You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings and open those ears. It's the money talk with Tiff podcast. Hey, everyone. I am so excited because I have Lachez Selaj on the line, and she is one of the co hosts of the your corporate IQ podcast, which is put on by one of my. The other co host is my career coach. So I wanted her to come on the podcast today to talk about
something that's super important. So those that are in careers, make sure you are turning up your headphones. Right now we're going to talk about total rewards, how to negotiate job offers, and what to look for. So, hey, Lachaise, how are you? I'm great. I'm great. Happy to be here. So happy to be on your podcast, Tiffany. So proud of you. Thank you so much. All right, so let's just hop right into for the audience. First and foremost, what is total rewards? Great question.
So it's. It's a lot of things. So the total rewards, as I see it, is. So it's the salary. So that's just one component of an offer. It could be the scope of work. It could be the environment or culture. It could be the work arrangements. Even so, remote hybrid onsite. It could be the medical insurance. It could also be other perks like bonuses and stocks. So that's really the total offer, the total rewards. So the main point here is you don't want to
just focus on the salary piece. There's a whole set of offerings that you have to concern yourself with, the entire package. So when it comes to the money. So the salary piece, you'll like this, Tiffany. So understanding the financial pieces, right? So this is what you're concerned with. Evaluate what meets your basic needs, right? So what's going to pay your bills? You know, fundamentally understand that, then understand, perhaps your lifestyle needs. You know, you might have some
requirements around lifestyle. I know you and I have talked about lifestyle and lifestyle creep before, but it's very important to know what your requirements around lifestyle are. Is it? You need your nails done, things like this, and just kind of do the math for both things, right? Your basic needs and the lifestyle requirements. Do the math there first. Yes. Yes. So I'm glad that you mentioned that it's more
than just salary, because I preach about that all the time. And when I was in HR, you know, sometimes the salary looks good, but the benefits are not there. So I'm glad that you started us off with that and then looking at the salary first. Right? So, yeah, that's a. That's cool. Everybody looks at, you know, that number. But if we dig deeper, what else should we be looking at once we get past making sure the salary is where we need it to be? Yes, yes,
absolutely. I think salary is important, so of course that's going to be one of the main considerations within that total reward. So I understand that, but I think that once you know what your lifestyle requirements are and your basic needs are met with a clear mind, you can start to look at and understand what your expectations are now. So are you expecting a 20% increase, for example, from where you are, or a 15% increase? Right. So we can think about that clearly, knowing that, hey, I can
eat. Right. And then are you willing to take a pay cut also, it's another consideration as you're presented with this offer. Is it less than, you know, what you were expecting, or is it less than what you're currently being offered? Are you willing to take a pay cut? And why would you be willing to take a pay cut? What are those things? I think you should know that as well. You know, that's a good point, and let's just dive right into that. So if someone's like, you
know what? How do I figure this out? Like, I have no idea. I've only been looking at the money and I'm like, if I see a few extra dollars, I'm there. How do people figure out if it would be a good move for them or not, even if it does entail a pay cut? Yeah, I think that when we, when we go back to that analysis of the total rewards, that's what helps you to do that. So you start to prioritize. Right. So if the money is not necessarily a priority, then if you look at things like the scope
of work, is the work that you're doing. Interesting, that might be a big weight in terms of the total rewards. And if the offer is attractive to you, so is this is the environment something or culture that you really got a good feeling about, the company or organization or the team? Do you feel comfortable there? That might actually have more weight than the salary, even so, that would even allow you, some of these things might allow you to take a pay cut. So
I think that's how you evaluate the offer. But understanding the other pieces allows you to. To kind of do that. Maybe the medical insurance, maybe that's something that's really pressing for you. What if they have great benefits? Right? So if the medical insurance looks great. That might allow you to take a little bit less if you're able to do that, but it's about understanding what you want and then also what you're able to
do as you evaluate the offer. Amen. And going back to your first point about making sure that the culture is there, I feel like that is extremely important because if the culture is not a good fit, you will be stressed out beyond be
belief, and it's probably not a good move. So one strategy that I teach my students is to have informational interviews with people that currently work at the company or are in the department that they're interested in or even in a position that they're interested in at another company, just to see if the role that they're going for would fit what they're looking for. So that's one tip that I have. Do you have any tips when it comes to checking out company
