How This Marketing Pro Negotiated Four-Day Workweeks and Extra Vacation
Want to make more cash at work? Of course you do. For our sequence The Top Up, Canadians throughout totally different industries inform us precisely how a lot they earn—and the way they navigated each elevate, promotion and job change to get it. Each month, a special government shares their journey and their greatest recommendation for how one can higher negotiate your wage, too. This month, a Toronto-based advertising and marketing professional tells CB how she went from making $60,000 out of grad college to $160,000 at a telehealth start-up in 10 years.
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Current job title: Head of selling
Industry: Telehealth
Location: Toronto
First full-time job wage: $60,000 in 2013 as a advertising and marketing supervisor at a telecommunications firm
I earned an undergraduate diploma in finance and graduated into the 2008 recession. At the identical time, I spotted I needed to get into advertising and marketing. I loved understanding folks’s perspective and advertising and marketing was a strategy to analyze behaviours and ideas—in addition to business. I went again to highschool to get my MBA and hid out in academia till the recession was over.
Following my MBA, I used to be accepted right into a management program designed to present new grads additional coaching and expertise at a Toronto-based telecommunications firm. I began as a advertising and marketing supervisor particularly centered on bringing new merchandise to market. I earned $60,000 yearly in addition to efficiency bonuses.
After about 18 months, I began trying round for a brand new alternative. I needed to tackle extra accountability to proceed rising. I hoped that I’d get a promotion throughout the firm, and whereas I used to be advised it will occur ultimately, it wasn’t taking place as quick as I’d’ve favored. So I ended up leaving after two and a half years.
Second job wage: $90,000 with a ten per cent bonus in 2015 as a advertising and marketing supervisor at an American chemical manufacturing firm
After I spotted I wasn’t going to be promoted anytime quickly, I noticed a job on LinkedIn at a Canadian subsidiary of a U.S.-based chemical manufacturing firm. They had been searching for a advertising and marketing supervisor, so I utilized. I did a lot of analysis on common salaries through LinkedIn and Glassdoor, and talked to people within the trade to determine what was a good vary. I needed to have sufficient of a leap from my earlier function and thought my wage ought to replicate my expertise. They provided me $85,000, and we went forwards and backwards over electronic mail fairly a bit. I requested to overview the corporate’s advantages bundle to see the way it matched up with my earlier employer. As it turned out, it wasn’t pretty much as good, which is what I introduced up in an effort to enhance my base wage by $5,000, bringing me to $90,000.
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Unfortunately the work tradition was very totally different from my earlier job—and I didn’t prefer it. Vacation was handled as an inconvenience to the business, and it was anticipated that employees log lengthy hours. Going into the workplace on the weekend was additionally widespread. Even although the paycheque was nice, it wasn’t one thing that I used to be prepared to do for longer than a yr.
Third job wage: $110,000 in 2016 as a senior product advertising and marketing supervisor at a SaaS firm with a ten per cent bonus
A earlier boss from my first job began working at a Toronto-based SaaS firm, and she or he recruited me for a product advertising and marketing function. HR initially provided me $100,000, however I countered with $110,000 plus a ten per cent annual efficiency bonus. The firm was very giant and established, and had outlined pay bands, which made getting extra money difficult. Knowing this, I requested for a signing bonus of $6,000 and one other week of trip as a result of they’d extra flexibility with PTO. My outdated boss went to bat for me and HR agreed to my compensation ask. My annual bonus was based mostly on role-specific outcomes, like initiatives delivered and constructive suggestions from my crew members, in addition to company-wide metrics, like income and inventory efficiency. As a part of my contract, I’d additionally get an computerized incremental elevate yearly, much like cost-of-living raises.
After a pair years, I went on maternity depart. My work paid the distinction between my wage and the quantity obtained from EI for the primary six weeks, however after that I used to be on EI till I returned to work. I discovered it somewhat disappointing that they solely topped me up for a month and a half. For mother and father, parental depart is a very necessary a part of a normal advantages bundle. I returned to work after 10 months.
First elevate based mostly on promotion: $16,000 plus $5,000 prorated bonus in 2019 because the director of shopper advertising and marketing, bringing complete base wage to $135,000
Due to my annual wage will increase, my base was as much as $119,000 in 2018. And once I bought again from mat depart, I bought promoted to director of shopper advertising and marketing. I had utilized for the job internally; I needed the additional title and duties to help in my future job hunt.
