3356: Negotiate Your Next Raise or Starting Salary by Laurie Sepulveda of Women Who Money on Salary Negotiation

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Optimal Finance Daily – Episode 3356

“Negotiate Your Next Raise or Starting Salary”

By Laurie Sepulveda of Women Who Money
Host: Diania Merriam
Date: November 17, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on strategies for successfully negotiating your salary—whether you’re seeking a raise in your current role or determining compensation for a new job. Based on an article by Laurie Sepulveda of Women Who Money, the show addresses the unique challenges women face in wage discussions and offers concrete, empowering advice for all listeners. Host Diania Merriam provides additional commentary with her signature blend of realism and encouragement.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Women and Salary Negotiation: Overcoming Hesitation

• Statistics & Context:
  • A Glassdoor survey reveals 68% of women accept the salary they’re offered and don’t negotiate (02:00).
  • Causes range from discomfort in negotiation, undervaluation of their worth, to fear of losing job opportunities.
• Laurie’s Insight:
  • “Just like when you're pricing a house to sell, you have to price your unique job skills and experience according to the market, not according to what you feel you're worth, what a colleague earns, or what you earned when you left the workforce five years ago.” (02:20)
• Notable Example:
  • Sepulveda shares the story of a C-level executive who earned significantly less than male peers due to not researching her market worth and failing to negotiate upon hire (03:10).

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2. Know Your Worth & Do the Research

• Tools & Resources:
  • Use services like Glassdoor, Payscale, or specialty consultants (such as Olivia Jarris’s company, cited in the episode) to benchmark salary data.
  • Importance of “cold, hard money facts” versus relying on guesswork or feelings (03:40).
• Laurie’s Quote:
  • “Unless we're armed with knowledge, meaning cold, hard money facts, we don't have the upper hand in negotiating. This is doing ourselves a disservice as a gender because we tend to shy away from talking about money.” (03:50)
• Peer Networking:
  • Advocate for open dialogue about compensation among peers, especially in women’s networking and mentorship contexts (04:20).

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3. Negotiation Tactics: Using Silence & Counteroffers

• The Power of Silence:
  • Don’t feel compelled to fill uncomfortable gaps; allow the employer to complete their justification.
  • “Silence can be a very powerful negotiation tool, mainly because it allows you to react in a way that eliminates much of the emotion from the conversation.” (05:00)
  • Practice short, non-committal responses, e.g., “Okay” or “Interesting,” rather than immediate agreement (05:20).
• Making the Counteroffer:
  • Always counter the initial offer, even modestly. For example, “If they’re offering $50,000 and two weeks’ vacation, counter with $55,000 and three weeks’ vacation.” (05:40)
  • Frame counters in terms of your value to the company:
    • “Because of my years of experience and the accomplishments I’ve shown in my previous position, I’m requesting a salary of X.” (05:50)
  • Even small negotiations flex the “muscle” for future discussions.

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4. Negotiation Is a Skill That Grows with Practice

• Encouragement to Practice:
  • “Negotiating is a skill like any other and with practice you will get better…” (06:20)
• Additional Perks:
  • If salary isn’t flexible, try negotiating for other benefits (vacation, work flexibility, etc.).
• Key Takeaway:
  • Cultivating a habit of not accepting the first offer, and to “ask for more” as a standard practice.

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Host Commentary: Diania Merriam’s Insights (Post-Article Discussion: 09:04)

• On The Challenges of Researching Market Value (09:04–09:54):
  • Diania shares candidly: “I personally have found this very difficult. I saw no consistent market value for the roles I’ve had in my career....”
  • “It all boils down to what an employer is willing to pay based on a ton of factors. It's really hard to come to an objective conclusion on what you're worth.”
• Tactical Advice:
  • Leveraged network by asking competitor companies (without seeking a job) what salary her qualifications merited.
  • Avoided disclosing current salary: “I didn’t answer questions on current salary because I didn’t want that to influence their response.”
• Assess Your Leverage:
  • “Are you a top salesperson or otherwise able to quantify your contributions?” (09:40)
  • Consider what makes your case compelling—it helps both sets your value and makes the employer see your worth.
• Willingness to Walk Away:
  • “As with any negotiation, you're in a stronger position when you're willing to walk away.” (09:54)

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Notable Quotes

• Laurie Sepulveda:
  • “Just like when you're pricing a house to sell, you have to price your unique job skills and experience according to the market, not according to what you feel you're worth…” (02:20)
  • “Silence can be a very powerful negotiation tool, mainly because it allows you to react in a way that eliminates much of the emotion from the conversation.” (05:00)
• Diania Merriam:
  • “I personally have found this very difficult. I saw no consistent market value for the roles I’ve had in my career....” (09:05)
  • “As with any negotiation, you're in a stronger position when you're willing to walk away.” (09:54)

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Key Timestamps

• 01:09 — Episode Introduction by Diania Merriam (after ad content)
• 02:00 — The gender gap in negotiation and why women hesitate to negotiate
• 03:10 — Real-life example of the costly impact of not negotiating
• 03:50 — The critical importance of salary research
• 05:00 — Negotiation tactics: use of silence
• 05:40 — How and why to make a counteroffer (with examples)
• 06:20 — Negotiation as a skill and encouragement to practice
• 09:04 — Diania’s personal experience and additional commentary
• 09:54 — The power of being willing to walk away

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Summary Takeaways

• Be prepared and do the research: Don’t undervalue yourself—use all available data and peer networks.
• Advocate openly for yourself: Normalize talking about money and don’t shy away from the negotiation table.
• Use proven negotiation tactics: Employ silence, avoid rushing to agreement, and counter every offer.
• Know your leverage: Quantify your contributions and be willing to walk away if your needs can’t be met.
• Negotiation gets easier with practice: Every negotiation, large or small, builds your skill and confidence.

