This week on #bufferchat, our community had an in-depth discussion on salaries, from best salary negotiation tips to predictions for the future of salaries. Read on to discover all of the awesome insights shared during the chat!
Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, at TWO times every Wednesday for valuable industry insights and to meet hundreds of other smart marketers and social media enthusiasts. Same topic, same place, just at different times – feel free to join in to whichever chat time works best for you!
4 pm AEDT (Sydney time)
9 am PT (San Francisco time)
This week’s stats:
Bufferchat #1 (4 pm AEDT): 20 participants; reach of 969,648
Bufferchat #2 (9 am PT): 65 participants; reach of 2,830,175
Q1: How would you feel if you had a transparent salary?
From the community:
A1: I personally like that my salary is open for other employees. There’s such a stigma when it comes to talking about your salary, but I feel that it makes things less complicated when everything is out in the open. #bufferchat https://t.co/TZ3EKhtCLS
— Natasha West (@NatashaWest_) December 6, 2017
A1. Being that some of my business is seasonal and I am the owner, it could be a bit misleading depending on the economic quarter. #BufferChat
— Dr. Dorrie Cooper (@sittingpretty61) December 6, 2017
A1 I’m sure I’d get used to it, but I’m old school, so I don’t want people knowing what my salary is. And I don’t need to know theirs. #bufferchat
— Martin Lieberman (@martinlieberman) December 6, 2017
A1: I feel good with that ? In my company everyone earns the same, no matter the position or level or origin. So I know what everyone else earns and they know what I get. It’s decided through a formula, that’s created by everyone. #bufferchat
— Dan Kaufhold (@dan_kaufhold) December 6, 2017
See all the great answers to question 1 here!
Q2: Do you have anyone you talk to about your salary?
From the community:
A2. Actually now that I think about it, I’ve discussed my salary openly at every company I’ve worked at. I want to make sure that I am, and my coworkers are, making a fair salary for our skill level and responsibilities. #bufferchat
— Anna Taylor (@annactaylor15) December 6, 2017
A2) Yes. There is a forum of other women in tech and journalism I belong to. We talk about salaries all of the time. Since we use a lot of contractors, we have to stay up to date on what the going rates are. #bufferchat https://t.co/9H9pbQXwI5
— What Box Strategies (@WhatBoxStrategy) December 6, 2017
A2 Besides my partner and inmediate family (mother and brother), no… I have always worked in a culture of secrecy to protect management decisions. #bufferchat
— Diana Pereira (@DianaPereiraC) December 6, 2017
A2: Friends, family and some colleagues who are comfortable disclosing with me. I don’t see a reason to keep my salary a close-guarded secret amongst those who could benefit from the knowledge #bufferchat
— Elliott O’Brart (@EOBuk) December 6, 2017
See all the great answers to question 2 here!
Q3: What are your best salary negotiation tips?
From the community:
A3. Stand firm. If you are great at what you do, your work shows it, your portfolio shows it and your clients give you great references then you know you’re worth it! #bufferchat
— SL Thomas (@BeautyBiche) December 6, 2017
A3: Wow. Super question, I have great tips:
1. Do your research. Within the company and the relevant sector.
2. Come prepared with a number in mind, when asked.
3. Notice if the requirements include specified salary to avoid confusion.#bufferchat pic.twitter.com/bEjoafpCa3
— Benny Gelbendorf (@BGelbendorf) December 6, 2017
A3: By knowing yourself and skill level first… bringing confidence and competency is huge! #bufferchat
— KitchenTableFinances (@KitTabFin) December 6, 2017
A3 Research (know comps in your area), have 2 numbers: what you ask for, what your absolute bottom is (for the right role), and what you’d be happy with. Use your research to inform those numbers and know when to walk #bufferchat
— The Budget Backpack (@TheBdgtBckpck) December 6, 2017
See all the great answers to question 3 here!
Q4: Do you have any resources you use to see what your salary could or should be?
From the community:
A4: I usually ask friends who are in a similar field what the salary range is or i’d make a cold call with some inquires to Human Resource Management #bufferchat
— Enricka Julien (@EnrickaJ) December 6, 2017
A4: Tip: Also look at salaries for titles that are slightly different from yours. Job titles aren’t standardized.
A job with responsibilities that fit yours might be listed as something else on Glassdoor, Payscale, etc. (and might have a higher reported salary) #bufferchat
— Dera Feluce Navidad (@DeraLuce) December 6, 2017
A4: Besides a couple online resources (Glassdoor, Payscale, Indeed, etc.) I usually talk to my peers who are in similar roles or industries to see where I fit in to the spectrum. #bufferchat pic.twitter.com/0RDSbHSic2
— Geneva Hayward (@gen10hay) December 6, 2017
A4: @Glassdoor is a great place to start. Also don’t be afraid to ask people online who have similar job titles. Compare numbers in surrounding areas, maybe even check out @buffer‘s new salary calculator ? #bufferchat https://t.co/Y0xfkqoeKi
— Social Coasting (@SocialCoasting) December 6, 2017
See all the great answers to question 4 here!
Q5: Have you worked for a company with specific salary policies, such as not discussing salaries?
From the community:
A5: I have not. ?Probably would not want to work there if they want to keep things so tight. Not a good impression. From a professional standpoint, what else would they want me not to talk about?
#BufferChat
— Raul Rovira ❄️ (@RaulARovira) December 6, 2017
A5: I’ve never worked at place with a policy but it was mentioned to me not to discuss it or generally an unspoken thing to not talk about salaries. I’ve never worked for a company that listed salaries. #bufferchat
— Ambriss (@ambriss_) December 6, 2017
#A5 #Bufferchat: Informal policy, yes. Not written in the contract though.
— Mogul Tech (@MogulTechINT) December 6, 2017
#bufferchat A5: No policies about salary discussions anywhere I’ve worked. I’ve felt it’s been taboo to talk about it though. Just something that makes everyone uncomfortable so no one even mentions it
— Joe Coad II (@JoeCoadTwo) December 6, 2017
See all the great answers to question 5 here!
Q6: What do you think is the future of salaries? (Will we all be paid in bitcoin? Go back to bartering?)
From the community:
A6: it’s hard to predict! But I imagine more transparency and more emphasis on work-life balance benefits are going to be more prevalent than ever #bufferchat
— Lauren Blake (@_lblake) December 6, 2017
A6: Maybe eventually bitcoin…. hopefully the NEAR future is equality between men and women of equal strengths.
And like – let’s say everyone gets two full months of paid vacation built into their salary? Is this a wish list? I got off topic… #bufferchat
— Geneva Hayward (@gen10hay) December 6, 2017
A6: I think trading things like extra vacation, working from home, condensed hours and extra flexibility will feature in salary negotiations in future. I think people are realising money isn’t everything? #bufferchat
— Warwick Brown (@warwickabrown) December 6, 2017
A6: UBI (universal basic income) is a concept we need to explore, as automation will wreak havoc on our overall economy. #bufferchat
— Ryan Easttum (@easttum) December 6, 2017
See all the great answers to question 6 here!
Thank you so much to our awesome community for sharing such great insights in this chat!
Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!
Image sources: UnSplash
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