Salary Story: I Lost Myself Trying To Please Toxic Managers
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.Been in the workforce for at least five years and interested in contributing your salary story? Submit your information here. Published stories receive £100.Age: 29Location: BirminghamCurrent industry and job title: Senior marketing executive, professional servicesCurrent salary: £38,000Number of years employed since school or university: EightStarting salary: £15,000 in 2016Biggest salary jump: From £26,000 to £33,000 in 2021.Biggest salary drop: N/ABiggest negotiation regret: I was so desperate to get the job at my current company that I was too scared to negotiate pay, so I ended up just accepting the same salary as my last job which wasn’t much at all, considering the responsibility. I know now that I should’ve done some research on salaries for similar roles and that’s probably held me back financially, which is very frustrating! Best salary advice: Ask for the salary you want, even if you’re scared you’ll lose the job. If they want you, they’ll give it to you.I had no idea what I wanted to do when I finished university. I studied English language and an intern role at a PR agency was advertised to my course. I had no idea what PR was but decided to interview anyway, as it involved writing, and somehow got the job. I wasn’t sure what salary to expect so accepted the £15,000. I was just grateful to have a job I think!I found that PR actually played to a lot of my strengths and I was promoted to account executive in December, three months after starting my internship, which came with quite a considerable pay rise given my initial salary, plus an annual bonus of around £1,500. This seemed like loads of money to me at the time so I was pretty happy about it. At this point however I was already starting to realise that PR agency life wasn’t really for me. The company promoted long hours and a competitive environment so a lot of my colleagues were often on edge and snappy and not the nicest to be around, in all honesty. As an introvert it was also often remarked that although I was good at my job technically, I wasn’t “loud” enough to make it far in an agency — this really hurt at the time. I was starting to plan my exit.I was promoted in early 2017 after some good work for one of our biggest clients. Although I was really quite unhappy in this job at this point, the salary and promotion prospects made me determined to try and make it work even though I started feeling like I was losing myself in the process. I became caught up in striving for promotions and pay rises and trying to please toxic managers and directors, which I’m really not proud of. I was always looking at jobs in the background but never really saw anything worth applying for so stayed.I finally got a new job after a year and a half of searching. It was the only job I applied for. By the time I left my previous company, things were so bad that I had stopped caring about work completely and was just desperate to get out. As such, I accepted the first salary they offered me as I was too scared to negotiate in case I lost the job. Although I wasn’t happy with earning the same as my previous job, I was so happy to be in a new environment. My new role was at a professional services firm and was more marketing focused, which I quickly found I much preferred to PR. There was a pay rise and promotion freeze during 2020 due to the pandemic. However, I used this year to really throw myself into my work and as soon as the freeze lifted the following year, I went into my appraisal armed with examples of my work highlights during that year and asked for a pay rise so that my salary more accurately reflected my value and contribution to the company. My manager supported me 100% and agreed that I was underpaid (she didn’t hire me). I didn’t ask for a specific figure but I was given a promotion and a £7,000 pay rise. I was also given a performance-based bonus of around £2,000.2022 was another good work year for me. I took on a lot more responsibility and led on some key projects, which I again highlighted in my next appraisal and pay review. I was delighted to get another pay rise and bonus. It was a really good profit year for my company and they wanted to reward everyone who contributed — it’s such a good feeling to have your efforts recognised. I know £38,000 isn’t a huge salary but I am so proud to have increased my pay so considerably over the past six years and to now work at a great company in a role that I truly enjoy. I’m still in this role and now have my sights set on reaching management level in the next year or so — something I wouldn’t have believed I would be a
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.
Been in the workforce for at least five years and interested in contributing your salary story? Submit your information here.Published stories receive £100.
Age: 29 Location: Birmingham Current industry and job title: Senior marketing executive, professional services Current salary: £38,000 Number of years employed since school or university: Eight
Starting salary: £15,000 in 2016 Biggest salary jump: From £26,000 to £33,000 in 2021. Biggest salary drop: N/A
Biggest negotiation regret: I was so desperate to get the job at my current company that I was too scared to negotiate pay, so I ended up just accepting the same salary as my last job which wasn’t much at all, considering the responsibility. I know now that I should’ve done some research on salaries for similar roles and that’s probably held me back financially, which is very frustrating!
Best salary advice: Ask for the salary you want, even if you’re scared you’ll lose the job. If they want you, they’ll give it to you.I had no idea what I wanted to do when I finished university. I studied English language and an intern role at a PR agency was advertised to my course. I had no idea what PR was but decided to interview anyway, as it involved writing, and somehow got the job. I wasn’t sure what salary to expect so accepted the £15,000. I was just grateful to have a job I think! I found that PR actually played to a lot of my strengths and I was promoted to account executive in December, three months after starting my internship, which came with quite a considerable pay rise given my initial salary, plus an annual bonus of around £1,500. This seemed like loads of money to me at the time so I was pretty happy about it. At this point however I was already starting to realise that PR agency life wasn’t really for me. The company promoted long hours and a competitive environment so a lot of my colleagues were often on edge and snappy and not the nicest to be around, in all honesty. As an introvert it was also often remarked that although I was good at my job technically, I wasn’t “loud” enough to make it far in an agency — this really hurt at the time. I was starting to plan my exit.I was promoted in early 2017 after some good work for one of our biggest clients. Although I was really quite unhappy in this job at this point, the salary and promotion prospects made me determined to try and make it work even though I started feeling like I was losing myself in the process. I became caught up in striving for promotions and pay rises and trying to please toxic managers and directors, which I’m really not proud of. I was always looking at jobs in the background but never really saw anything worth applying for so stayed.I finally got a new job after a year and a half of searching. It was the only job I applied for. By the time I left my previous company, things were so bad that I had stopped caring about work completely and was just desperate to get out. As such, I accepted the first salary they offered me as I was too scared to negotiate in case I lost the job. Although I wasn’t happy with earning the same as my previous job, I was so happy to be in a new environment. My new role was at a professional services firm and was more marketing focused, which I quickly found I much preferred to PR. There was a pay rise and promotion freeze during 2020 due to the pandemic. However, I used this year to really throw myself into my work and as soon as the freeze lifted the following year, I went into my appraisal armed with examples of my work highlights during that year and asked for a pay rise so that my salary more accurately reflected my value and contribution to the company. My manager supported me 100% and agreed that I was underpaid (she didn’t hire me). I didn’t ask for a specific figure but I was given a promotion and a £7,000 pay rise. I was also given a performance-based bonus of around £2,000.2022 was another good work year for me. I took on a lot more responsibility and led on some key projects, which I again highlighted in my next appraisal and pay review. I was delighted to get another pay rise and bonus. It was a really good profit year for my company and they wanted to reward everyone who contributed — it’s such a good feeling to have your efforts recognised. I know £38,000 isn’t a huge salary but I am so proud to have increased my pay so considerably over the past six years and to now work at a great company in a role that I truly enjoy. I’m still in this role and now have my sights set on reaching management level in the next year or so — something I wouldn’t have believed I would be able to do a couple of years ago as a “shy girl”!
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