Women often still earn less than men. financial expert Claudia Mueller gives four tips on how to change that in the next salary interview.
Are you happy with your salary? do you get what you deserve Almost two thirds of all women are dissatisfied with their salary. There is still a pronounced gender pay gap averaging 18 percent, with women earning less per hour than men. That alone makes you dissatisfied. Surely you can also think of very personal reasons why you actually earn more than you get.
But why don’t you go to your boss today and agree on the next salary interview in which you fix the increase? And why is that so difficult for many women? There are three main reasons: 1.) We underestimate the long-term effects of even a small increase. 2) convenience and 3) lack of strategy.
Imagine that you currently earn 40,000 euros gross per year. This means that you (in tax class 1) get around 2190 euros per month net. If you now earn 10 percent gross more through a good salary negotiation or a job change, you have 44,000 euros per year, i.e. 2370 euros net per month. So you have 180 euros more in your account every month.
Maybe you’re thinking: That doesn’t make such a huge difference. And in the end it’s all gone anyway.
That’s what a salary increase brings in the long run
Yes – if you just let the money flow into your account, it will probably be relatively quick “seep away”. You spend it without really appreciating that you have 180 euros more every month. If instead you set aside half for your living expenses or for nice vacations, but invest the other half: 90 euros per month, for 25 years, 6 percent profit per year (very realistic on the stock market!) – then you will have more in the end than 61,000 euros. You have to pay taxes on that, but you still have 55,000 euros left! And if you were to invest everything (180 euros per month) you would even have 105,000 euros after taxes after 25 years! You would not have 4,000 euros more per year through your salary negotiations, nor 180 euros a month, but 100,000 euros in the long term!
Imagine what you could do with these 100,000 euros… Buy a tiny house in nature? Regularly make great trips from the interest? Finance your (future) children’s studies? There are certainly no limits to your imagination. So it’s worth fighting for your raise!
But since we tend to value long-term effects ($100,000) less than what we see in the short-term ($180), our laziness often plays tricks on us. Instead of going into the conflict – the negotiation – with the boss, we convince ourselves that it wouldn’t make such a big difference now. Or we believe too quickly that the scope for an increase has actually already been exhausted. Or that now is an unfavorable time because the company’s annual financial statements are still pending, or, or, or… Only when we vividly imagine where our next salary increase will take us in the long term do we begin to overcome our laziness, and can go into negotiation.
But in order to be successful in a salary negotiation, you need a good strategy!
Four tips for the salary interview
Claudia Müller, financial expert at “Brigitte Academy Masterclass Finance”has put together four important pieces of advice:
- Before the interview: Know your market value! Apply regularly for jobs outside of your company. Compare salaries (e.g. on Glassdoor or kununu). You can also talk to your colleagues about your salaries! If your employment contract prohibits this: This clause is not legally effective. A comparison with similar positions is extremely helpful, especially because we women tend to ask for too little salary. At the same time, it shouldn’t stop you from asking for a raise, even though you may already be making good money compared to others.
- List your successes: Which projects have you successfully carried out / participated in? Which customers did you acquire? saved costs? Processes simplified? Taken on new responsibilities? It’s not just the great successes that count, but also what you consider to be normal work. It helps if you record your good results to remind yourself of your worth!
- During the conversation: Talk about a salary adjustment (instead of an increase). You are suggesting that your salary has been too low so far and that this should now be corrected.
- Be the first to suggest a specific number. This is how you use the anchor effect: All future offers will move around this number because your offer is the starting point for the discussion.
If you implement these tips, you have already taken big steps on the way to your next successful salary adjustment!
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With the you build up even more know-how and make yourself the best and permanently most successful lawyer for your salary: You will find out, for example, why it is so important to be clear about your motivation before the interview, why you should define red lines and why it is clever to name crooked numbers!
You learn the typical ones “manslaughter arguments” know and how to parry them brilliantly, you will work on your mindset and your posture and rehearse everything in a role play.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
