY though. I"m goign to think about some negotiations I've had and try to post examples later.