Money and finance have always been a driving force in my life. From the age of 5, I was aware of the importance of money as my Dad schooled us about the concept of interest! We were incentivised to do well at school with a cash reward for our annual report card and we only got our weekly allowance if you had completed all your chores. Nothing was for free in our household. My siblings and I knew the value of a dollar as kids, which has put us in good stead for our adult lives.  

On average, since making my way from a graduate Occupational Therapist to an Executive leader in my field, I have tracked at an average of 22% increase every time I move jobs, this includes being promoted within the same organisation.  

For context and transparency since graduating I have worked at 7 employers spending on average 2 years in each role. This does not include any jobs I did whilst attending university completing my first degree.  

Even as a graduate, I negotiated from the initial offer of 50k to 55k (2008) because I knew not to accept the first offer. I was also aware that I had a bonus program as part of my salary, so I could maximise my earnings. How did I know that I could negotiate my first role? I did some research.  I looked at graduate jobs in the same field, graduate jobs in other industries and I read about never taking the first offer and I talked to a recruiter to understand the parameters of negotiation. I also understood how much money I needed for my living expenses and future financial goals.  

Some top tips for negotiating your salary in your next role in a new organisation:

• Know the ballpark range for the role (if you don’t know this, find it out or ask yourself why you are applying?) 
• Research, research, and more research. Contact a recruiter, look at similar job adverts and talk to people in your industry 
• On top of the base salary, find out if there are any other bonuses, perks or ways to make your income stretch 
• Personally, I wouldn’t move to a new organisation for less than 10—15% you as must quantify the change, increase in effort and workload – so make it worth your while 
  
  

Negotiating a salary increase for the promotion in your existing organisation: 

• Remember that you have the leverage here! They want to promote you! Don’t subscribe to any corporate or HR BS around ‘standard’ pay rise % or increments when you are internally promoted. Everything is negotiable!  
• Refer to your positive performance reviews, value that you have added to date demonstrating tangible improvements and outcomes created by your efforts  
• Similar to the above advice, research, research and more research. Look at similar job adverts, talk to people in your industry and contact a recruiter – they can give you a feel for the market and the level of demand for your skills and expertise.