Salary Story: I Got My Dream Job, Despite My Imposter Syndrome

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 people more insight into how to advocate for themselves — and maybe take a few risks along the way.

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Ed. note: All dollar figures in this story noted in CAD.

Age: 29
Location: Toronto
Current industry and job title: Television, senior branded content producer
Current salary: $101,050 (salary) + $2,000 to $4,000 (freelance income)
Number of years employed since school or university: Seven
Starting salary: $13/hour

Biggest salary jump: From $62,000 to $98,000, when I moved from my old TV show to a new show with a competing network.

Biggest salary drop: Right out of school I worked at a media startup, making $13 an hour. I left for a role at another startup, a print and digital magazine, where I made $2,000 a month as an independent contractor. This was a slight pay cut but also a much lighter workload, so I had the flexibility to take on other freelance work.

But the flexibility was not worth the stress of not knowing when I would be paid, which was somewhat irregularly through a wire transfer. And there was nothing taken off for income tax, so I had to do that myself. If all of this sounds sketchy, that’s because it was. I got out of there as soon as I could.

Biggest negotiation regret: When I applied to my first big job in TV, my imposter syndrome was so extreme that I was shocked I even got an interview, even though I was extremely qualified as the job required a very unique skill set. I was thrilled to get the offer, which was such an extreme jump from my previous salary that I didn’t even try to negotiate as I was convinced I would be let go for incompetence within the first three months.

I ended up excelling in the role but since I was hired in 2019, the following year didn’t provide the economic climate for raises of any kind. Had I had more confidence in my skill set, I could have been making at least $5,000 to $8,000 more for each of the three or so years I worked with the company. I essentially lost more than $15,000 by not believing in myself.

Best salary advice: Women need to go through salary negotiations with the confidence of a mediocre white man. If you have one in your life, before your next promotion or interview, run your salary expectations by them and you will marvel at the number they think you should ask for instead.

What I have learned is to always ask for a higher number than you’d accept — if you tell them your real number, you’re taking money out of your own pocket. And if they give you a number, always counter! It is never the last number, I promise you that. If more money is not an option, you can absolutely negotiate for more paid time off, vacation days, etc.

When I was a student, I interned at a media company, and after graduation I contacted my old boss about a job posting. She invited me to come for an interview. We had a great working relationship so she welcomed me back into the fold for this job. Initially, I was just a writer, doing four clickable articles a day for a millennial audience.

Instagram and Snapchat reigned supreme on social media, and both had recently launched the Story feature. So brands were looking for a way to work within the platforms. My company was slowly introducing a video department with the hope of growing the business and branded partnerships. I loved theatre, drama and writing and I was very comfortable both performing and scripting content. So I patiently waited for an opportunity.

Then my boss fumbled a hosted video for a big brand, putting little effort into it while in a rush. The client and teams were unimpressed. The next video assignment had even higher stakes — international talent was flying in to record in our office. I can’t remember if I casually volunteered or if someone suggested my name but either way, I played it cool and accepted the part.

I memorized my lines and came to work prepared and passionate. The client and my colleagues were thrilled. I eventually got assigned more and more video projects until I owned the title of video host, showcasing restaurants, attractions, and events around the city. This added two to three videos a week to my work — for no additional compensation. But it was wonderful job experience.

At this time, there were maybe one or two other jobs like mine in the entire city. Our videos were getting hundreds of thousands of views and I was getting noticed — not only by strangers on the street but by the who’s who of the city’s media industry. What I wasn’t receiving in compensation, I was gaining in production experience I needed to parlay into other opportunities.

But if I’d had a little more confidence, I could have at least tried to negotiate a raise before planning my exit.

With little opportunity for growth (and no room for improvement in salary) at my old company, I left to try my hand at freelancing. I learned that an old university friend who worked at a magazine was hiring a digital editor. So I reached out, interviewed and joined the team. This role had a much lighter workload than my last job and paid a lump sum of about $2,000 a month, so I was able to take on additional freelance work.

For example, I also wrote for another digital publication. At first I was contributing about an article or two a week at $50 a pop, but over time I started pitching and writing for them more often and became a bigger part of the team. As a result, I was invited to a retreat sponsored by a brand. I wrote articles about the event and also posted about the experience on my own social media. The company liked my content so much that they asked me to run their Instagram, which I was happy to do for an extra $1,000 a month on my own time.

Lastly, I continued to host and produce videos for my previous company whenever they called, but now for actual compensation: $250 per video. While I did not make a lot of money, I was building my reputation, skills, and network. I went to a ton of events and grabbed every freebie I could while making new friends and connections.

