Tagged Negotiate:

Negotiation expert Jim Hopkinson gives us a serious primer on how to handle the “Desired Salary:____” question— whether you’re applying at a massive multinational corporation or a totally unknown startup.

Fill in the blank.

When it’s time to negotiate salary, I feel ____________________.
What answer came to mind— nervous? Unprepared? Empowered? Nauseous?

People go through a range of feelings when it’s time to talk money. While some know their value and confidently view an interview as a chance to prove their worth and get paid what they deserve, many others feel intimidated and don’t know exactly what to say. The goal of this column will be to cover the tips and tricks around salary talk.

Today we’ll talk about what to write in the blank when asked about salary on an application form.

First, imagine an experience interviewing for positions within a large corporation. It’s easy to picture the scene: you’re wearing your best suit and sitting in the lobby of Human Resources. Someone hands you a clipboard with an application and says “fill this out.” You fly through the basics such as personal information, work history, and special skills, but then you see it:
Desired salary:  ________________


At a startup, things might be more casual. Perhaps the question appears at the end of an email:


Let me know what you were thinking in terms of salary:  ________________________


Most people have an idea of what they want to earn, but before you start writing, understand that this is a very critical question. If you put a number that is too high or too low, you risk immediately being screened out before you even get to a second or third interview. Additionally, the number you write could form the basis for which all future salary discussions are based.


We’ll cover specific negotiation techniques in future articles, but one of the most effective tactics is to allow the employer to reveal their number first. Obviously completing this fill-in-the-blank question would put you at a disadvantage. So what to do?

To be discussed

The best thing to write at this time is “To be discussed during interview.”
The reason you should write this is because you haven’t even started the interview process and don’t know all the details of what the job entails. The reason you should believe this is because it is true.


Negotiating salary is a tactical game, but it is also a mental game, meaning you have to believe in what you are saying. Sure, you might have read a job description online, but there are so many things that could become apparent during the interview.


What is the company like? What exactly would I be responsible for? Who would I report to? What are the hours? And so forth.


At a corporate job, you might find out that there is more responsibility and more travel than expected, and you’d want a higher salary to reflect that. At a startup, you could learn that the average person works at least 12 hours per day, including some weekends. If you’re expected to do that as well, the money better be worth it. If you write your desired salary as $50,000 based on a 40 hour week, that works out to about $25 an hour. However, if the workload creeps into 70 hour per week territory, suddenly your rate is closer to $14.


But you won’t know that until it is “discussed during the interview.”


On the other hand, you could find out that the corporate job has amazing benefits worth thousands of dollars, and you’d be working for a fantastic boss who could serve as your career mentor.  At a startup, there may be stock options with huge potential, and after seeing a demo, you realize this is your dream job. In both cases, you might be willing to take a lower salary because of the additional benefits.


Again, you won’t know that until it is “discussed during the interview.”
When discussing this topic, two concerns invariably come up. The first is from people that are afraid that the hiring person will be angry with them if they don’t fill out the form. The second is from people who are filling out these applications online, and the field requires them to enter a specific number, forbidding them from typing in any text.

The ideal answer

The best way to get around these forms is to avoid them in the first place.
Studies have shown that upward of 80% of jobs are secured through networking. Eighty percent! When you apply for jobs online or through job boards, you are often competing against hundreds or thousands of other candidates, so companies use this formal application process, including salary requirements, to weed people out.


