Salary Story: After COVID I Got My Dream 125k Promotion

Illustrated by SEUNG WON CHUN.

In our series Salary Stories, women with long-term career experience open up about the most intimate details of their jobs: compensation. It’s an honest look at how real people navigate the complicated world of negotiating, raises, promotions and job loss, with the hope it will give young women more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.

Been in the workforce for at least five years and interested in contributing your salary story? Submit your information here. Published stories receive £100.

Age: 32
Location: London, UK
Current industry and job title: Mining and Metals, Director
Current salary: £125,000 + bonus
Number of years employed since school or university: 10

Starting salary: £25,500 in 2011
Biggest salary jump: £78,000 to £125,000 in 2021
Biggest salary drop: Not happened

Biggest negotiation regret: I regret not negotiating the salary offered to me in my very first job out of university. I was excited to have been offered a job in the first place, having been a student of the recession years. I was also keen to get all the paperwork wrapped up before I went off travelling for a month after my degree. I ended up regretting rushing that process for the next three years as I later found out that a guy who got recruited at the same time as me did negotiate and for the entire time I was at the company earned more than me for the same role.

Best salary advice: Always negotiate but do so in a considerate and informed way. I really regret not doing it for my first job offer but quickly learned my lesson. Now I'm in a role where I'm hiring people and making job offers and I always expect people to come back to the table and negotiate. I actually think it's a really important skill to have!