#1. Low risk, high reward
The first reason why salary negotiation is worth all the hassle is it’s a low risk with a high reward.
Yes, your employer might say no. Yes, you could end up preparing for 10 or 20 hours and get a no. Yes, your confidence could be deflated if you get a no or a not yet. But the reward is so high.
The financial reward, the nonfinancial reward, and also the boosting in confidence as well. Yes, there’s some risk there.
If you do it properly, it shouldn’t result in somebody retracting the offer or getting fired.
And if that happens, do you really want to be working for that organization anyways?
#2. Every negotiation is practice
The second reason is that it’s practice. Salary negotiation is a skill, which means it can be learned.
When you practice it, you will make progress. The practice is useful now in that it might achieve, help you achieve, a raise or a higher salary on a job offer, but you’ll also be ready for the next time as well.
#3. The domino effect
There’s a domino effect with negotiation. If you’re negotiating your salary now, it means that the raise or increase that you negotiate now will impact what you negotiate later.
It’s like your salary is like an asset. Like it appreciates the more you negotiate it.
#4. Your salary is the BIGGEST part of your budget
I’ve helped clients negotiate over $55,000 in salary increases and over $25, 000 increases in non-financial compensation…
Where else can you find that money in your budget?
You can’t cut your expenses that much.
If you own a house, that profit may be possible in your house, but it isn’t until you sell it, until you move, and then you have to buy something or rent something afterwards, so that eats into your profits.
Same with stocks and bonds. If you’re investing, yes, you might get a rate of return that’s 4%, 5%.
But it often takes many years to see that return with the ups and downs.
With salary negotiation, if you negotiate today and you get a yes or the employer accepts, that means you’re getting that return right away.
Asking for more also has a lot less risk than buying a house or investing.
#5. You become a role model
The fifth reason why salary negotiation is worth all the hassle is you become a role model when you negotiate.
This was actually something that I heard from a client I had worked with. When I asked her why she wanted to negotiate, she said it was for the financial increase but also because she had daughters that she wanted to show that if she could do this and that they could, too.
If you’re concerned about getting a raise or an increase more than your colleagues currently receive, I see that as an opportunity to show that it is possible to get a raise in your workplace.
#6. Dudes are doing it
The sixth reason why it’s worth negotiating your salary even though it’s stressful and full of anxiety is…
Dudes are doing it.
Women tend not to negotiate for a ton of reasons – hello patriarchy – but if you can channel your anger towards the injustice of the gender pay gap, it can be help you get over the fear and discomfort of negotiation.
Want to learn more about how to negotiate?
If you want to negotiate your salary (or start preparing for a negotiation), check out Ask for More, my self-paced online salary negotiation course for women* (sliding scale price available).
Learn how to negotiate “the big 3” opportunities. Learn when to ask, what to ask for, and what exactly to say.
*Women = anyone who identifies.