Tips to negotiate your salary in 2024

It's that time of the year again for performance reviews in our careers. Every company has their own way of doing the reviews and for some, it's the basis for their promotions and salary increases. For me personally, the company I work for has a point system and that determines your bonus for the year. Regardless of the company policies, the whole meeting process can be intimidating. That's why being prepared and having an outline of what you're going to say will tremendously help you to not know feel good, but also increase your changes of getting a raised salary.

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So we asked the IronRingGirls community of women in engineering:

IronRingGirls community results

We received a lot of useful answers and created a summary to help you in your next review:

Tip#1: Do your research on industry standards

Most of the answers pointed to the fact that you need to be prepared and aware of the market standards when you go into the meeting. You can do this research in a few ways:

1. Do online research on your industry range.

2. Ask your friends or peers. It's still a bit of an uncomfortable conversation to have even with your closest friends. What I sometimes do is ask what range they think my salary should be in.

Tip #2: Account for total compensation, not just salary

Your salary is just one part of the compensation package. The rest are your vacation days, benefits, RRSP matching..etc. So before you go into the meeting, make sure you have a clear understanding of your contract. Then make sure you know what you want to ask for based on personal preference. Do you want more vacation days? Do you want more autonomy in company shares?

Tip #3: Brag about yourself with facts to back you up

Yes, you read that right. This is the time for you to really brag about yourself. Of course there's a way to do this without sounding arrogant. Here are some questions to answer. Make sure you have the facts to backup your answers and you are golden!

• What goals did you achieve in the past year?

• Did you take on new responsibilities?

• Has your productivity increased?

• What are your goals for 2024?

• What impacts/improvements have you made to the company/your team?

Tip 4#: You are competent even if you're not confident

In one of our recent podcasts our guest Sue-Rose, an entrepreneur with an electrical engineering degree, talks about the difference between competence and confidence. She says you might not feel confident all the time, but you have to believe in your competence to get the job done. From the community responses:

@alixxauge said "don't minimize yourself, go in knowing your value and speak as if you know you deserve it!"

@karliemanor said "know your worth and accept no less than that. Professional stubbornness"

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So no matter how nervous you feel, be prepared and believe in your competence. Hope this post helps you in your next review session!

Is there anything you'd like us to ask the community that would help with your career?

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