When I was a 21 year old optimistic and green marketer, I had my first salary negotiation.
I was already working as an intern at this company, and they told me they wanted to make me an offer to come on full-time with them.
I was ecstatic. My dream was finally coming true.
I had read some books on negotiation and knew some basic advice like “never throw out the first number.” So I figured I’d be fine. And honestly, I would have been happy with just about anything.
So when I sat down with a senior executive and was presented two salary options, I was happy to compare them.
“We can offer you a salary of $50k/yr plus a $10k bonus at the end of the year, OR… we can offer you a $55k/yr salary plus a $5k bonus” they told me.
The total comp was essentially the same, but there were no guarantees of future bonuses. And I remembered reading that I should always take the compensation package that has the higher salary, all else equal, because it’s guaranteed. Pretty obvious, right?
“What’s the bonus based on?” I asked out of curiosity.
“It’s a personal performance evaluation. No one’s not gotten their bonus to be honest with you. [Other employee] just got his and he’s happy he went with that option.”
I was already stoked about the $55k/yr option so I didn't even try to truly negotiate for something better.
“I appreciate both options but I’m going to take the $55k/yr plus $5k bonus option.”
Then, the unexpected happened. The executive began to try to convince me to take the other option with the smaller salary and larger bonus. I asked why and was told that their recommendation is it’s a better way for me to save money and that my salary will be re-evaluated at the end of the year anyway, which would likely end up being much higher than $55k/yr.
After a bit of back and forth, I insisted that I still wanted to go with my chosen $55k/yr + $5k option. They then insisted that not taking the $10k would help the company out and that I should really consider being a team player.
So I relented. I folded and chose the $50k/yr + $10k option.
Fast forward to the end of the year and I ask about the timing of the bonus. This executive dodges it for a few weeks and then finally pulls me into a room to talk.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t give you your bonus. The company didn’t hit our targets and no one is getting the bonus they wanted.”
I was devastated. As a perpetually broke recent college grad, I was looking forward to finally having a bit of padding in my bank account.
“But you said it was based on personal performance, not company performance” I countered.
“I’m sorry, I don’t remember that. But I can tell you that you’re not the only one disappointed.”
After a bit of uncomfortable silence, I pleaded that I was depending on that money and that it was promised in my offer. They said they’d check to see if they could work something out, but nothing ever came of it.
Furious, I went and dug up my offer letter in my email to escalate it to HR.
The offer letter didn’t say anything about a bonus. I had skimmed through it and signed without verifying. And at that moment, I realized I had bamboozled myself.
Get it in writing, or you might have to write it off.
