Women, Work, Salary Negotiation & The F Word! - Women's Agenda

Women, Work, Salary Negotiation & The F Word!

While the F word can sum up the current situation when it comes to pay inequality for women, I prefer a more inspiring take on the topic.

Some years ago I was introduced to the 3 F’s of Salary Negotiation, which I have evolved to the 4 F’s.

1.    Fun

2.    Fame

3.    Fortune

4.    Flexibility

If you think about your current job or your next job in relation to the 4 F’s, it offers a pretty good indicator whether the job is worth doing! 

Fun: while self-explanatory in some senses, all too often as the years go by in our work life we can lose the sense of fun. The most important aspect of fun is are you actually enjoying doing the role itself. Or, if considering the next role, does it tick the boxes that are important for you to enjoy your work.  Aside from the role itself, fun can look like many different things for different people. It includes having social colleagues and Friday night drinks, or working with colleagues you can laugh with. Whatever it looks like to you, make sure you get a good dose of it from any job you are doing. Relationships at work that make it a fun place to work are crucial for us experiencing a positive work life.  How much fun is your job providing you?

Fame: sometimes in our careers we take on a new job for more strategic reasons, be it a better job title to leverage for your subsequent career move, or to work in an organisation that has a high profile brand name. Alternatively, it may be to work with a leader in your field, develop the right networks or to develop a particular skill set that you know will benefit you in your career. Whatever the reason, being clear about what the role offers you in the context of ‘fame’ is not to be underestimated. Identify if your current and/or prospective role offers you the ability to build your ‘fame’.

Fortune: ideally you want a role that provides you with an attractive remuneration package, whatever the ideal package looks like to you. For examples a good base salary above market rate, additional leave, individual bonus, and flexibility. At a minimum If the role is not paying the median salary and does not offer any additional salary package extras why are you doing the job?

Flexibility: most of us want a role that offers flexibility, whether we have children, aging parents to care for or we enjoy additional time to pursue our hobbies and don’t want to spend most of our lives at work. Flexibility means different things to different people. The important thing is to define what it means to you and ensure your job is aligned with this.  If your role offering you the flexibility you require to the right balance in your worklife? 

When it comes to the 4 Fs at a minimum you should look for at least 2 out of the 4 F’s. If not, it may be time reconsider if you are working in the right place and/or its time to renegotiate your contract terms! For each of the 4 Fs write down what they would ideally look like for you in your next role. 

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