A woman has revealed why you should always discuss your salary with friends after a casual chat about a pal’s new job offer resulted in her doubling her own salary.
Mayssa Chehata, 31, from New York, uses the handle @mayssachehata on TikTok, where she shares videos about manifesting and career building. She went viral earlier this month when she shared how one lunch changed her life.
The entrepreneur, the founder and CEO of low-sugar candy company Behave, recalled working in marketing and going from about $100,000 to over $200,000 by the age of 26.
“So much about making money, increasing your salary and building wealth comes back to mindset. This big raise for me all stems from that one lunch I had with a friend, probably a year or two before this job came along,” she explained in her now-viral video.
New Yorker Mayssa Chehata, 31, shared how she more than doubled her salary on TikTok, saying she went from about $100,000 to over $200,000 in marketing by the age of 26
“She had just gotten an offer for a dream job and I don’t know what had possessed me because I would normally have been very uncomfortable asking that, but I asked her if she would be comfortable knowing the level of the salary to share was your new job.’
Chehata said she was overwhelmed by her friend’s offer, which changed her mind about what was possible when it came to her own merit.
“Right about that time, everyone in my circle who was people who worked in marketing from manager to director probably had a salary range of $75,000 to $125,000,” she noted.
“So my friend told me her offer was a base salary of $250,000 with a massive bonus on top. I almost fell off my chair. And if I tell you, this conversation changed my brain chemistry.’
The conversation was still in the back of her mind when a year or two later a company approached her for a position.
Chehata said her success came from having lunch with a friend and asking her what her salary was like at her new job, something she wouldn’t normally do
She was stunned to find out her pal earned a base salary of $250,000 with a bonus. “That conversation changed my brain chemistry,” she recalls
“I tell them I’m not actively looking for new jobs, but I’ll take the call. And on that call, she asks me, somewhat unexpectedly, what salary I’d be looking for if I were considering the role, and without even thinking, I just blurt out, “$200,000 is the minimum salary I’m even getting into.” A train would have to consider,” she explained.
“If I hadn’t heard from my friend who works in my area that she was getting $250,000, I don’t think my brain would have let the word $200,000 come out of my mouth.
“I probably would have said something like $135 or $150, which would still have felt like a big $100,000 raise. And I probably would have made a caveat like, “But I can be flexible about that.” But because I had that reference point and seen what was possible, I held on. They accepted my offer and I accepted the job.’
This experience made Chehata realize the importance of salary transparency in her community, as she wasn’t the only one to benefit. She noticed that talking openly about job offers and salaries in her circle of friends led to them making more money as well.
“That’s all to say that it’s so important, especially as women and people of color, that we start talking to each other about what we’re making, salaries, what investments we’re making, how we’re making money and how we’re getting richer,” she said you.
She later approached a company about a position and was reminded of the interview. She said $200,000 was the minimum salary she would consider and ended up getting the job
Chehata, the founder and CEO of low-sugar candy company Behave, noted that if her friend hadn’t told her how much she was making, she would have charged a lot less
Many commenters agreed that pay transparency is important – especially for women – and shared their own success stories
“Like men, whites have been doing this for centuries. What do you think they talk about for six hours a week on the golf course? That’s why I’m such a big advocate of removing the stigma about talking about salaries, about what we make, how we make money, even outside of our jobs in our communities, because that’s really our way of moving forward.’
Chehata later shared more details about the position in the comments, explaining that the job was in marketing and partnership with a fitness company in New York City.
“I recognize the specific [dollar] amount has [limitations] based on many factors,” she wrote. “But we can all get richer by having these conversations!”
The video has been viewed more than 522,000 times and has received over 1,200 comments since it was posted on January 5th.
Many agreed that salary transparency is important for women while sharing their own success stories.
“Job hopping has contributed the most to my income increase. It breaks my heart to see former colleagues staying at the same company for years,” one person wrote.
Chehata was thrilled to see that commentators were also open about their salaries in their own industries
“People respond and say, ‘I didn’t know people in my field were making that much money,’ she said. ‘That was literally the point of the video and I’m so happy about it’
‘As a marketing recruiter, this is so true!’ someone else added. “The salary requirements men are giving me compared to what women are telling me for the same role is insane!”
Another recalled her ex telling her he was making five times her salary, saying: “It changed me. This year I will earn more than him.”
“They conditioned us to be ashamed to talk about pay because it benefits companies, not workers,” stressed one woman.
Chehata was thrilled to see that commentators were also open about their salaries in their own industries.
“You guys are really all out here to prove the point of my original video and I love that for us. How everyone shares their salaries in the comments,” she said in a follow-up clip.
“People respond and say, ‘I didn’t know people in my field made that much. I have to ask for more.” That was literally the point of the video and I’m so happy about that.”