I did something I had never done before: I countered.
I had done research, because I’m someone who does research. The range for an operations director role in this region, in this industry, was $62,000 to $78,000. I said I’d expected to be in that range for a director-level role, and asked if there was flexibility.
There was some negotiation. It stalled at $58,000. The second number they offered me was $58,000 and described as their final figure.
I asked for a day to think.
I thought about it. Not about whether I could live on $58,000 — I could — but about whether $58,000 was what my experience was worth and whether accepting it without further negotiation was the move of someone who understood her own value.
Sophie said: “They’ll respect you more if you know your floor.”
I said my floor was $65,000.
She said that was reasonable given the title and tenure.
I said I didn’t think they’d meet it.
She said, “Then you have your answer.”
I called Patricia and said I appreciated the opportunity but couldn’t accept below $65,000 for a director-level role, and asked if that was possible. She said she’d check. She came back the next day and said no.
I thanked her and withdrew.
This cost me something. Not catastrophically — I had runway — but the calculation of runway shortened in a way I felt. At the same time, something shifted. I had said what my work was worth, specifically and out loud, to a person with the authority to agree or disagree. That was different from a conference room where my work was described as administrative.