Negotiating salaries is hard and awkward and most people hate it as it's a necessary evil. Unless you like volunteer work. But, luckily for everyone, it doesn't have to be a should I rip the band aid off quickly, or take my time and peel it? sort of situation. Maybe more of a let's soak it in water and then take it off with more ease. There's a neat language tactic people can use to assert a grounded stance on where they think their salary should be, providing more legitimacy to their request and making it a tad bit harder for employers to low-ball them.
When the economy feels volatile and companies are navigating change, many of us instinctively wait before initiating a raise conversation. But the truth is, uncertainty isn't a signal to stay quiet-it's a call to lead. Asking for a raise during times of flux doesn't mean you're tone-deaf. It means you understand your impact and are choosing to advocate for it with clarity and courage. You deserve that raise.
In June, I hopped on a call with the head of operations to talk about compensation. I might have asked a little too much, but I left room to negotiate.
The research shows that large language models consistently advise women to ask for lower salaries than men, despite identical qualifications. For instance, a difference in advice led to a gap of $120K a year between genders in some fields.
They asked me to do season two, and they offered me half the money. I'm like, 'Well, it's going to take me twice the amount of work for half the amount of money'.