How employees can leverage NYC's pay transparency to get a raise

With salary ranges now required to be posted in New York City job ads, workers increasingly have access to information they can use to ask for more money.

Pay transparency has been pitched as a vital tool to close racial and gender pay gaps by giving new and current employees the knowledge to negotiate for equitable compensation. Similar legislation in Colorado has already increased posted salaries by nearly 4%. 

Studies by researchers at Harvard University and Carnegie Mellon University show that women can be negatively impacted if they ask for what they believe they're worth. A separate group of studies found the same is true for Black workers, who are typically expected to negotiate for less than their white counterparts.

"What happens is we are so afraid to ask for what we want — we're so afraid to say, 'this is what I need' and stand firm in that — because we don't actually know," said Sherry Sims, founder of the Black Career Women's Network. The transparency law, she said, "takes away the guessing game." 

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Whether you're a job candidate or a current employee, here's how you can best leverage the newly mandated salary ranges when asking for a raise, according to experts.

Employees

If employees find a discrepancy between their compensation and the current market rate — for similar roles at their own company or at competitors — they should reassess whether their current role aligns with their financial and career goals, said Tiffany Jana, chief executive officer at workplace advisory firm TMI Consulting.

"If you absolutely love your job, your total compensation package works for you, then stay and try to negotiate," said Jana. "But if you have 16 other reasons that you don't want to be at that company or position, then this should be a trigger for people to go ahead and relocate."

With fears of a recession on the rise, Jana said employees must navigate the "delicate balance of asking their employers to close the gap so they can stay and revealing that they could be on their way out." While career advisers say it's a good idea to have regular conversations about your performance, if you don't feel confident that you have job security or could line up another job easily, Jana recommends waiting to bring up a raise at a scheduled performance evaluation.

It's important to know the details of the roles you're comparing, Chamberlin said. If you see a posting that has identical responsibilities to your own, you can ask for a raise based on whether you think your experience level places you within that salary range. 

Career Moves

Now that workers know how much money may be available, Jana said those seeking to maximize their income need to advocate for themselves. 

Before any conversation about compensation, career experts emphasized knowing what your worth is in the marketplace by calibrating where you should fall based on your education, experience and other factors. They advise preparing a list of the value you bring: both tangible, like certifications, and intangible, like being able to bring people together. 

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"Folks at the margins have a tendency to lowball themselves because we're continually told that somehow we're not as valuable. This is where it gets really powerful to be objective, make a list of everything that you are bringing to the table," said Jana. 

While salary ranges are a useful data point to see what an employer is hoping to pay, negotiation consultant Fotini Iconomopoulos recommends viewing it as a  "guidepost."

"Knowledge is power. What I fear for some folks is that they will see the salary ranges as a limit. Don't be consumed by your own imposter syndrome," said Iconomopoulos. Instead of aiming for the average salary, she advised setting a number at the top end of those ranges — or even higher if your experience and qualifications exceed what is expected for the role. 

Job Candidates

At the beginning of any job hunt, executive coach Susan Peppercorn recommends doing market research to know what your industry pays for your desired role. That will help job seekers save time and energy by avoiding roles that don't match up with their expectations. 

"If you see a salary range that is below what you're interested in, don't proceed with the interview," Peppercorn advised.

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Job seekers entering a salary negotiation should know three numbers, said Laurie Chamberlin, the head of LHH Recruitment Solutions: the minimum compensation they need to survive and pay their bills, the level at which they would live comfortably, and the amount that would get them excited. If an employer comes to the table with a salary in either the first two categories, candidates can negotiate for a salary at the top of the posted range by emphasizing — with specifics — the money they would help the company generate or save.

Less experienced employees may want to use the salary range to negotiate metrics for raises, Chamberlin added, getting in writing which requirements they would need to meet in order to move from the lower end of the salary range to the top.