Salary Story: I Took A Job I Hated For £70,000 — Then Used It To Earn More Elsewhere
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: 35 Location: Essex Current industry and job title: Financial services, senior associate Current salary: £80,000 Number of years employed since school or university: 13
Starting salary: £15,000 in 2010 Biggest salary jump: £42,000 to £56,000 in 2020 Biggest salary drop: £180 per day to £0 in 2016
Biggest negotiation regret: My first contract job, I was extended every three months. Not once did I think to negotiate an increase in day rate to reflect my increased experience and I was there over 18 months.
Best salary advice: Be your own boss and give yourself the job title and raise you want by keeping an eye on the market and moving when you spot a good role that has the pay and/or title you want. Most employers will recruit external talent rather than promote you. Be just as ruthless.
I took the first job I was offered at £15,000 with no negotiation, having graduated in the middle of a recession. I left on £17,000 after a pay rise.I changed jobs after I realised my last job had an earnings ceiling, which I had reached after 18 months there. I was managing a team and cleaning up other people’s mess for an MD who was neither appreciative nor kind. I started job hunting the day I cried in the loos after a public telling-off for something I didn’t do. My new job paid £22,000.I signed up for an internship year abroad. I had been thinking about it since my last year of uni and finally bit the bullet. The organisers handled the placement and paid for accommodation. So the stipend of $900 a month was for bills and spending money.Back in the UK and the first role I found was a contract role. I quite liked getting paid weekly (I had a £140 day rate). However, I was very green to contracting and did not negotiate an increased day rate despite quarterly contract extensions and growing experience.My last contract ended as the business I worked in was sold and wound up. I found this role instead. I should have known something was up with this new contract when my extension was for an odd five months instead of three or six.When that contract ended I was out of work for almost a year. I went on 25 interviews, which meant endless actual applications that led nowhere. I joined this company in a new role to me but it meant I could build experience in a specific area of the industry. They went through a merger shortly afterwards and the culture changed. My manager wasn’t supportive of my progression within the company, which was very frustrating. At the point of leaving, my salary was £42,000 after a pay rise. I joined a huge global bank right at the start of the pandemic. Due to uncertainty around onboarding during the lockdown, for my first month I wasn’t onboarded but was still paid. The company was great and I learned loads but again, progression looked impossible without very long service and sacrifice that I wasn’t in a position to make, due to being a new parent. My salary increased every year I was here, reaching £60,500.I was approached by a former client in a previous job. It all looked good on paper and I was able to negotiate more suitable working hours and a reduction of my probation period from six to three months. It was, however, a shambles once I joined and I was looking for something else before finishing the first month.I interviewed for a few jobs and quickly found out the company I was working for had a terrible reputation in the market. They are notorious for paying some of the highest salaries in the industry to attract people but have terrible retention. This job offered a further pay rise to £80,000 and I asked for a sign-on bonus as handing my notice in would mean missing out on the bonus at the current place. They offered a 15% bonus instead, up from 6%.
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