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Coach
A story I heard from a Project Manager – Tech Company
“During my first corporate PM role, they asked what I was currently making. I told them honestly—and they matched it. I found out later the role typically paid $15k more. I should’ve redirected the question and anchored higher.”
Lesson: Never base your worth on your last paycheck. Anchor on the role’s value, not your past salary.
I think telling HR in my first screen call what I was looking for without getting advice from a recruiter first - I undersold myself by $10k vs market rate ( I was paid 30% less by prior employer, so it seemed like a big number to me). But, with the current climate employers are looking to underbid.
The same happened to me I had just graduated with Masters degree and was working at a middle school. Then got called for a government job so I jumped on it is did my interview with the team got called back they wanted to hire me and offered me what I thought was good salary but turns out a lot less than others got. I won't do that again!
Probably just accepting the first offer without challenging it. I wish I did more research on compensation for the role and market. I always look into now before going into job interviews so that I know my range and can confidently be competitive within the market.
Coach
Good info
There are times I regret saying yes to the offer. But I’m always kind of nervous about asking for an increase in pay. So I say yes to what I’m offered and have to live with my decision.
Coach
I’m nervous too when it comes to that
If asked in the interview, before I have a true idea in mind, I say that I would need to review the benefits package to know my out of pocket costs and how they would affect my budget.
If it’s an offer where it was not discussed, I still ask to see benefits package because they need to know and always research salary ranges and request the high end with reasoning related to my experience/skill set. Generally, I have been met in the middle ground.
My regrets are what I did or did not say about other types of interview questions / how I answered or if I stumbled 🤦🏻♀️