- Singapore Ministry of Manpower’s adjusted gender pay gap (GPG) report of 2018 revealed women are paid 6% less than men on average.
- Glassdoor did a similar report by comparing the average base pay of Singaporean men and women who reported their salary on Glassdoor. Men made $71,631 per year compared to women’s average salary of $61,653. That’s a 12.8% difference!
Why is it important to negotiate your salary as a woman in Singapore?
Inevitably, you’ll think of excuses to avoid an uncomfortable situation, like “Hey, I don’t want to set high expectations — what I am getting is good enough.” or “Won’t I come across greedy — someone who wants more money before providing any value?” or “What if the company doesn’t have the budget?” or…or…
Stop!
You’ll regret it later if you don’t ask now. Here are some reasons why you need to negotiate salary as a woman in Singapore:
- You know you are underpaid: Even though you won’t admit you are underpaid, deep-down, you know it. And when you know it, you don’t feel excited about the work, and it refrains you from unlocking your full potential.
- Your current salary will follow your next job: Typically, new employers offer a salary based on your previous salary. So, not only will it affect your income in the short term, but the impact will follow (& compound) throughout your career unless you negotiate. E.g., If you are paid $50,000, and the new employer pays 20% more, it will be $60,000. If your next employer also pays 20% more, you’ll get $72,000. However, if you had negotiated it to 30% more, you’d have got $65,000 in the new job and nearly $85,000 in the next one.
- The company might actually appreciate it: It shows the employer that you know your value and are confident about what you bring to the table. That matters more to any business than a few $$$$.
- You desire (and deserve) more money! Want to buy that car, go on that vacation, provide quality education for your children? If you don’t ask, you don’t get it.
- It adds to the collective effort of closing the pay gap. Ending the gender pay gap to zero is a long journey that starts with a single step.
8 things to know before a salary negotiation
Now that it’s settled you are ready to negotiate your salary, let’s start with the essentials. You must know these things before you enter a salary negotiation:
1. Know they want you
Here’s how a typical recruitment process goes:
- The recruiter announces the job on social media, job boards, the company site, etc.
- They receive 100s of applicants for the job.
- All applications go through a screening process.
- The hiring officer shortlists candidates for a test. Hopefully, you are one of them.
- Then, you are invited to give a job-related test. In many cases, you are asked to give multiple tests.
- If you perform well in tests, they call you for an interview.
- Only during and/or after a successful interview comes the time to negotiate salary.
The fact that they asked you for your desired salary or gave an offer means you are closest to the ideal person for the job in their opinion. They already want you!
So, don’t think, “what if I am not the best fit and asking for more salary will lose me the job?” Think from their perspective — they’ll rather pay you more than choosing the second-best or repeating the whole recruitment process.
2. Know they expect you to negotiate
Recruiters and hiring managers know the statistics:
- 57% of employees do not ask for raise;
- A mere 34% of women try to negotiate a higher salary;
- Only 7% of women tried to negotiate their first salary (as per a study mentioned by Linda Babcock in her book Women Don’t Ask: The High Cost of Avoiding Negotiation–and Positive Strategies for Change).
Meaning, it’s highly possible the number mentioned in the initial offer is their try to get a quick discount or test if you know your value.
However, it doesn’t mean they don’t expect you to negotiate for more. In fact, quite the opposite. A Salary.com study found 84% of employers expect applicants to negotiate salary. The same study uncovered 87% of employers never canceled a job offer because of negotiations. And no employer ever demoted or fired an existing employee simply for asking for a raise.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, your willingness to negotiate shows them that you are clear of your expertise and the value you bring to the table.
3. Know your market value
If you are switching jobs or asking for a raise, you definitely want more than you already make. How much more can you ask is the central question in this situation. The best way to know it is by assessing your market value.
Your market value is determined based on your job title, experience, subject expertise & additional skills, and location. Typically, here’s how you find your market value:
- Match your job description to a benchmark job: See how much others in the industry with similar experience, expertise, and job responsibilities make. You can either ask someone you know (in real life or LinkedIn) or look at compensation information people share publicly on sites like PayScale and Glassdoor.
- Assess employer status: If you apply to a local company and benchmark your salary against someone with a similar role at an MNC, it might not be the best comparison. Make sure the other employer’s status is also similar when you assess your market value.