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Transcript

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Is Optimal Finance Daily Negotiate your next raise or starting salary by Lori sepulveda with women whomoney.com do you find it difficult to negotiate a raise? Why do women have such a hard time asking for more money in job situations? A survey conducted by Glassdoor found 68% of women accept the salary they're offered and don't negotiate. We can do better. Know your worth before starting negotiations. Just like when you're pricing a house to sell, you have to price your unique job skills and experience according to the market, not according to what you feel you're worth, what a colleague earns, or what you earned when you left the workforce five years ago. A salary specialist named Olivia Jarris has written a book for women called Know youw Worth, get yout Worth Salary Negotiations for Women. In the book she talks about the variety of reasons women have for undervaluing themselves. About 31% of women don't negotiate the pay they're offered when they start a job due to concerns about the consequences. Some of this is because women feel uncomfortable negotiating. Some of it's related to the fact that women don't realize what they're worth in the market. There's a story in the book of a C level executive who realized her colleagues were earning hundreds of thousands of dollars more than she was because she hadn't negotiated her salary when she took the job. She hadn't done any research on her market worth, so she grossly undervalued herself. The title of the book is indeed the crux of the matter as women. We don't often know or recognize our dollar value in the employment market, so we accept less pay. Sometimes we're desperate to rejoin the workforce after being home with our children for a number of years. We might be grateful for the opportunity to work part time or have flexible hours, therefore being less willing to speak up for more income for fear the job opportunity will be removed. Arm yourself to negotiate a raise Olivia's company offers a service using proprietary information to give women a really good idea of what they should be earning. You can also use free services like Glassdoor or Payscale to find information on what others earn in specific fields. Unless we're armed with knowledge, meaning cold, hard money facts, we don't have the upper hand in negotiating. This is doing ourselves a disservice as a gender because we tend to shy away from talking about money. If instead we were more forthright about salary in networking meetings and when mentoring young female professionals, we could help each other understand our worth in the market. Use silence to your advantage during negotiation Negotiating feels very personal because it makes such a substantial financial impact on your life. However, the most successful negotiators can take personal feelings away from the negotiation table. If you're currently underpaid and applying for a new job, the recruiter will inevitably ask how much you now earn. If you'd like to negotiate a much higher salary but don't want to reveal what you currently earn, you can sidestep the numbers question and focus on your achievements instead. You may find it helpful to read through several scripts to give you ideas. If your current or potential employer begins to talk about the reasons why she couldn't pay you more, try resisting the urge to jump in and instead say nothing. Allow her to explain her reasoning without feeling the need to immediately agree, as we women are wont to do. Silence can be a very powerful negotiation tool, mainly because it allows you to react in a way that eliminates much of the emotion from the conversation. You can make non committal comments such as okay or interesting without agreeing. Make it a habit to ask for more. One of the most potent ways to increase the amount you're offered is to simply make a counter offer when you're presented with the first salary number. If negotiating feels scary, prepare yourself to make one counteroffer. Many companies send their offer details, including the specific amount of pay being offered, via email. When you receive the offer, you can plan to make a counteroffer, even if it's a small one. You can also counter via email if they're offering $50,000 per year and two weeks of vacation. Counter with 55,000 and three weeks of vacation. Always present the offer in terms of the value you'll bring to the company. Because of my years of experience and the accomplishments I've shown in my previous position, I'm requesting a salary of X. The company may not be willing to give you a higher salary, but they may provide more vacation or other employee benefits. Offered $15 per hour. Ask for 18 per hour. The company may say no, but you're flexing your negotiation muscle, getting practice and creating a habit of not accepting the first offer. Negotiate your next raise. Remember, negotiating is a skill like any other and with practice you will get better Researching your worth, practicing negotiation tricks like silence and preparing to counter offer will serve you well when the time comes. You just listened to the post titled Negotiate your next raise or starting salary by Laurie Sepulveda with womenwhomoney.com Imagine you're a business owner who has to rely.

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See dell.com for details. While I agree that you should do your research and try to understand your market value, I personally have found this very difficult. I saw no consistent market value for the roles I've had in my career. It varied wildly between comparable employers in my industry. Market value is tricky because it's highly subjective. It all boils down to what an employer is willing to pay based on a ton of factors. It's really hard to come to an objective conclusion on what you're worth. Online resources like salary.com or glassdoor never helped me because I worked in a pretty niche industry. So when I would enter my title, the comps were not in a comparable field. So when I was asking for a raise, here's what I did. I leveraged my network and I went to my employer's six top competitors. I didn't ask them for a job, but I laid out my qualifications and accomplishments and asked them what they thought my salary should be. Also, I didn't answer questions on current salary because I didn't want that to influence their response. On another note, I think it's important for you to assess your degree of leverage. Are you a top salesperson or otherwise able to quantify your contributions, showing your value at the time you're making the request in addition to your salary? Research can paint a picture that they're actually getting a pretty good deal. And finally, as with any negotiation, you're in a stronger position when you're willing to walk away. And that's a wrap for another Monday show. Have a great start to your week and I'll be back tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.