However, when you spend your time seeking out companies that you really want to work for, then find a direct connection to someone that works there through a friend, family member, or co-worker, you build relationships and can often skip the screening process altogether, including filling in the blanks.
Jan 18
Negotiation expert Jim Hopkinson gives us a serious primer on how to handle the “Desired Salary:____” question— whether you’re applying at a massive multinational corporation or a totally unknown startup. Fill in the blank. When it’s time to negotiate salary, I feel ____________________.What answer came to mind— nervous? Unprepared? Empowered? Nauseous? People go through a range of feelings when it’s time to talk money. While some know their value and confidently view an interview as a chance to prove their worth and get paid what they deserve, many others feel intimidated and don’t know exactly what to say. The goal of this column will be to cover the tips and tricks around salary talk. Today we’ll talk about what to write in the blank when asked about salary on an application form. First, imagine an experience interviewing for positions within a large corporation. It’s easy to picture the scene: you’re wearing your best suit and sitting in the lobby of Human Resources. Someone hands you a clipboard with an application and says “fill this out.” You fly through the basics such as personal information, work history, and special skills, but then you see it:Desired salary:  ________________ At a startup, things might be more casual. Perhaps the question appears at the end of an email: Let me know what you were thinking in terms of salary:  ________________________ Most people have an idea of what they want to earn, but before you start writing, understand that this is a very critical question. If you put a number that is too high or too low, you risk immediately being screened out before you even get to a second or third interview. Additionally, the number you write could form the basis for which all future salary discussions are based. We’ll cover specific negotiation techniques in future articles, but one of the most effective tactics is to allow the employer to reveal their number first. Obviously completing this fill-in-the-blank question would put you at a disadvantage. So what to do? To be discussed The best thing to write at this time is “To be discussed during interview.”The reason you should write this is because you haven’t even started the interview process and don’t know all the details of what the job entails. The reason you should believe this is because it is true. Negotiating salary is a tactical game, but it is also a mental game, meaning you have to believe in what you are saying. Sure, you might have read a job description online, but there are so many things that could become apparent during the interview. What is the company like? What exactly would I be responsible for? Who would I report to? What are the hours? And so forth. At a corporate job, you might find out that there is more responsibility and more travel than expected, and you’d want a higher salary to reflect that. At a startup, you could learn that the average person works at least 12 hours per day, including some weekends. If you’re expected to do that as well, the money better be worth it. If you write your desired salary as $50,000 based on a 40 hour week, that works out to about $25 an hour. However, if the workload creeps into 70 hour per week territory, suddenly your rate is closer to $14. But you won’t know that until it is “discussed during the interview.” On the other hand, you could find out that the corporate job has amazing benefits worth thousands of dollars, and you’d be working for a fantastic boss who could serve as your career mentor.  At a startup, there may be stock options with huge potential, and after seeing a demo, you realize this is your dream job. In both cases, you might be willing to take a lower salary because of the additional benefits. Again, you won’t know that until it is “discussed during the interview.”When discussing this topic, two concerns invariably come up. The first is from people that are afraid that the hiring person will be angry with them if they don’t fill out the form. The second is from people who are filling out these applications online, and the field requires them to enter a specific number, forbidding them from typing in any text. The ideal answer The best way to get around these forms is to avoid them in the first place.Studies have shown that upward of 80% of jobs are secured through networking. Eighty percent! When you apply for jobs online or through job boards, you are often competing against hundreds or thousands of other candidates, so companies use this formal application process, including salary requirements, to weed people out. However, when you spend your time seeking out companies that you really want to work for, then find a direct connection to someone that works there through a friend, family member, or co-worker, you build relationships and can often skip the screening process altogether, including filling in the blanks.

Be Aggressive! B-E Aggressive… Right?

A new term has been floating around that describes a dilemma in which we PYPs sometimes find ourselves: “the backlash effect.” It’s a kind of paradox—to be successful, you must be assertive and confident, but if you are aggressive as a woman you are sometimes punished for behaving in ways that are contrary to the feminine stereotype. There is academic thought around the backlash avoidance phenom, and there is evidence that fear of backlash inhibits activation of a goal-focused, locomotive regulatory mode, which subsequently interferes with self-promotion success for women in a way that doesn’t affect men.

So what about this ‘feminine stereotype’ do we need to know, or need to avoid? First comes Backlash:

Frank Flynn, a business school professor now at Stanford, decided to try an experiment with one of his classes to investigate the perception of successful women versus men. He started with a Harvard Business School Case about Heidi Roizen, a well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Changing “Heidi” to “Howard,” he created an alternative version of the case. Randomly distributing the two gendered versions, he asked his students to go online before class to rate their impressions of “Roizen.” Across the board, the students rated Heidi much harsher than they rated Howard, citing that they didn’t like her, they wouldn’t hire her, and they wouldn’t want to work with her – because she was aggressive. Moreover, “the more aggressive they thought she was, the more they hated her,” Flynn stated about the experiment. Although students believed Heidi to be just as competent, they found Heidi to be less humble, more power hungry, and more self-promoting than Howard. Clearly aggression alone isn’t the golden ticket to success in any workplace.

