Q & A Table of Contents
My Pay Is Well Below Market; What Should I Do?
From: Steven, Stone Mountain, Georgia
Question: I'm an assistant who supports 5 Directors in Finance for a
well-known entertainment company. I'm severely underpaid, at least by
$7500.00. I've been in this position a year and a half-and I'm ready to
move to a higher-level assistant job supporting a Senior Vice President
or higher. I'm in the pool for interviews for two assistant positions.
I've contacted recruiters in Atlanta and talked to hi-level executive
assistants, and they say I should at least ask for $60K. My problem is
that I've learned that my company usually offers $48K, which is pretty
low.
How can I ask for what I want without being to aggressive? I currently
make $37.5K – that’s almost a 50% jump, which they may feel is
unreasonable. My thing is positions such as as executive assistant are
very critical and to find someone who is loyal, discreet, who likes
being an assistant, and has a pleasing personality is hard to find these
days. The company can't expect the whole pie, while offering crumbs,
please help!
Response: There are several things you should do to prepare yourself for
your negotiations for better pay:
Examine your BATNA (Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement) both
within your company and outside. Inside the company you need to learn
as much as you can about the pay and career ladder within your area and
in others. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel, or if you stay
will you always be underpaid and under-rewarded? You need to find out
how badly your current bosses feel they need you. Are you a significant
helper without whom they would be lost — or do they feel as if your
disappearance wouldn’t mean anything?
Outside your company you should undertake a serious job-hunting
campaign. Gathering this kind of information can tell you how much
relative power you can have going into the negotiations.
You have been doing your homework; the question is whether the figures
you’ve been told are in the market range are really likely to be offered
to you or are merely what outsiders tell you for reasons of their own.
If you find a different job you like — in terms of pay and/or other
conditions — you can always offer your present employer the choice of
keeping you if they meet your minimum requirements or losing you to
greener pastures.
Inside your company you need to understand who makes the decisions about
pay and promotions — and you must also find out who influences the
decision maker(s). If Human Resources determines pay and if your bosses
include folks who will lean on HR to pay you better, that improves the
likelihood you will reach a more favorable result.
You have to convince yourself that you are entitled, that you are a
person who deserves fair treatment and proper respect. If you feel
underpaid or otherwise under-appreciated, no one is going to go to bat
for you and do a better job of making that point than you. Look at
yourself in the mirror and ask whether you deserve respect any less than
the people who determine your pay. The answer is that everyone deserves
respect, and it is not based on their position in the corporate
hierarchy.
Do your homework on your company, the greater marketplace, and yourself.
You will be better prepared and more confident in your negotiations.
Good luck,
Steve
| 
