Negotiating doesn't come naturally to me. I think it stems down to the fact that negotiating involves me asking for what I want/deserve. And the "asking" part is what deterred me. My mom can tell you that even when I was a young child, I never really asked for anything and she had to guess if I wanted a particular toy or treat. There's a certain level of fear in making myself vulnerable to rejection and I'm also concerned about the other party in that I don't want to burden them by asking too much.
So for the most part, I shied away from negotiating until I felt it was absolutely necessary. I noticed a shift in my thoughts when I realized that every single one of my negotiations required me to do some research. Now, as someone who loves learning and searching for the truth, doing research feels natural to me. Over time, I learned that if I’ve done my research and discovered the true value of of things, then negotiation turns into an opportunity to discuss what what I’ve learned through my research. Negotiating becomes less daunting when I look at it as simply revealing what may have been concealed.
I wanted to share three negotiation stories with you.
Shopping for my car: I honestly almost didn't negotiate when I was purchasing my car. You have to understand that my background is in pharmacy and it really irks me when people are looking for a bargain with our dispensing fee (you can read one of my older posts for more info on that) and so I kind of looked at negotiating with my vehicle purchase in the same lens. I didn't want to negotiate because I thought, well they also need to make a living at the car dealership and those people have families to support. I didn't realize that there's so much markup on vehicles and that they actually expect you to negotiate. Thank goodness for my friend's husband who did most of the negotiating for me. He researched how much my car costs and emailed multiple dealerships with my asking price. One responded that the specific car I was looking for was available in the lot and if I was willing to close the deal the next day then it was mine. I had to drive over 2 hours to purchase my car but it ended up being cheaper than the original quote I was given at the first dealership I went to despite having more features (ie. sunroof, extra safety features, etc). At the very end I asked if they would throw in winter mats and they gave it to me.
Securing my disability insurance premium: The insurance agent gave me an initial quote of over $135 per month for the type of disability insurance package I was looking for. I asked her if they have any discounts for new grads. She mentioned some type of escalator discount where the first 5 years had cheaper premiums but after 5 years, it would still be above $135/month. I told her that I went to a talk at school where the speaker mentioned that there is a 25% discount for new grads who buy disability insurance within the first year of graduation. She then said that she'll ask about that for me and that I would likely secure that discount. She wanted me to apply for the 3A class with a plan to upgrade to the 4A class in a few years (you can read my older post on disability insurance if want to know what classes mean). To make a long story short, it just didn't seem right to me. I was close to making a deal when I decided to do some more research. I found a document online where it clearly states that pharmacists are classified as 4A, meaning cheaper premiums. When I showed her the document, my premiums suddenly went down to about $83/month.
Salary and other work-related things: I didn't negotiate my salary during my interview. I felt that the offer was fair and I was grateful to get a job in an independent setting in my hometown. Over time I realized that there are things that I valued more than just my hourly rate. For example, I wanted my annual license renewal fee and professional liability insurance paid for by my employer. I also wanted some health benefits (specifically dental coverage). I talked to other colleagues to find out if these things can be covered by the employer and they said yes. All I had to do was ask. Did I ask right away? No. We experienced a tough time in the pharmacy and I felt bad asking when I knew things weren't going well. I thought of applying to another pharmacy just so I could negotiate the things I wanted but after much thought (because I really like the environment where I work), I decided to have a conversation with my employer first. He agreed to everything I presented to him and more. In preparation for my meeting with my employer regarding compensation, I researched the typical salary of a pharmacist in my area (by googling it as well as asking other colleagues). Given that I've gained almost 2 years of experience, I felt it was fair to ask for an increase. I also compiled a list of things I've done that added value to the pharmacy practice (in case I needed to prove anything but I didn't have to use it). In the end, my employer agreed to increase my salary, pay for my license and liability insurance plus membership to our provincial association and provide dental coverage. It made me wonder if he was willing to give me all of it all along had I asked during my interview.
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