Being Passive

Passivity is a trademark of Backlash Avoidance: that when faced with an opportunity to self-promote, many of us PYPs find ourselves holding back our impulses to take credit for work we’ve done or accomplishments we value. At some point or another, we have all exhibited “feminine” stereotypes and socialization, casting ourselves as the nice girl, the nurturer, the rule follower, the morale booster. Yet, research shows that women who exhibit ultra–feminine traits are actually seen as less competent in traditional managerial settings. There is no evidence that “acting like a lady” does anything for a woman’s career other than make her well-liked.

Linda Babcock of Carnegie Mellon studied salary differentials between men and women who did and did not negotiate their salaries. The finding was startling—even though she surveyed a cohort that was purely MBAs, only 7% of female candidates negotiated on the employer’s initial salary offer. 57% of their male counterparts negotiated their salaries. A little more aggression and a little less passivity would certainly help us PYPs get ahead here!

Being Assertive

If being passive means doing too little, and being aggressive means risking negative backlash, being assertive is just right.

Being assertive is more an exercise in balance than it is a stand-alone set of behaviors – the art of knowing when to be passive and when to be aggressive. Therefore, the key to being assertive is self monitoring. Another recent Stanford study found that the most successful women exhibit what they call “masculine” traits (aggression, confidence, and assertiveness), but know when to turn these traits on and off. Women who can adapt these characteristics and control their use have a powerful tool: they are chameleons who have mastered the ability to effectively assess and adapt to changing situations and social norms. Let’s take a few examples:

  • In meetings, assertive women know when to listen and when to speak up. If you never say anything, you can’t add value. But answering every question or contributing your two cents to every topic dilutes your perspective.
  • Assertive women are positive, but not too positive. You should always keep a positive outlook and tone, especially when communicating to superiors. But watch for the treacherous “pep overload” factor. Tone down the exclamation marks and emoticonage, and you’ll avoid the cheerleader pigeonhole.
  • In emails, assertive women are direct and succinct. You need context, but probably not as much as you think you need. For formal communications, consider limiting the extra “friendly” text of “how is your family?” and “I’ve been working on XYZ project.” That said, don’t become the Terminator. Be warm! But don’t let it detract from the message.
  • Assertive women consider the effects of a discussion on their teams as well as themeselves. Being the martyr and staying up until 4 am to finish a project so the rest of the team can enjoy their Thursday night won’t always get you ahead, but delegating everything risks making you appear cold-hearted. Don’t ever forget to think about your needs (and your health), but don’t get caught up thinking of nothing but yourself.
  • In presentations, assertive women avoid diluting the message. Stay away from prefacing your opinions, making excuses for not knowing, and apologizing. Qualifiers can make you look weak; that said, sometimes a good qualifier is exactly what a conversation needs to keep you from looking like a complete know-it-all.

How does a PYP focus on mastering the art self-monitoring our way into being assertive? The best tips we can give you are to know your role, to understand how you are viewed, and to keep tabs on your reputation. Be aware of your words and how they are perceived. Just taking the time to think about how to modify your behavior based on your situation is an effective first step in self-monitoring. And fight the urge to sell yourself short!

