In our series Salary Stories, women with long-term career experience open up about the most intimate details of their jobs: compensation. It’s an honest look at how real people navigate the complicated world of negotiating, raises, promotions and job loss, with the hope it will give young people more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.
Been in the workforce for at least five years and interested in contributing your salary story? Submit your information here.
Age: 32
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Current industry and job title: Retail industry, Buyer
Current salary: $130,000
Number of years employed since school or university: 10
Starting salary: $13.50/hour
Biggest salary jump: $107,000 to $125,000 due to a job switch in 2021.
Biggest salary drop: Not salary drop, but when I was discussing salary for my first entry level corporate job in 2013 they offered me slightly more money than I asked, which has never happened before. It was a very low salary in general, I asked for $32,000 and they offered me $35,000. The hiring manager told me, “I think I can actually do better,” which I in hindsight regret not doing more market research.
Biggest negotiation regret: I didn’t realize the strength in numbers. In 2019, a group of us buyers that followed a similar career track and joined the company around the same time discovered we were severely underpaid. After discussing together, we all told our respective managers and it got bubbled up to the top. All of us were offered a $15,000 bonus with an 13-month retention agreement.
Best salary advice: The best way to jump salaries is to jump companies. Also, if a company is not able to get to your desired salary during the negotiation process, you can negotiate your sign on bonus to cover the difference in the desired salary for your first two years. For example, my target was $135,000, but [my current company] got me to $125,000, so I was able to negotiate a $20,000 sign on bonus so that for the first two years I am able to get, in a way, the salary I wanted. After two years, you can reevaluate.