Through my networking and working relationships, I was able to pitch myself to one of the companies I freelanced for and convinced them to take me on as a full-time employee. I was very inexperienced in terms of salary negotiations and desperately wanted to get away from the magazine that had more red flags than pages.

The company I wanted to work for was helmed by amazing women I idolized and wanted to learn from. Because I was pitching myself for a full-time role that did not exist at the company, I thought a salary of $40,000 was fair.

I loved my bosses, the work I did, and the unique opportunities this job provided. But it was also a startup with no benefits, bare minimum vacation, and no compensation for overtime. I was working, on average, 10 to 20 hours of overtime every week. When I eventually resigned to accept a dream job elsewhere, I offered to help hire a replacement for my position to soften the blow.

I was online, nonchalantly checking Indeed, when I found a dream job at an extremely reputable TV show, tailored to my exact job experience. I applied right away, not thinking they would give me a chance — I had experience in all the right places, but not TV. I got an email minutes after applying, then interviewed and got an offer within two weeks.

I was thrilled to start a new career in television, though rightfully intimidated. Almost all of my colleagues were TV veterans who had gone to journalism school, worked their way up the rungs, and knew the ins and outs of TV tech, slang, and ethics. I knew how to frame a nice shot on an iPhone and write cute lines for myself. I quietly googled, “What does a producer do?” and prayed I wouldn’t have to edit my work as well. Thankfully, many of my skills translated well to the job: writing, editing, musicality, organization, visual intelligence, etc.

After several years, I grew into my role and became the go-to producer on my team, despite being the youngest in my department. I was producing great content, creating detailed proposals for brands and strategizing content rollouts, but those skills and proven success were not reflected in my wage. I brought up a wage increase several times to my boss, who saw my worth but did not have the opportunity to give me the increase I deserved.

I did receive a performance raise of around 2% each year. In 2022, the year I ultimately left, my employer gave me a 4% raise to try and retain me. But given the salary gap between me and my colleagues, which I knew was likely in the five-figure range, I felt defeated and began looking for new opportunities.

I cried when I gave my two weeks’ notice and kept in touch with my old team while preparing for an intimidating next step.

While at my last job, I was actively interviewing for other opportunities and receiving offers, but none seemed to be the right fit. Then one of my old bosses reached out and asked if I would be open to joining her on an extremely big TV show she was executive-producing. (I cannot stress enough the importance of maintaining professional relationships and leaving jobs on good terms for this exact reason!)

This would be my first time working on a global franchise, working in reality television and the freelance TV business. It would involve massive brand partners, a title bump, and ownership of my own department.

I’m lucky to have made a few trusted friends and mentors in the business, one of whom was a senior producer on the team I was considering leaving. So I called him, told him the details of this offer and asked him what he thought and the pay range I should consider. He encouraged me to leave and gave me numbers within the $100,000 to $120,000 range. I was shocked and nervous to ask for that much money.

The woman I was negotiating with is an extremely skilled negotiator, who made me name my price — something I don’t recommend you do! Always try to get their number first. Too scared to ask for $100,000, let alone more, I asked for $95,000 to $100,000. My boss offered $90,000.

I at least negotiated an extra $5,000, before vacation pay, which brought me to $98,000. A tip I have learned the hard way is to always go in with a bigger number than you would accept. Here, I likely could have gotten more money than I asked for, but I was intimidated to ask for “too much.” But knowledge is power, and now I will be poised for my next negotiation.

I have a new title, although my responsibilities haven’t changed significantly. I did go through recent contract negotiations where I had to advocate for myself after our show introduced a “hiatus month” for all departments. This was not optional or paid, so I made sure to account for this change. I was able to negotiate a raise on my weekly rate so I would not lose any income despite the reduction in total weeks per year. The rate equals $101,000 yearly with vacation pay factored in, or $98,000 for 47 weeks of work.

Despite holding a “big girl job,” I still have downtime that allows for some freelancing (around $2,000 to $4,000 a year). My first job occasionally hires me to host video projects or write sponsored articles, for a very decent rate. The number of projects I receive varies, but it’s great extra money when it comes around!

When I first joined this company, I was thrilled, flattered, and frightened to be given such an opportunity. I was very sad to leave my old company behind but ultimately accepting was the best decision for me and my future.

In fact, within about six months of my departure, my previous show was cancelled, making my career move even more valuable than the initial salary increase. Once the show was off the airwaves, dozens of talented producers were out of work — so the job market was flooded with hopefuls, with very few positions available. Many of my old colleagues are still unemployed. I’m really glad I trusted my gut and took this leap.

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This article was originally published on refinery29.com.