-Leslie Zaikis is the director of business development for Levo League. 
Oct 12
Be Aggressive! B-E Aggressive… Right? A new term has been floating around that describes a dilemma in which we PYPs sometimes find ourselves: “the backlash effect.” It’s a kind of paradox—to be successful, you must be assertive and confident, but if you are aggressive as a woman you are sometimes punished for behaving in ways that are contrary to the feminine stereotype. There is academic thought around the backlash avoidance phenom, and there is evidence that fear of backlash inhibits activation of a goal-focused, locomotive regulatory mode, which subsequently interferes with self-promotion success for women in a way that doesn’t affect men. So what about this ‘feminine stereotype’ do we need to know, or need to avoid? First comes Backlash: Frank Flynn, a business school professor now at Stanford, decided to try an experiment with one of his classes to investigate the perception of successful women versus men. He started with a Harvard Business School Case about Heidi Roizen, a well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Changing “Heidi” to “Howard,” he created an alternative version of the case. Randomly distributing the two gendered versions, he asked his students to go online before class to rate their impressions of “Roizen.” Across the board, the students rated Heidi much harsher than they rated Howard, citing that they didn’t like her, they wouldn’t hire her, and they wouldn’t want to work with her – because she was aggressive. Moreover, “the more aggressive they thought she was, the more they hated her,” Flynn stated about the experiment. Although students believed Heidi to be just as competent, they found Heidi to be less humble, more power hungry, and more self-promoting than Howard. Clearly aggression alone isn’t the golden ticket to success in any workplace. Being Passive Passivity is a trademark of Backlash Avoidance: that when faced with an opportunity to self-promote, many of us PYPs find ourselves holding back our impulses to take credit for work we’ve done or accomplishments we value. At some point or another, we have all exhibited “feminine” stereotypes and socialization, casting ourselves as the nice girl, the nurturer, the rule follower, the morale booster. Yet, research shows that women who exhibit ultra–feminine traits are actually seen as less competent in traditional managerial settings. There is no evidence that “acting like a lady” does anything for a woman’s career other than make her well-liked. Linda Babcock of Carnegie Mellon studied salary differentials between men and women who did and did not negotiate their salaries. The finding was startling—even though she surveyed a cohort that was purely MBAs, only 7% of female candidates negotiated on the employer’s initial salary offer. 57% of their male counterparts negotiated their salaries. A little more aggression and a little less passivity would certainly help us PYPs get ahead here! Being Assertive If being passive means doing too little, and being aggressive means risking negative backlash, being assertive is just right. Being assertive is more an exercise in balance than it is a stand-alone set of behaviors – the art of knowing when to be passive and when to be aggressive. Therefore, the key to being assertive is self monitoring. Another recent Stanford study found that the most successful women exhibit what they call “masculine” traits (aggression, confidence, and assertiveness), but know when to turn these traits on and off. Women who can adapt these characteristics and control their use have a powerful tool: they are chameleons who have mastered the ability to effectively assess and adapt to changing situations and social norms. Let’s take a few examples: In meetings, assertive women know when to listen and when to speak up. If you never say anything, you can’t add value. But answering every question or contributing your two cents to every topic dilutes your perspective. Assertive women are positive, but not too positive. You should always keep a positive outlook and tone, especially when communicating to superiors. But watch for the treacherous “pep overload” factor. Tone down the exclamation marks and emoticonage, and you’ll avoid the cheerleader pigeonhole. In emails, assertive women are direct and succinct. You need context, but probably not as much as you think you need. For formal communications, consider limiting the extra “friendly” text of “how is your family?” and “I’ve been working on XYZ project.” That said, don’t become the Terminator. Be warm! But don’t let it detract from the message. Assertive women consider the effects of a discussion on their teams as well as themeselves. Being the martyr and staying up until 4 am to finish a project so the rest of the team can enjoy their Thursday night won’t always get you ahead, but delegating everything risks making you appear cold-hearted. Don’t ever forget to think about your needs (and your health), but don’t get caught up thinking of nothing but yourself. In presentations, assertive women avoid diluting the message. Stay away from prefacing your opinions, making excuses for not knowing, and apologizing. Qualifiers can make you look weak; that said, sometimes a good qualifier is exactly what a conversation needs to keep you from looking like a complete know-it-all. How does a PYP focus on mastering the art self-monitoring our way into being assertive? The best tips we can give you are to know your role, to understand how you are viewed, and to keep tabs on your reputation. Be aware of your words and how they are perceived. Just taking the time to think about how to modify your behavior based on your situation is an effective first step in self-monitoring. And fight the urge to sell yourself short! -Leslie Zaikis is the director of business development for Levo League. 

The Levo League

Posted on Wednesday January 18th 2012 at 05:34pm. Its tags are listed below.