culture? Yeah, I think that's a great one. Informational is a good way. Your research too, right? I think particularly as a candidate, if you're seeking work, looking for a job, you're actively in the market, really do some research. And even if you're not, even if you are currently working and you're presented with an offer, always do the research about the company, right? Do a Google search. What are some of the things that they're doing? What are they doing? Perhaps for
the community? How are they showing up? Perhaps in the DEI space, you can kind of know these things before you even interact with a company or interact with a recruiter or someone that's in a position of high hiring at that company. So you could always say, you can already know that, oh, wow, this company is showing up in a fantastic way with DEi, for example, if that's
something that you're interested in. But doing that research could also help you be a little bit more comfortable with that culture and also provide you with a foundation of knowledge to ask questions around that. So how you know, how you know, what is your presence in Dei? Do you have employee resource groups, things of that nature? You can start asking questions that allow you to understand a culture during the interview
process so that at the end of the process, you're comfortable with the company. And then from an environment standpoint, really understanding what type of environments you thrive in is really important as well. You know, if you're a person that doesn't really thrive in a big or kind of large organization, you need to kind of understand that at the onset. You know, this might not be the right environment for you? Are you better served at a small company versus a
large company? Is corporate really not a space for you? I think those are great things to understand at the beginning as well. Yes, I love that. Know thyself, y'all. And one thing that is really huge, I know with your co host and probably also with you, is the MBTI. So the Myers Briggs. So understanding, like, what your personality type is. And that way you can see, you know, if you would be a
good fit in certain situations. I know for me, in my corporate career, the best employers I had were small employers. It just felt like a family atmosphere. And I know some people are like, I don't want to call my coworkers family, but it really made the work more enjoyable for me. So I learned kind of early on that I really like the small companies and like the family atmosphere. So I'm glad that you mentioned that because it is something important to consider.
So we've already talked about salary. We talked about culture. We talked about maybe medical and, you know, benefits in that regard. What else should people think about? That's part of the total rewards. Yes, absolutely. Something like work arrangements. So what I mean by that is remote hybrid and onsite. This is something that, you know, in the pandemic here, has increasingly been a concern or something
that people really need to understand about themselves. So a lot of these companies, and I'll speak about the DC area, a lot of the large companies here, have moved away from remote work. So I think that a lot of us are seeing that now the opportunities to work remotely aren't necessarily there anymore. So really understanding that about yourself, what are your requirements there? I say that because, let's say, for example, if a role is remote, you might be more flexible
with some of the other components of the offer. Right. So I know for me in particular, I can be a little bit more flexible if the role is remote, whereas if I'm going on site, I'm looking for probably everything I was looking for. Right. So there's less wiggle room when I have to drive into the company. Hybrid is a nice in between. Right. You're going into the company, you're driving
in there twice a week or three days a week. That's also something to consider, but I think it's as you evaluate and prioritize the total rewards, these things could be priorities or things that you're really concerned with as you evaluate the offer. I think other perks, like bonuses and stocks, let's not forget about those other perks as well. Outside of the salary and all these other things that we've talked about in medical, there could be some other perks that you're currently
receiving. So let's say if you currently get a bonus in your current role or you get stocks, what I want to say about this is you want to make sure that you're not leaving something on the table, right. You don't want to be losing money. Right. So you want to make sure that you understand what your current offering is. Baseline, what's your current offering? To make sure you're not losing out or leaving money on the table with bonuses and stocks and perks like that as well. Oh,
my gosh. You said a mouthful of so much I want to hit on. Okay, so let's rewind back to the remote work component. So that is really important because I know, like you said on the onset of COVID everybody's like, oh, I want to work for home, I want to work from home. That's what I want to do. But I know, like, for instance, when I was in corporate, prior to going full time as an entrepreneur, I enjoyed going to the office because it was like my getaway from home.
I could say, I'm at work, I can cut off work when I come home. You know, those are some of the things that you have to take into consideration, too. If you have your work at home, they can kind of bleed into each other. And so for me, me, I really enjoyed going to the office and having my little space, and that was mine. And then once I was done with work, leaving it there and getting home, so I really
enjoyed that. So I'm glad that you mentioned that. And then the other thing that you mentioned about the stock options and then also bonuses, this is something that doesn't really get a lot of chat, but it can be significant. Yes, yes, yes. I think as a recruiter and certainly as an executive recruiter, I bump into this very often. Right. So individuals that are receiving hefty stock allowances and
hefty bonuses. And so those individuals oftentimes they knew exactly what their stock offering was, their allocation, they knew exactly what their bonuses were. They know the time of year that you're going to receive your bonus. So that even helps you to understand when you can start a position, right? So there's so much knowledge that you go that you have to have before you even start to evaluate that offer. You know, where are you in that
cycle? So if your bonus pays out in March and this company needs you to start in January, there might be a problem there. Right. So perhaps the solve would be I can start in March. Right. Because you don't want to lose that bonus. So those are the things that you have to know. And that's back to the negotiation piece then. So it's okay, well, I can start my position in, you know, the midpoint of March because you have to take that bonus into consideration because you don't want to lose money on
the deal. Yes, yes, yes, yes. That is so important. I remember when I was considering leaving a job and they made it, well, they didn't make it clear after doing my research, I was like, oh, if I leave now or if I don't give the notice that they require, then I'll leave, like my vacation day payout and everything on the table, too. So let's talk about that a little bit. So some, like companies have different policies when it comes to vacation payouts and
sick day payouts and things like that. So when we're thinking about making a transition to a new company, what are things like that that we should consider, too? That's really a good one. I think it's so varied with that vacation payout. I think in my career, what I've seen most often is that, yeah, you are getting a vacation payout if you have not used your vacation days. What I've seen as a standard is that you are being paid out those
vacation days. So I really couldn't speak to, like, another policy. I think that's what I've seen the most. But you do have to pay close attention to those things. Are you getting a vacation payout? I think one of the most important things about these types of things, whether it's the bonuses and the stocks and the vacation payouts, I think the overarching lesson, or what you need to do with evaluating is understanding. We're understanding potential losses and gains.
Right. So you have to understand what the potential loss would be, whether it's in salary, whether it's in the benefits, whether it's the bonus or the stock. Right. And you want to mitigate that. You don't want to have losses. Right. Or what the potential gains could be. Right. So we want, do we want to gain in every area, do we want to increase on salary and we want to increase on benefits and increase
on bonus and stock. So those are the things, you balance those things. But I think that at a minimum, your total reward should at least meet your current offering, if not exceed it. So those are the things that fundamentally, I think you need to be concerned with making sure that you're not losing money, making sure that it's at least meeting your basic needs there, or at least equal to what you're receiving today. Oh my gosh, you've dropped so many gems
on this podcast today. So if people were interested in learning more about total rewards and benefits and things that they should think about, is this stuff that you go over on the your corporate IQ podcast? Yes, I mean, we. Yes, we definitely cover that on the podcast so they can definitely connect with us. Your corporate IQ episodes are on YouTube, so like us and subscribe. You can visit our website as well, yourcorporateiq.com, to learn about us and also schedule
an appointment for coaching services. So your corporate IQ, LLC, we do provide coaching services. We do talk about things like this, how to negotiate, you know, your offers, your salaries, as well as other just general navigation tips. Some of the things we talked about earlier in terms of knowing yourself, I think those are some of the things that we start with really providing
you with the foundation of knowledge. Before you can even understand these things, you have to know yourself and your skills and your abilities to feel comfortable with having these negotiation conversations.
You can certainly find us on LinkedIn as well, and then you can also email [email protected] dot we definitely want to build, you know, an online community with the listeners, but I think that the coaching services are so thorough and complete in terms of starting with the foundation and then kind of moving into the evolution of, you know, the actionable navigation tips as we learn ourselves. I love that. I love that. And I'll make sure I have all of that information
in the show notes as well. Now, are you all on social media or is there anywhere that people can follow you there? Yeah, I'd say LinkedIn is a great one because corporate IQ is a corporate space. I think that's the best forum in terms of social media would be LinkedIn. You can definitely see our content on TikTok. We are there. You can see us on IG as well. But I think LinkedIn is a great starting place for us just to be in a corporate community. Awesome.
Awesome. I'll make sure I have all of that in the show notes, y'all. So if you didn't catch anything, definitely look there. Thank you so much, Lachez, for coming on the podcast and talking about total rewards, because I don't think we've ever talked about it and you dropped so many gems. And I know we could talk for hours about this, but we can't give it all away for the people. So thank you so much. You're welcome. Happy to be here. I think this is
a great topic. I think, I think like you said, it's not something that is talked about enough. Certainly with the bonuses, I think that piece and just the total rewards, you're not just evaluating a salary. I think there's not enough discussion about that. So I appreciate you for doing this. Wonderful. Once again, wonderful. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you. Bye. Thank you for listening, joining and being a part of the Money Talk with TIFF podcast this week. You can check
Tiff out every Thursday for a new money talk podcast. But if you just can't wait until next week, you can listen to previous podcast [email protected] or follow TIFF on all social media platforms at moneytalkwitht. Until next time, spend wise by spending less than you make a word to the money wise is always sufficient.