Salary Story: Contracting, Not Permanent Work, Gave Me The Leg-Up I Needed
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.
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Age: 30 Location: Surrey Current industry and job title: Digital marketing manager, automotive Current salary: £59,000 Number of years employed since school or university: Eight (I took a year out to travel and live in Australia 2015-16).
Starting salary: £19,000 in 2012 Biggest salary jump: £35,000 to £51,000 Biggest salary drop: N/A
Biggest negotiation regret: I didn’t question my current salary too much. The role was advertised as £50,000 and I wanted £65,000. It’s a contract role and they had to get sign-off from European head office for the salary but they offered £59,000. I was disappointed but the job and company is an incredible opportunity so I weighed up the options and decided to play the long game.
Best salary advice: Know your worth and stick to your guns. Don’t let people tell you you’re not worth a certain amount. If you’re getting calls or speaking to recruiters about jobs in a certain pay bracket, then you’re worth it. Always strive for more.
Don’t be afraid to contract! Contracting helps build a range of skills quickly in different industries and areas, and the money is generally better. I thoroughly believe I am where I am because of the skills I learned while contracting.
To me, getting a job post-university (not having had success applying for grad schemes) was a numbers game. I was determined to be employed. I didn’t have any inclination towards the industry or marketing specifically but with experience it felt like a good fit so I guess I kind of fell into it.
I actually accepted a role for £16,000 prior to accepting the bid exec role but retracted my acceptance when the hiring manager accused me of misspelling my own name on my CV (a prejudice I have endured throughout my life and career). When I was offered the job in London for £1,000 over the advertised rate and £3,000 more than the other position I was so excited. I was finally on my way to living and working in London and despite bid-writing being boring as hell, I learned so much and put my all into that job. I’m still friends with many colleagues from that job now.
This wasn’t technically a promotion. I asked for an increase because my student loan payments started coming out in the April of 2013 at £30 a month and at the time that was a week’s shopping. I asked my head of marketing for a raise in salary to market rate (about £22,000 at the time) for the job, especially as I had started taking on more marketing work. He changed my job title to marketing & bid executive, my salary went up by £1,000 (cheers for that) and I started looking for a new job.I hated my manager at my first job (we just did not get on at all) and I had been flirting with the idea of moving into client services. I couldn’t believe my luck when I landed an account manager job for £24,000 – I could now afford to live. Unfortunately I worked out pretty quickly that this was not the right job for me, VERY technical, VERY little training and I did not have enough experience in business to carry this job out properly.Believe it or not, I was made redundant from my account management job when the company lost its largest account. It was for the best and I landed a new contract as a marketing executive the day I left. It was a little scary as my ex and I had already decided to go travelling and committed to booking the flights so it was a relief landing the contract. I was able to continue saving with a little increase in salary, too (on £18 per hour).I was actually offered the permanent role at the last contract but had to tell them I was going travelling. I had planned to stay for the remaining few months before flying out to Asia but got a call about another contract, closer to home (and on the right side of London for me) and for more money (at £20 per hour). It was a no-brainer when they offered me the job. I was offered the permanent role here as well but also had to tell them I was going travelling in three months – it was a three-month contract so I had no qualms about taking the job.Back from Asia and Australia, engaged and looking to buy a house, which you could still do on a contract then. I didn’t even have to negotiate for this salary (£35,000) and when it was offered I couldn’t believe my luck. It was a long maternity contract, near 18 months, then I was offered the perm role. In that time I bought a house and got married. Then in 2019 I separated from my husband and needed an increase in salary. So after three years in a dream job, I had to make the decision to leave.This was a purely personal and financial move and it did not make me happy at all. The extra money (£44,000 + £6,000 cash car allowance) was GREAT and meant I could afford my own house (in a lovely part of Surrey) on a shared ownership scheme and really start a new life. The car allowance basically added another £500 each month onto my paycheque with no stipulation on the car I drove. But the job was horrible, the company culture was vile, my manager was fired after six months and barely anyone left through the front door. I spent my whole two years there looking to move into sales, which didn’t work out.My current job as a digital marketing manager is a dream company and for the first time in my career I am trusted, my experience is valued and I no longer have imposter syndrome – I know what I’m talking about. The role was advertised at £50,000, which is why I was shocked when they considered my CV at £65,000. After an amazing interview, they offered at £59,000 which just screams to me ‘salary grades’. I didn’t want to push my luck so I bit the bullet and accepted at £59,000 and I couldn’t be happier. I love my new job, my team and the company. It is a contract but I’m hoping to go perm as soon as possible.
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