Negotiation expert Jim Hopkinson gives us a serious primer on how to handle the “Desired Salary:____” question— whether you’re applying at a massive multinational corporation or a totally unknown startup. Fill in the blank. When it’s time to negotiate salary, I feel ____________________.What answer came to mind— nervous? Unprepared? Empowered? Nauseous? People go through a range of feelings when it’s time to talk money. While some know their value and confidently view an interview as a chance to prove their worth and get paid what they deserve, many others feel intimidated and don’t know exactly what to say. The goal of this column will be to cover the tips and tricks around salary talk. Today we’ll talk about what to write in the blank when asked about salary on an application form. First, imagine an experience interviewing for positions within a large corporation. It’s easy to picture the scene: you’re wearing your best suit and sitting in the lobby of Human Resources. Someone hands you a clipboard with an application and says “fill this out.” You fly through the basics such as personal information, work history, and special skills, but then you see it:Desired salary:  ________________ At a startup, things might be more casual. Perhaps the question appears at the end of an email: Let me know what you were thinking in terms of salary:  ________________________ Most people have an idea of what they want to earn, but before you start writing, understand that this is a very critical question. If you put a number that is too high or too low, you risk immediately being screened out before you even get to a second or third interview. Additionally, the number you write could form the basis for which all future salary discussions are based. We’ll cover specific negotiation techniques in future articles, but one of the most effective tactics is to allow the employer to reveal their number first. Obviously completing this fill-in-the-blank question would put you at a disadvantage. So what to do? To be discussed The best thing to write at this time is “To be discussed during interview.”The reason you should write this is because you haven’t even started the interview process and don’t know all the details of what the job entails. The reason you should believe this is because it is true. Negotiating salary is a tactical game, but it is also a mental game, meaning you have to believe in what you are saying. Sure, you might have read a job description online, but there are so many things that could become apparent during the interview. What is the company like? What exactly would I be responsible for? Who would I report to? What are the hours? And so forth. At a corporate job, you might find out that there is more responsibility and more travel than expected, and you’d want a higher salary to reflect that. At a startup, you could learn that the average person works at least 12 hours per day, including some weekends. If you’re expected to do that as well, the money better be worth it. If you write your desired salary as $50,000 based on a 40 hour week, that works out to about $25 an hour. However, if the workload creeps into 70 hour per week territory, suddenly your rate is closer to $14. But you won’t know that until it is “discussed during the interview.” On the other hand, you could find out that the corporate job has amazing benefits worth thousands of dollars, and you’d be working for a fantastic boss who could serve as your career mentor.  At a startup, there may be stock options with huge potential, and after seeing a demo, you realize this is your dream job. In both cases, you might be willing to take a lower salary because of the additional benefits. Again, you won’t know that until it is “discussed during the interview.”When discussing this topic, two concerns invariably come up. The first is from people that are afraid that the hiring person will be angry with them if they don’t fill out the form. The second is from people who are filling out these applications online, and the field requires them to enter a specific number, forbidding them from typing in any text. The ideal answer The best way to get around these forms is to avoid them in the first place.Studies have shown that upward of 80% of jobs are secured through networking. Eighty percent! When you apply for jobs online or through job boards, you are often competing against hundreds or thousands of other candidates, so companies use this formal application process, including salary requirements, to weed people out. However, when you spend your time seeking out companies that you really want to work for, then find a direct connection to someone that works there through a friend, family member, or co-worker, you build relationships and can often skip the screening process altogether, including filling in the blanks.

Negotiation expert Jim Hopkinson gives us a serious primer on how to handle the “Desired Salary:____” question— whether you’re applying at a massive multinational corporation or a totally unknown startup.

Fill in the blank.

When it’s time to negotiate salary, I feel ____________________.
What answer came to mind— nervous? Unprepared? Empowered? Nauseous?

People go through a range of feelings when it’s time to talk money. While some know their value and confidently view an interview as a chance to prove their worth and get paid what they deserve, many others feel intimidated and don’t know exactly what to say. The goal of this column will be to cover the tips and tricks around salary talk.

