How Savvy PhDs Negotiate Higher Salaries

Join Isaiah as he presents the steps you need to follow to ensure you’re successful in your negotiations and secure a higher salary

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

• First, Isaiah explains why having an academic mindset prevents PhDs from getting higher salaries.
• Next, Isaiah discusses the importance of understanding the psychology behind salary negotiations and how you can use it to your advantage
• Finally, Isaiah highlights some industry etiquette you should always follow during salary negotiation to ensure you’re paid your worth

From This Week’s Show… 

Why You’ll Never Get The Salary You Deserve If You Have An Academic Mentality

If you’re in academia, chances are you were offered a salary or stipend when you first started and that was it.

No negotiations. No, “we’ll see what we can do.” And I bet  that you’re still making close to that amount, even after years of hard work.

The problem is, if you carry this “I’ll take whatever I can get” mentally into industry, you’re going to ruin your chances of getting paid what you deserve.

How PhDs Can Use Psychology To Get Higher Salaries

When it comes time to negotiating your salary, keep in mind that the psychological advantage lies on the offering side of the table. They are extending you an offer; that means they have other options.

To shift the advantage to yourself, you should pursue options of your own. That means that you should have multiple interviews lined up.

The more companies you have interested in you, the more a company will be interested in you. Does that make sense? This will not only bolster your confidence, it’ll show them that there’s competition out there.

Another interesting fact is that requesting an absurd amount of money can increase the amount that a company will offer.

In a study of the University of Idaho, job candidates requested either a reasonable amount, or an absurd amount (for instance, $1 million dollars) in a joking tone.

The results of this experiment found that candidates who joked about a huge salary were offered salaries that were about 9% higher than those offered to candidates who asked for a reasonable amount.

If you’re not the type to joke, ask about the average house prices in the area to bring up higher numbers that will then serve to anchor your salary higher.

The Industry Etiquette Behind Getting Higher Salaries

Make sure you don’t bring up salary first and when the employer does provide you with their initial offer, refrain from jumping on it.

An immediate “yes” will significantly reduce your standing with the employer. They’ll immediately think, oops – “this person is desperate” and “we paid too much.”

Instead, approach it as if you were buying a used car. What’s the best way to drive the cost down? By acting shocked at the sticker price.

In the same way, when employers provide you with their initial offer, you should flinch or look surprised. This may feel uncomfortable but it’s necessary to keep employers honest and even.

Once you’ve anchored high, allowed the interviewers to make the first offer, and showed them that their initial offer isn’t enough. It’s your move.

You should counter with more than you’re willing to accept. This way, you make room for compromise.

For instance, if a company is offering you $100,000, and you’re hoping to make $110,000, you should request $120,000. This way, the company feels that they’ve won in part since, in the end, you accepted less than what you initially proposed.

If you’re ready to start your transition into industry, you can apply to book a free Transition Call with our founder Isaiah Hankel, PhD or one of our Transition Specialists. Apply to book a Transition Call here.