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As a part of this promotion I additionally went to my boss and negotiated a four-day workweek. I put collectively a deck about how taking a break day wouldn’t be disruptive. I included stats on the advantages of four-day workweeks, a few of the research that had been finished and totally different fashions we may implement. I managed to safe a shorter week, however would clock 4 10-hour days, somewhat than the conventional eight hours. Still, having Fridays off was an enormous profit for me and made me extra prepared and capable of come again to the identical firm after mat depart.
Fourth job wage: $145,000 in 2020 as a director of product advertising and marketing at a software program start-up
After about seven months again from my mat depart, I used to be head-hunted by a recruitment agency for a Toronto tech start-up to be their director of product advertising and marketing. Because I used to be approached, I felt like I held the facility within the wage negotiations. I used to be provided $145,000 as a base with a 15 per cent bonus. They mentioned they didn’t have wiggle room to extend my base, so I requested for a $10,000 signing bonus to offset the bonus I used to be can be giving up at my earlier firm by leaving. Plus, I insisted on holding my four-day workweek and having 4 weeks of trip, which they agreed to. My predominant argument was that I had organized my childcare round working 4 days, and that it was necessary for my psychological and bodily well being to keep up this schedule. I believe it helped that the CEO had children and understood the significance of labor/life steadiness. I used to be additionally provided choices to buy fairness within the firm at a considerably decreased price, which actually is like shopping for a lottery ticket. You hope that someday that start-up goes to be bought or IPO, and also you’ll make a bunch of cash.
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After about 5 months, I used to be promoted to the pinnacle of all the advertising and marketing crew. I requested for a pay enhance however was advised it wasn’t within the playing cards at the moment. Obviously, a promotion with out extra compensation shouldn’t be superb, however I thought of it to be a part of the realities of working at a brand new start-up; there are investments of time wanted to assist the corporate succeed. Because it was such an attention-grabbing, thrilling function, I felt okay with the state of affairs in the long run.
Fifth job wage: $160,000 in 2022 as the pinnacle of girls’s well being at a telehealth start-up
I ended up getting laid off from my earlier job initially of 2022, which actually sucked. But, the timing labored out: Lots of corporations had been hiring and there was demand for product entrepreneurs. Someone who had interviewed me earlier in my profession at a wholly totally different firm heard the news of my layoff. He contacted me and advised me he knew of a job opening up at a Toronto start-up that might be excellent for me. He really helpful that I converse to the CEO and made the introduction. The start-up has a number of manufacturers underneath its umbrella, and the CEO needed a terrific marketer to move up the ladies’s model on the firm. I utilized and was provided the job.
The negotiation course of was very collaborative; I really wrote my job description through the recruitment stage. I did my analysis on what comparable roles paid to raised perceive a great vary to suggest. From there, we negotiated again and- forth on the advantages bundle, bonus construction, fairness choices, base compensation and trip. Because I used to be so excited concerning the function, and so they had been excited to get it crammed, the negotiation was fast. And I used to be glad the place I landed: I secured a $160,000 base wage with a 15 per cent bonus, 5 weeks trip and a four-day workweek. My title was head of girls’s well being: I used to be the final supervisor of the model, and was in control of getting new folks to make use of our product whereas additionally guaranteeing inside processes had been working easily.
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I used to be promoted after a yr to move of selling for all three manufacturers throughout the firm. This promotion didn’t include a elevate, however it was validation that what I used to be doing was working. Based on money movement and undertaking milestones, we agreed to debate a elevate in six months. I used to be okay with that since I’ve plenty of flexibility in my function—together with a four-day workweek. We’re arising on six months so we’re having the dialog quickly. I’ll in all probability ask for $10,000 to $20,000 extra. But the reality is I completely love what I’m doing. I’m in a versatile office, we’re doing actually necessary work and I’m surrounded by good folks. I don’t care as a lot concerning the cash. The versatile work construction counts for a complete bunch—particularly as a mother.
Best negotiation tip: If the price range isn’t budging, go for different advantages, like additional trip
I all the time ask for extra money throughout wage negotiations it doesn’t matter what, but when the corporate shouldn’t be ready to present extra, I ask for an additional week of trip as an alternative. I discovered that, particularly at bigger firms, salaries are decided by particular pay bands. I’ve typically discovered that corporations can’t (or gained’t) provide greater than the higher limits of these bands, however trip is a wild card on the negotiation desk. So, if an organization isn’t ready to present you that additional $10,000, or a signing bonus, extra trip may be one thing they’re prepared to offer.