Today we’ll talk about what to write in the blank when asked about salary on an application form.

First, imagine an experience interviewing for positions within a large corporation. It’s easy to picture the scene: you’re wearing your best suit and sitting in the lobby of Human Resources. Someone hands you a clipboard with an application and says “fill this out.” You fly through the basics such as personal information, work history, and special skills, but then you see it:
Desired salary:  ________________


At a startup, things might be more casual. Perhaps the question appears at the end of an email:


Let me know what you were thinking in terms of salary:  ________________________


Most people have an idea of what they want to earn, but before you start writing, understand that this is a very critical question. If you put a number that is too high or too low, you risk immediately being screened out before you even get to a second or third interview. Additionally, the number you write could form the basis for which all future salary discussions are based.


We’ll cover specific negotiation techniques in future articles, but one of the most effective tactics is to allow the employer to reveal their number first. Obviously completing this fill-in-the-blank question would put you at a disadvantage. So what to do?

To be discussed

The best thing to write at this time is “To be discussed during interview.”
The reason you should write this is because you haven’t even started the interview process and don’t know all the details of what the job entails. The reason you should believe this is because it is true.


Negotiating salary is a tactical game, but it is also a mental game, meaning you have to believe in what you are saying. Sure, you might have read a job description online, but there are so many things that could become apparent during the interview.


What is the company like? What exactly would I be responsible for? Who would I report to? What are the hours? And so forth.


At a corporate job, you might find out that there is more responsibility and more travel than expected, and you’d want a higher salary to reflect that. At a startup, you could learn that the average person works at least 12 hours per day, including some weekends. If you’re expected to do that as well, the money better be worth it. If you write your desired salary as $50,000 based on a 40 hour week, that works out to about $25 an hour. However, if the workload creeps into 70 hour per week territory, suddenly your rate is closer to $14.


But you won’t know that until it is “discussed during the interview.”


On the other hand, you could find out that the corporate job has amazing benefits worth thousands of dollars, and you’d be working for a fantastic boss who could serve as your career mentor.  At a startup, there may be stock options with huge potential, and after seeing a demo, you realize this is your dream job. In both cases, you might be willing to take a lower salary because of the additional benefits.


Again, you won’t know that until it is “discussed during the interview.”
When discussing this topic, two concerns invariably come up. The first is from people that are afraid that the hiring person will be angry with them if they don’t fill out the form. The second is from people who are filling out these applications online, and the field requires them to enter a specific number, forbidding them from typing in any text.

The ideal answer

The best way to get around these forms is to avoid them in the first place.
Studies have shown that upward of 80% of jobs are secured through networking. Eighty percent! When you apply for jobs online or through job boards, you are often competing against hundreds or thousands of other candidates, so companies use this formal application process, including salary requirements, to weed people out.


However, when you spend your time seeking out companies that you really want to work for, then find a direct connection to someone that works there through a friend, family member, or co-worker, you build relationships and can often skip the screening process altogether, including filling in the blanks.

The Levo League

Posted on Wednesday October 12th 2011 at 12:00am. Its tags are listed below.

