10 Ways To Negotiate A Great Salary Without Being Pushy In Singapore
In Asian culture, few of us are comfortable talking about salary - and we're even less comfortable now the global job market is tougher.
In Hollywood, it made headlines a few years ago when news leaked that Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams were paid a smaller salary than their male leads in the movie American Hustle. Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman Amy Pascal defended the decision at a Women in the World event in San Francisco. “If people want to work for less money, I’ll pay them less money. I don’t call them up and go, can I give you some more? They have to walk away."
So the reality is: if you don't ask you don't get.
But it's not that easy, is it? PayScale Salary Negotiation Guideshows both men and women are reluctant to negotiate salary. In most cases our reasons are fairly similar:
“I didn’t want to be seen as pushy.” (18 percent of women, 20 percent of men.)
“I’m worried about losing my job.” (8 percent of women and men.)
“I’m happy with my salary.” (7 percent of women, 9 percent of men.)
But when it comes to negotiating about salary a whopping 31% of women say "I'm uncomfortable even negotiating salary" compared to 23% of men. Partly we worry negotiating can backfire on us - because some Employers are more likely to penalize women for being assertive. It's old-fashioned, but it still exists, especially in Asia.
And even if a company is completely fair-minded, today they still want staff with great EQ, staff who can think on their feet and get along well with others. So it helps to negotiate for your salary in a way that shows you're smart - plus a great team player at the same time. To do it, take a tip from Stanford Graduate School of Business’s Professor Margaret A. Neale, an expert on negotiating skills for women.
"There's a cultural perception that women are natural caregivers, " says Professor Neale at Forbes. "So use this to your advantage. One thing I would encourage women to do is to have a communal motivation for asking for more. If I’m a man and I’m negotiating a salary, I can talk about my competencies. Women need to do is yoke their competencies to a communal concern.” In other words when you negotiate don't just talk about “what I can do for you,” but “how I help the organization and the business community.”
Think about this before you get to the interview - and practice talking about it so your voice does not wobble at the crucial moment. Ask friends and family to play the HR manager. Practice to them, to your mirror, to your pets:
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