The importance of negotiating your paycheck

If there is one thing new graduates should know, it is the importance of negotiating your paycheck.

In my quest to find my first job, I landed an internship within 2 weeks of arriving back home. I've always knew that intern pay never amounted to much, but I never realised that even as an intern, I could negotiate and get at least a decent intern pay. But I guess its partially due to the fear that I've built up within myself in the months up to graduation, I was almost 100% sure that I wasn't going to provide any value to the firm because I have NO experience in the industry. I had already prepared to fail. 

So the day of the interview came and everything went well, the employer was gonna hire me on the spot. There came the question, "what is your expected pay?". He was nice enough to ask me to name a figure, but instead of stating my stand, I left the final decision to the employer. It was the dumbest thing that anyone could have done.

In that very moment of leaving it open, I had not only lost the right to negotiate, but I had also shown the employer that I was uncertain of my self-worth.

Two months into the job, I found out how underpaid I was. It is an expensive mistake, but thank goodness this is only a internship.

Key takeaways:
Don't be afraid to negotiate a pay that both parties are comfortable with - A job is like a relationship. Don't be afraid to ask for your expected pay, if they are really interested in hiring you, they would negotiate with you.

Believe in yourself and your capabilities - you may not have the necessary experience at the start, but always remember, you will pick up the required skills and knowledge during your probation period, and you WILL BECOME worthy of the position. The interview is one of the best time to talk about your pay check, you don't always get a second chance like this once you've accepted the job.

Bonus takeaway: Never ask your fellow colleagues about their pay check. Even if your job scopes are the same/similar, you may not be getting the same rates as him/her. Be it which spectrum you fall into, it is not gonna do you any good knowing the actual figures - it will either kill your motivation or theirs at work.