Be Aggressive! B-E Aggressive… Right? A new term has been floating around that describes a dilemma in which we PYPs sometimes find ourselves: “the backlash effect.” It’s a kind of paradox—to be successful, you must be assertive and confident, but if you are aggressive as a woman you are sometimes punished for behaving in ways that are contrary to the feminine stereotype. There is academic thought around the backlash avoidance phenom, and there is evidence that fear of backlash inhibits activation of a goal-focused, locomotive regulatory mode, which subsequently interferes with self-promotion success for women in a way that doesn’t affect men. So what about this ‘feminine stereotype’ do we need to know, or need to avoid? First comes Backlash: Frank Flynn, a business school professor now at Stanford, decided to try an experiment with one of his classes to investigate the perception of successful women versus men. He started with a Harvard Business School Case about Heidi Roizen, a well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Changing “Heidi” to “Howard,” he created an alternative version of the case. Randomly distributing the two gendered versions, he asked his students to go online before class to rate their impressions of “Roizen.” Across the board, the students rated Heidi much harsher than they rated Howard, citing that they didn’t like her, they wouldn’t hire her, and they wouldn’t want to work with her – because she was aggressive. Moreover, “the more aggressive they thought she was, the more they hated her,” Flynn stated about the experiment. Although students believed Heidi to be just as competent, they found Heidi to be less humble, more power hungry, and more self-promoting than Howard. Clearly aggression alone isn’t the golden ticket to success in any workplace. Being Passive Passivity is a trademark of Backlash Avoidance: that when faced with an opportunity to self-promote, many of us PYPs find ourselves holding back our impulses to take credit for work we’ve done or accomplishments we value. At some point or another, we have all exhibited “feminine” stereotypes and socialization, casting ourselves as the nice girl, the nurturer, the rule follower, the morale booster. Yet, research shows that women who exhibit ultra–feminine traits are actually seen as less competent in traditional managerial settings. There is no evidence that “acting like a lady” does anything for a woman’s career other than make her well-liked. Linda Babcock of Carnegie Mellon studied salary differentials between men and women who did and did not negotiate their salaries. The finding was startling—even though she surveyed a cohort that was purely MBAs, only 7% of female candidates negotiated on the employer’s initial salary offer. 57% of their male counterparts negotiated their salaries. A little more aggression and a little less passivity would certainly help us PYPs get ahead here! Being Assertive If being passive means doing too little, and being aggressive means risking negative backlash, being assertive is just right. Being assertive is more an exercise in balance than it is a stand-alone set of behaviors – the art of knowing when to be passive and when to be aggressive. Therefore, the key to being assertive is self monitoring. Another recent Stanford study found that the most successful women exhibit what they call “masculine” traits (aggression, confidence, and assertiveness), but know when to turn these traits on and off. Women who can adapt these characteristics and control their use have a powerful tool: they are chameleons who have mastered the ability to effectively assess and adapt to changing situations and social norms. Let’s take a few examples: In meetings, assertive women know when to listen and when to speak up. If you never say anything, you can’t add value. But answering every question or contributing your two cents to every topic dilutes your perspective. Assertive women are positive, but not too positive. You should always keep a positive outlook and tone, especially when communicating to superiors. But watch for the treacherous “pep overload” factor. Tone down the exclamation marks and emoticonage, and you’ll avoid the cheerleader pigeonhole. In emails, assertive women are direct and succinct. You need context, but probably not as much as you think you need. For formal communications, consider limiting the extra “friendly” text of “how is your family?” and “I’ve been working on XYZ project.” That said, don’t become the Terminator. Be warm! But don’t let it detract from the message. Assertive women consider the effects of a discussion on their teams as well as themeselves. Being the martyr and staying up until 4 am to finish a project so the rest of the team can enjoy their Thursday night won’t always get you ahead, but delegating everything risks making you appear cold-hearted. Don’t ever forget to think about your needs (and your health), but don’t get caught up thinking of nothing but yourself. In presentations, assertive women avoid diluting the message. Stay away from prefacing your opinions, making excuses for not knowing, and apologizing. Qualifiers can make you look weak; that said, sometimes a good qualifier is exactly what a conversation needs to keep you from looking like a complete know-it-all. How does a PYP focus on mastering the art self-monitoring our way into being assertive? The best tips we can give you are to know your role, to understand how you are viewed, and to keep tabs on your reputation. Be aware of your words and how they are perceived. Just taking the time to think about how to modify your behavior based on your situation is an effective first step in self-monitoring. And fight the urge to sell yourself short! -Leslie Zaikis is the director of business development for Levo League. 

Be Aggressive! B-E Aggressive… Right?

A new term has been floating around that describes a dilemma in which we PYPs sometimes find ourselves: “the backlash effect.” It’s a kind of paradox—to be successful, you must be assertive and confident, but if you are aggressive as a woman you are sometimes punished for behaving in ways that are contrary to the feminine stereotype. There is academic thought around the backlash avoidance phenom, and there is evidence that fear of backlash inhibits activation of a goal-focused, locomotive regulatory mode, which subsequently interferes with self-promotion success for women in a way that doesn’t affect men.

