How to negotiate your salary. Figuring out your money psychology. And time to head to the Financial Times' night school...

Roles, courses + learning opportunities just for you

Author

Hannah Wickes
October 11, 2023

Opportunity Seeker highlights ways you can grow your career and personal impact. We’re here to open up opportunity so more of us can belong in spaces that need us.

Oh hi there. It’s time for an Opportunity Seeker money💸 special…

I’m into week 2 of my Break Fellowship, surrounded by 13 other female entrepreneurs in a small village in Spain as we work on startups and business ideas. One common thread is that we all struggle to price our work, especially when the motivation is impact and value, rather than income.

So this email is dedicated to those women, my co-fellows who are on the journey to put a value on the impact they want to have — it’s a privilege to learn with you.

Today we’ll be covering:

  • 5 resources to negotiate for your benefits + salary 💸

  • Figuring out your personal money psychology 🧠

  • How to use your personal finances for climate action

  • Pivoting into a FinTech career

  • And a crash course in business financials 💰

Feeling uncomfortable already? That’s normal, a third of us find money conversations awkward and avoid the topic with family and friends. So to keep us grounded before we head into the ‘money’ issue, here’s some words from the man who wrote The Psychology of Money…

❝

Realize that not all success is due to hard work, and not all poverty is due to laziness. Keep this in mind when judging people, including yourself.

Morgan Housel

How does the financial system even work

Look, learning about financial markets and investing can be incredibly intimidating for most of us. It’s not something we’re taught in school, and sometimes not even by our parents. But it’s never too late to learn:

  • Financial Times Night School: Every week the FT releases a deep dive podcast into financial power called Behind the Money, but in April they decided to do a five episode financial ‘night school’. It’s a fantastic explainer resource hosted by some of their top financial journalists:

  • Girls That Invest: In the midst of the pandemic, two women from New Zealand, Sim and Sonya, started a podcast about investing. It became the #1 business podcast in the US, Canada and NZ and has opened the door for 1000s of beginner investors to learn the basics of ETFs, ethical investing and building your portfolio. Start with the first few episodes and prepare to have the jargon unlocked.

  • EU friendly: One big challenge for those of us in the EU, is that most financial resources, blogs and courses focus on the US. One tool that’s helped me is JustETFs - you can use their screener tool to build a ‘mock portfolio’ and filter for only sustainable options.

Consider these 5 resources your negotiation gym…

Talking about money can be awkward. In fact multiple surveys and research studies have shown a signifiant portion of us don’t talk about our finances with friends, family or even partners. Which makes talking with your boss or future employer about salaries and benefits even more stressful. For women there can be an added social cost when we negotiate - which enhances the gender pay gap.

Here’s five resources you can use to get comfortable with financial negotiation, shift your mindset around money, and push for more pay equity:

  • The fine art of negotiation: This is a very North American style negotiation video, and each country will have its own cultural nuances — but Stanford Professor, Margaret Neale breaks down multiple ways to negotiate for your salary and benefits.

  • Research comparison salaries: One of the most powerful tools in negotiation is always data, Payscale operates behind a pretty strong paywall, but you can usually do a few searches with their salary tool to find out the median salary compensation for specific job titles. They also have research reports covering topics like remote work, pay rises and compensation transparency — all good ammunition when asking for pay equity and stronger benefits.

  • Global Salary Converter: Wanting to shift countries but unsure of what your equivalent salary is in your new chosen city? There’s a tech startup called Figures that allows you to do that.

  • Negotiating startup equity: So you’ve decided to join a startup… one of the benefits of navigating the chaos of an early stage company is that you usually get equity which can result in big profits down the line. But how do you negotiate this? Attorney, Mary Russell has put together this guide (head’s up it is more US focused).

  • Shift your money mindset: If talking about money makes you uncomfortable there’s a reason for that. This video is a 20-minute explainer on the psychology of money and how it’s impacted by when we were born, our family, and the country we grow up in.

A batch of FinTech opportunities

Traditional banks have been facing disruption from challenger banks and payment systems since PayPal stormed on to the scene in 1998. There’s been a rise and fall of different players, but one thing is clear… the speed at which FinTech moves can be a fascinating place to learn and accelerate your career. Below are a few opportunities to work in the space:

  • London/Remote: One of the UK’s biggest FinTechs, Monzo is looking for a Head of Brand Marketing to cover a year’s maternity contract. You’ll need to have +10 years marketing experience under your belt, and be used to working with Product and Design teams.

