Navigating career:
Negotiating salary or rates
Negotiating salary or rates
Overcoming the fear to negotiate compensation and aligning expectations with clients early on are key skills for designers. The stories here share approaches to advocating for value and avoiding wasted effort on misaligned quotes.
Overcoming the fear to negotiate compensation and aligning expectations with clients early on are key skills for designers. The stories here share approaches to advocating for value and avoiding wasted effort on misaligned quotes.
I negotiated a salary increase of $10,000 at a startup. There was no magic to it, I simply asked via the recruiter and the startup said yes and didn’t even counteroffer. The key to negotiating is to ask. Too many people don’t ask because of the fear they’ll be turned down or what people will think. If you don’t ask, you could very well be leaving money on the table. Over the course of your career—especially when you consider compound interest—this can amount to a lot of money! To get over the fear of negotiating your salary, try to look at the long-term impact of not negotiating.
I negotiated a salary increase of $10,000 at a startup. There was no magic to it, I simply asked via the recruiter and the startup said yes and didn’t even counteroffer. The key to negotiating is to ask. Too many people don’t ask because of the fear they’ll be turned down or what people will think. If you don’t ask, you could very well be leaving money on the table. Over the course of your career—especially when you consider compound interest—this can amount to a lot of money! To get over the fear of negotiating your salary, try to look at the long-term impact of not negotiating.
Sarah Doody:
Founder and CEO of Career Strategy Lab, a career strategy and coaching program for people in tech.
Sarah Doody:
Founder and CEO of Career Strategy Lab, a career strategy and coaching program for people in tech.
I negotiate budget and quotes all the time—the client director and I discuss it beforehand. Of course, there’s always back and forth with clients wanting lower and lower prices, but we ask what the client’s budget is upfront so we don’t waste time preparing a detailed quote if we’re not aligned on the price range. After the initial interview, getting their ballpark number is one of the first things to do. This is very important for avoiding wasted effort, since making proposals takes lots of time. We want to be sure we’re on the same page before diving into a full quote.
I negotiate budget and quotes all the time—the client director and I discuss it beforehand. Of course, there’s always back and forth with clients wanting lower and lower prices, but we ask what the client’s budget is upfront so we don’t waste time preparing a detailed quote if we’re not aligned on the price range. After the initial interview, getting their ballpark number is one of the first things to do. This is very important for avoiding wasted effort, since making proposals takes lots of time. We want to be sure we’re on the same page before diving into a full quote.
Verònica Fuerte:
Speaker, Lecturer, and Mentor; Founder & Creative Directress of Hey studio. She asks for a client’s budget upfront to avoid wasted effort on misaligned quotes.
Verònica Fuerte:
Speaker, Lecturer, and Mentor; Founder & Creative Directress of Hey studio. She asks for a client’s budget upfront to avoid wasted effort on misaligned quotes.
