Conference grant recipient and JL Boston member Nicollette Starnella

The JL Boston Conference Grant Fund was established to encourage, empower, and enable active members of the Junior League of Boston to pursue training opportunities, through an offset of registration and related costs. This grant helps us live into our commitment to connect trained volunteers to meaningful community projects. We’re excited to share how our 2018-2019 recipients used their awards for personal and professional development.

Nicollette Starnella attended the Women in Wellness Leadership conference on March 12. Nicollette is an Active Member who currently serves on the JL Boston Signature Events committee, planning and supporting many of the major fundraisers that enable us to impact the wellness of girls.

Nicollette describes her experience at the conference:

“Attending the second annual Women in Wellness leadership conference, hosted by American Spa Magazine, was both enriching and exciting. American Spa has curated powerful day-long conferences that address some of the most pressing issues facing women leaders and leaders-to-be with compelling keynote speakers and breakout sessions.

The event focused on women who hold leadership roles in the spa and wellness industry and included various strategies on unique ways to empower yourself, your teams, and the world. Keynote speakers included Claire Wasserman, founder of Ladies Get Paid, Jean Chatzky, CEO & Cofounder of HerMoney, and Elizabeth Scherle, Cofounder & President of Influenster.

This specific conference was extremely beneficial in helping me to continue to grow both personally and professionally. It reaffirmed that, as female leaders, our goal should always be to focus on leading with integrity and purpose, to create a positive workplace culture for all involved. It taught me that it is vital to protect your energy and let go of perfectionism in order to strive for continual success.”

Thank you, Nicollette, for all of your work supporting JL Boston and for the expertise and insight you contribute to our membership!

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An instructor from AAUW Work Smart coaches JL Boston members on salary negotiation.

In 2016, women working full-time in the United States were paid just 80 percent of what men were paid. Although the gender wage gap has narrowed since the 1970s due to women’s progress in education and workforce participation, the closing of the gender wage gap has stalled in recent years.

The City of Boston aims to become the first city to close the gender wage gap by using a multi-pronged approach. As part of this approach, the Mayor’s Office of Women’s Advancement has partnered with the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to offer free salary negotiation workshops. On October 26th, the Junior League of Boston hosted one of these workshops to train members with the skills to successfully negotiate their salary and benefits packages. In this workshop, JL Boston members learned how to create a strategic pitch and respond to salary offers.

Knowing your value is the first step in preparing a good pitch that summarizes your accomplishments, skills, and work experiences in a brief and persuasive speech. It is important to remember that the pitch should be less than 30 seconds, your skills should be clear, and there should be a goal or ask.

To establish a goal or ask, research a target salary and benefits by assessing the market. The AAUW recommends using Salary.com to compare similar job descriptions and salaries based on company reported data. In determining a target salary, look at the salary range from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile and consider your value and experience for the job.

Once you have established a goal or ask, identify a “bolstering range” using the target salary as the bottom of the range. The “bolstering range” should be 10 to 20 percent higher than the target salary. Next, determine a resistance point for the lowest salary that you would be willing to accept and still reach an agreement with the employer. Be prepared to start the ask at the top of your “bolstering range” and negotiate down to your resistance point. The value of benefits should be factored into your ask. Also, sometimes an increase in benefits may be more important than an increase in salary.

JL Boston members practice salary negotiation pitches at the 10/26 training with AAUW Work Smart.

After creating a strategic pitch and assessing the market, find a friend and practice your pitch! Practice allows you to improve your abilities to be objective, persuasive, and strategic. The more you practice with others, the more assistance they can provide with positive and constructive feedback to improve your verbal and body language.

Now…

You know your value.
You know the market.
You have practiced.

Feel confident and ask for that higher salary!

The Junior League of Boston is dedicated to developing the potential of women, and more trainings are available to members throughout the year. Members can find the calendar and sign up here.

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