Brianna Doe used to be terrified of salary negotiations — so much so, that she'd avoid asking for a raise, even if it meant leaving thousands of dollars on the table.
"Early in my career, I had a job offer rescinded in less than 24 hours after I asked for more money," the 30-year-old marketing director tells CNBC Make It. "It traumatized me a bit. I started to doubt what value I was bringing to the table."
Doe didn't realize she could be earning more until last year, while she was working remotely as a marketing manager at a Web3 startup in Phoenix.
She had applied to a few marketing jobs on LinkedIn during one slow afternoon at work, and a recruiter called her to discuss one of the opportunities.
"When I told her what my current salary was, she was horrified," Doe recalls. "She told me I should be earning at least $80,000-$90,000 more than what I was making, based on my skillset and experience."
At the time, Doe was earning about $75,000, according to financial documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.
That conversation alone was enough motivation for Doe to start taking the job search more seriously, and re-think her approach to salary negotiation.
Six weeks later, Doe landed a role that paid more than double her previous salary, about $155,000. Here's how she did it:
A 'life-changing' job search hack
Before she applied to other marketing manager and director-level roles, Doe researched salaries for different marketing positions using a free, crowdsourced database published online by #HireBlack, a job search platform that offers career resources for Black women.
Doe evaluated those numbers against her pay and asked her co-workers and friends how much they were earning to see how their salaries matched up.
Armed with research, Doe came up with a target salary range to guide her job search. "I automatically disqualified companies that weren't offering at least $150,000," she says. "Instead of entertaining companies that wouldn't value me the way I deserved, I focused on finding organizations that would."
She only applied to roles that included a salary range in the description that matched her expectations or had salary information shared anonymously by employees on places like ZipRecruiter and Glassdoor. She applied to roles on remote job boards like We Work Remotely, so she could continue working from home in Phoenix.
Doe says only applying to jobs with clear salary ranges that aligned with her expectations was a "life-saving" approach she wish she had taken sooner.
"That alone, just cutting off any opportunities that didn't align with my salary expectations, was incredibly liberating," she says. "Even in interviews and conversations with hiring managers, I rapidly became more confident on what I brought to the table."
Instead of entertaining companies that wouldn't value me the way I deserved, I focused on finding organizations that would.Brianna Doe
In February 2022, Doe received an offer to be a remote senior marketing manager at a company that specializes in computerized manufacturing. She was floored when the recruiter called with a proposed salary of $155,000, $5,000 higher than what she had asked for, and $80,000 than her pay at the time. She quit her job and started working there in March 2022.
Earlier this year, Doe was recruited to be a remote marketing director at a fintech startup. She used the same market research and negotiation tactics she learned during her initial job search to land a $15,000 pay increase before accepting the role, which she started in March.
Within two years, Doe went from earning $75,000 to nearly $200,000. (She doesn't want to publish her exact salary in case it's used against her in future negotiations.)
'A successful salary negotiation starts with confidence'
Before negotiating the salary for her current role, Doe sought advice from a seasoned marketing pro she connected with on ADP List, a free networking platform that connects mentors and mentees across different industries.
That mentor shared a piece of advice with her that Doe believes everyone should hear: "If you're interviewing for a job or given an offer, it's for a reason, you have skills that make you valuable to your employer — but you're not doing this for free," Doe recalls.
"What you're bringing to the company will positively impact them and change the trajectory of their business, so advocate for yourself accordingly."
More than anything, "a successful salary negotiation starts with confidence," she adds. "Even when I had 10 years of marketing experience, there were times I spoke about my accomplishments and carried myself like I was just starting out ... but being clear on your needs and knowing your value in your profession makes it so much easier to get what you deserve."
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This 28-year-old ignored warnings about job-hopping and doubled her salary to $186K in 5 years