So what about this ‘feminine stereotype’ do we need to know, or need to avoid? First comes Backlash:

Frank Flynn, a business school professor now at Stanford, decided to try an experiment with one of his classes to investigate the perception of successful women versus men. He started with a Harvard Business School Case about Heidi Roizen, a well-known Silicon Valley entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Changing “Heidi” to “Howard,” he created an alternative version of the case. Randomly distributing the two gendered versions, he asked his students to go online before class to rate their impressions of “Roizen.” Across the board, the students rated Heidi much harsher than they rated Howard, citing that they didn’t like her, they wouldn’t hire her, and they wouldn’t want to work with her – because she was aggressive. Moreover, “the more aggressive they thought she was, the more they hated her,” Flynn stated about the experiment. Although students believed Heidi to be just as competent, they found Heidi to be less humble, more power hungry, and more self-promoting than Howard. Clearly aggression alone isn’t the golden ticket to success in any workplace.

Being Passive

Passivity is a trademark of Backlash Avoidance: that when faced with an opportunity to self-promote, many of us PYPs find ourselves holding back our impulses to take credit for work we’ve done or accomplishments we value. At some point or another, we have all exhibited “feminine” stereotypes and socialization, casting ourselves as the nice girl, the nurturer, the rule follower, the morale booster. Yet, research shows that women who exhibit ultra–feminine traits are actually seen as less competent in traditional managerial settings. There is no evidence that “acting like a lady” does anything for a woman’s career other than make her well-liked.

Linda Babcock of Carnegie Mellon studied salary differentials between men and women who did and did not negotiate their salaries. The finding was startling—even though she surveyed a cohort that was purely MBAs, only 7% of female candidates negotiated on the employer’s initial salary offer. 57% of their male counterparts negotiated their salaries. A little more aggression and a little less passivity would certainly help us PYPs get ahead here!

Being Assertive

If being passive means doing too little, and being aggressive means risking negative backlash, being assertive is just right.

Being assertive is more an exercise in balance than it is a stand-alone set of behaviors – the art of knowing when to be passive and when to be aggressive. Therefore, the key to being assertive is self monitoring. Another recent Stanford study found that the most successful women exhibit what they call “masculine” traits (aggression, confidence, and assertiveness), but know when to turn these traits on and off. Women who can adapt these characteristics and control their use have a powerful tool: they are chameleons who have mastered the ability to effectively assess and adapt to changing situations and social norms. Let’s take a few examples:

  • In meetings, assertive women know when to listen and when to speak up. If you never say anything, you can’t add value. But answering every question or contributing your two cents to every topic dilutes your perspective.
  • Assertive women are positive, but not too positive. You should always keep a positive outlook and tone, especially when communicating to superiors. But watch for the treacherous “pep overload” factor. Tone down the exclamation marks and emoticonage, and you’ll avoid the cheerleader pigeonhole.
  • In emails, assertive women are direct and succinct. You need context, but probably not as much as you think you need. For formal communications, consider limiting the extra “friendly” text of “how is your family?” and “I’ve been working on XYZ project.” That said, don’t become the Terminator. Be warm! But don’t let it detract from the message.
  • Assertive women consider the effects of a discussion on their teams as well as themeselves. Being the martyr and staying up until 4 am to finish a project so the rest of the team can enjoy their Thursday night won’t always get you ahead, but delegating everything risks making you appear cold-hearted. Don’t ever forget to think about your needs (and your health), but don’t get caught up thinking of nothing but yourself.
  • In presentations, assertive women avoid diluting the message. Stay away from prefacing your opinions, making excuses for not knowing, and apologizing. Qualifiers can make you look weak; that said, sometimes a good qualifier is exactly what a conversation needs to keep you from looking like a complete know-it-all.

How does a PYP focus on mastering the art self-monitoring our way into being assertive? The best tips we can give you are to know your role, to understand how you are viewed, and to keep tabs on your reputation. Be aware of your words and how they are perceived. Just taking the time to think about how to modify your behavior based on your situation is an effective first step in self-monitoring. And fight the urge to sell yourself short!

-Leslie Zaikis is the director of business development for Levo League. 

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