Do We Value Our Worth Enough?

Money negotiation. This was not a skill I was taught nor, quite frankly, is it something I’m good at.

But it’s an important skill to practice, not only for your own personal security and happiness, but also for the profession as a whole. See, negotiating a salary or fee is not really about the money, per se, but it’s about the value you assign to yourself and the services you provide.

Although there are many variables to consider when setting a price point—where you live, your age and years of experience, the type of population and facility, frequency and duration of services, types of sessions offered—honoring your true value should be the core, the starting point to envisioning what you are worth. Plus it’s not just about you. The compensation you receive for your services is reflective of the value and worth we (and others) place on the profession as a whole.

These are mere musings, but for a more extensive analysis I invite you to jump on over to Thrive Music Therapy and check out Brea Murakami’s thoughts on why salary negotiations are so critical for music therapists.

And if you have tips of your own for newbie negotiators? Please share your wisdom by leaving a comment in the boxes below.

UPDATE: How fitting that a couple days after publishing this post, I come across an article titled How Women Can Negotiate Better. Some helpful gems for you to up your negotiating game 🙂

Tagged as: finances, money, value