  • Remote/UK: Treecard is a wooden debit card that funds forest restoration as you spend. Launched in the US in 2021, they’re looking for a UK based Senior Product Engineer to work with a team of Frontend developers. Full disclosure, I’m on the board of Treecard 🌳

  • Remote/USA: They’re one of the biggest players in FinTech, now Stripe is hiring for a head of their Startup Program. They want someone with significant marketing experience, who also understands the world of accelerators, VC and community building.

  • Amsterdam: For some reason the Netherlands has been one of the biggest pushers of sustainable finance, with Triodos starting the trend. One of the NeoBank disrupters, Bunq is recruiting for multiple Product and Legal roles.

  • Singapore: If you’re a person who’s shifted countries or currencies regularly than you’ve probably heard of WISE. It looks like they’re now expanding, as they’re hiring a Head of Business Development for APAC. You’ll have to be comfortable working with C-level and open to travel.

  • UK: On the flip side of FinTech sits the financial regulators, and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is on the hunt for a Strategic Comms Adviser for the next twelve months. Ideally you’ll be based in Edinburgh, Leeds or London.

  • Aotearoa/New Zealand: Want to really mix things up with a relocation downunder 🥝? NZ’s Financial Markets Authority is also looking for a External Relations Manager.

Follow the money… taking action for climate

There’s no doubt that money has the ability to change the world’s climate trajectory. But as an individual it’s hard to know where to start taking action. Here’s 3 ways to get going:

  • Fossil Free Funds: About 20 firms are responsible for a third of all our emissions — unfortunately nearly all of these fossil fuel giants like BP, Shell, Total or Exxon are listed companies and when you choose to invest broadly i.e. through your pension, 401(k), superannuation plan or with personal investments, you can end up supporting them. One incredible resource put together by the non profit, As You Sow is a database tool where you can check if your investments are fossil fuel free.

  • Bank Green: Want to find out where your bank is investing your money and who they’re lending to? The Dutch NGO, BankTrack has created a tool where you can check if your bank is funding climate chaos — the best bit is that it’s global.

  • Shake up your retirement: For those in the UK you can use the Make My Money Matter site to find out how committed your pension is to Net Zero — if you discover your pension is still actively supporting fossil fuels the tool lets you email the pension fund’s board of directors.

Opportunity of the week

  • US Remote: One of the non profits who first started pushing for change in the financial sector was Rainforest Action Network. They actively campaign to prevent deforestation being funded by banks and pension funds, and are now looking for a Chief Financial Officer to manage their 12M a year budget. It’s a big role, where you’ll be reporting in to Executive Director, Ginger Cassady. While it is remote friendly they want at least a few hour’s overlap with the Pacific timezone.

Learning opportunities

  • Get financially certified: Starting to get the finance bug? In most countries to give financial advice you need to be certified or registered, doing this with the CFA Institute is one of the most common options. Last year CFA began offering the Certificate in Climate & Investing. It’s open to everyone, not just those working in the finance industry.

  • Learn the ropes of business finances: As you get more senior in your role it becomes more and more difficult to avoid financial reporting or business finances. For those who didn’t study this, City University London offers a practical crash course, Finance for Non-Financial Managers — it runs over 10 weeks and is held online.

Next week

Phew, okay that was a pretty big deep dive into the money bags. Next week we’re back to normal broadcast and I’ll be sharing out roles, networking opportunities and ways to scale your career and impact. Got an interesting role or course to share? Reply to this email (I read all the responses).

Signing off from a still sunny October in Spain ☀️…

Hannah, your questing opportunity seeker in arms

P.S. Got a spare second and feeling generous of heart?

This week’s spotlight is on ShareAction. I’ve brought them up before when I mentioned their campaign to become an AGM activist. They’re a non profit who pushes for listed companies to tackle climate change, protect the natural world, and look after workers’ rights. So far 50% of the companies on the London Stock Exchange are now paying employees a living wage due to their shareholder activism.

Here’s a few ways you can support their work: