Value Yourself. Nobody Else Will.

I gave birth to my second child at the beginning of COVID. I was a campaign manager for a hotel group, and I managed to negotiate my layoff. But when I went back on the market, I was offered positions at 30K or $35K. I accepted one anyway, kept applying, and landed a position at 45K plus bonus. Good thing I didn't give up. I was starting to know my worth. After that job, I became a freelancer. My first contract paid $300 a day, still below my potential, my skills, and my years of expertise. I had almost five years of campaign management in digital. A former office colleague told me never to accept less than $500. I respected her confidence, and I was afraid HR or the recruiter would sense my uncertainty. In my head, it was: we're post-COVID, I take whatever fills the fridge, and that's it. As long as my kids eat. A recruiter told me that with my expertise and all the product categories I'd worked on, I could aim for at least $750 a day. But as soon as an offer at $450 came up, I took it. That rate let me live normally, put a little aside, and give my kids a comfortable life. In 2023, I felt the wind turn in digital. Fewer freelance contracts, more permanent positions, rarely above $130K. People even advised me to take a position at 90K, as long as it was permanent. At least if I got fired, I'd leave with a little severance, if the company wasn't too mean. I finally got a position at $100K, with ten years of experience. In the interview, they had told me $115K. Reading the contract, I was disappointed. But the opportunity was too good.