- Find your value in comparison to other employees: Not all jobs are created equal. If what you’ll be doing/you do for the company is 1.5x more valuable than someone handling another aspect of the business, you can roughly estimate your market value to be 1.5x that of his/her.
Once you know your market value, you can make your offer around that and even mention it if needed.
4. Know what they are willing to pay
Learning what the employer is willing to pay beforehand is a sure-shot way to negotiate the best possible salary. Here’s how you can come to an approximate figure:
- They know the market value: Like you know your market value, they also know how much an employee with your experience & expertise costs. Even though their initial offer might be less than the market value, they are ready to pay the compensation you could get if you decide to reject the offer.
- Recruiters mention it. Recruiters/hiring managers often mention a salary range in the job ad. If they do not emphasize what they are willing to pay — like “do not apply if you are not ready to accept the salary” — there’s room for negotiation. If you are really good at what you do & can convey it effectively, you can ask for 10%-20% more than mentioned.
- What others receive: Most companies already have employees working for the same role you are applying to. Find some way to know what they get paid — even a rough figure is fine.
Now, ask for more than they are willing to pay, knowing full well that you’ll eventually be accepting the amount your research led you to.
5. Know what you want
Based on point-3 and point-4, have two numbers in mind:
- The ideal number: If you get this amount or more, you’d be ecstatic.
- The minimum number: If you get this amount or less, you’d be unhappy.
Try to be as near to the ideal number and as distant from the minimum number as possible.
6. Know you can say “No.”
If their offer remains under your minimum expected salary even after an extensive negotiation session, you can simply decline the offer. Here’s a sample text/script to decline the offer:
“Thank you for considering me for the XYZ position at ABC company. I appreciate that you spent your valuable time meeting with/calling me to discuss the job & negotiate the offering. Unfortunately, I will not be able to accept this offer because I feel the compensation for doing the *job* does not align with my current professional goals. I hope you find your ideal candidate in one of the other wonderful applicants.”
Two things can happen after this:
- They renegotiate.
- They thank you for your time and move on with some other candidate.
7. Know your other options
Sometimes you don’t have any other options but to accept what they offer. Try to avoid being in such a situation.
Have a Plan B before you enter a negotiation. In fact, the interviewer might even ask, “What are your plans if you don’t get hired here?” And your answer to this question can influence which side the negotiation needle moves.
Say, you answer something like, “I’d love to work here, and it’s my first priority, but to mitigate risk & quote-unquote be practical, I have applied to L, M, N, O, and P companies and already have an offer from N & O sitting in my inbox. Depending on how it goes, I’ll reply to them later.” This shows your skills’ value in the market, and they know you can quickly decline their lowballed offer, forcing them to give a better number than they initially planned.
8. Know about the company
Researching the company is the most basic thing to do even before applying for the job, let alone reaching negotiations. You must be aware of company culture, mission, vision, value, what they do, who they serve, and how your role fits with all these things.
This information will help you both in the interview and salary negotiation. It shows you are excited about the company & are ready to contribute to the company growth, a trait that interviewers rate highly.
How to Negotiate Your Salary as a Woman in Singapore
After knowing everything you need to know before entering the negotiation process — including it’ll be hard for you to negotiate salary as a woman in Singapore — it’s time to take a deep breath and enter the ring.
Step-1. Stop!
Depending on the company’s process, you will either get an initial offer during the interview or after the interview (via email or phone call). Do not reply then and there, no matter how good the offer. Be like Gordon Gekko for a minute — sometimes, greed is good!
Most likely, you are offered less than they can offer. So, before jumping to a conclusion or giving an answer on an impulse, ask for some time to think it through. Ask politely: “I really appreciate you offering the position right now; if you don’t mind, I’d like to think it through & consult my family on this.”
Also, ask for some feedback on your interview performance. The more details you can get, the better.
Step-2: Analyze everything they said & plan a counteroffer
Till now, you must have gathered a lot of information on what they want and why they offered you the job. Analyze everything & understand your importance in the company and how you fit the big picture. Moreover, if you don’t know all the 8 things mentioned in the previous section by now, what are you waiting for?
With all the info, now, you might have a rough idea for a counteroffer. Typically, counteroffer slightly above the ideal number we mentioned in Point-5, Know what you want.
Think beyond base salary
Don’t mistake the ideal number for base salary. Look at the whole compensation package to build your counteroffer. Apart from the base salary, look for paid leaves, work from home occasions, insurance, complimentary travel options, equity option, free gym membership, retirement contribution, tuition reimbursement, relocation compensation, maternity leave, performance reward, discounts on company products (if any), etc.
Step-3. Practice
You don’t want to sweat, stammer, fumble, be under pressure, and make fear-based decisions that you’d regret after negotiations. Remember, you asked for more time to avoid precisely that.
What you want to have is a great conversation that gets you to your goal: more salary!
Practicing answers to probable questions and having your pitch ready is the easiest way to get what you want. Ask a friend or family member to take a mock interview. Don’t focus on just the words & sentences you build and the value-proposition you will present. Practice eye contact, posture, gestures, and other non-verbal communication aspects for maximum impact.
Also, pre-build a statement to answer the interviewer’s “So, what are you thinking?” to your “I think the compensation is on the lower side.”
Here’s a formula to build a great answer: Your strengths/expertise/experience + results your work has produced + how you can get them similar results (in other words, your value-proposition) + a number to start negotiation with. Let’s take an example of a candidate applying for a retail marketing manager job:
“You know, I have been in retail marketing for almost a decade now. I got Company A 12% top-line boost, then moved to Company B and helped them scale to 3 stores from 1. With all the experience, I believe I can bring at least a 10% increment to your bottom line, making you $$$$$$ extra YoY. So, I was thinking more like $85,000 (*your ideal number + %*).”
All in all, your goal here is to avoid being dumbfounded
Step-4: Walk in there with a positive attitude & maintain it
Your attitude and mindset will play a vital role in how you negotiate a great salary as a woman. You already know your value & have practiced extensively to avoid stupid mistakes. That’s great for your confidence.
On top of that, exercise on the interview morning, practice power pose, drink some coffee/tea, and walk in the room or get on the call with a big, confident smile.
During the whole conversation, stay positive, display excitement, be polite, and make sure you don’t point fingers at others to sell yourself. E.g., Instead of saying, “X guy gets Y amount, so why won’t I get it?”, say, “I was doing some research around the role and found Y amount is the industry standard. Also, a friend of mine works at *competition company* and mentioned the same when I asked him for some tips. I think I am capable enough for the role, given that I am sitting here in front of you. What do you think?”
Step-5. Negotiate
Ah, the time’s come. All that knowledge-gathering and practicing will reflect here.
- Greet everyone with a smile and practice handshake. Have the coffee if they offer it & they have it themselves.
- Transition to the central topic by sharing your slight disappointment with their offer & introduce your offer.
- Maintain clear & understandable voice, eye contact, good posture, and non-verbal movements.
- Be polite yet firm. Emphasize what you bring to the table. Mention other companies are approaching you to build a sense of urgency (if they are).
- Focus on other aspects they value more than paying the asked extra.
- Try to remain as close to your ideal number as possible.
- Try to negotiate benefits like an insurance for the whole family instead of just you.
All in all, be winnable!
Step-6: Ask them to confirm the hire officially
Finally, all your hard work paid off — you have a deal you desired. Well, not yet!
Unless they send the final offer letter & you sign it, nothing’s official yet. Depending on the size of the company, the letter can take time. Some parts of the negotiation can get lost in translation. E.g., that insurance plan you negotiated can be missed because the HR guy making the contract wasn’t there during the negotiation. So, make sure you get the precise documentation ASAP.
At the very least, ask the hirers to send you an email to confirm your position in the company.
Wrapping Up
GrabJobs is a recruitment platform and job site headquartered in Singapore. We know full well that the gender pay gap exists in Singapore (and the rest of the world), and we try our best to break employers’ biases and societal gender stereotypes to make it an equal field.
However, only we can’t demolish the pay gap difference. A major chunk of the remaining gap can only be eliminated by employed women because not negotiating salaries is currently the biggest reason behind the gap.
Women in Singapore need to get out of the historical fear that leads to comparatively fewer salary negotiations.
This article/guide consisting of salary negotiation tips for women was our effort to push in the right direction. We discussed things women (or men) must know before a salary negotiation, including:
- the reasons why you won’t lose the job because you declined the initial offer,
- exactly why the company won’t mind paying extra if you ask for more,
- what’s the askable salary,
- and other things that’ll make negotiating easier for you.
We also shared our step-by-step process & sub-processes to get that win.
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.
