Coffee No Cream Ep. 72 - Why Black Women Take the First Offer (A Recruiter Explains)

Bernie Frazier spent 25 years as a corporate recruiter. She had thousands more to give, and she watched Black women say okay to the first offer anyway.

Bernie Frazier is back. The last time she was on Coffee No Cream, y’all loved her, and this time she put her recruiter hat on.

She has led corporate and global recruiting programs, sat on the hiring side of the table for decades, and now coaches professionals through her firm, Career Compass. She showed up with ten prepared tips on negotiating, and she didn’t hold back.

We get into why you should always give a range instead of a number, what to do when they tell you “this is all we have,” and what you can ask for besides salary, from extra vacation to a grossed-up sign-on bonus. Bernie also covers how to negotiate a raise inside your company, how to handle a severance conversation without signing anything in the moment, and how entrepreneurs can price their work without underselling themselves.

Be grateful, but get paid. Tell me in the comments: have you ever said okay to the first offer?

Connect with Bernie Frazier Website: Email: bernie@ Coffee No Cream viewers get 20% off coaching . Mention Coffee No Cream when you reach out.

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Watch Bernie’s first episode on YouTube Like, subscribe, and share this with someone who’s about to get an offer. Join the Coffee No Cream Facebook group Free educational resource database (almost 2,000 free resources) TikTok Instagram ⏰ TIMESTAMPS (0:00) Intro (3:07) Welcome back, Bernie (3:28) If you don’t know what you want, how will you recognize it? (5:45) The recruiter’s view: “Girl, ask me for some money” (7:48) How far below the max is the first offer? (8:22) How salary ranges and midpoints really work (10:19) Why you always give a range, never a number (12:26) Do Black women ask for less? (14:51) The homework we skip before negotiating (15:36) Tip 1: Take inventory of your tangible assets (18:42) Tip 2: Know the going rates in your market (19:32) Using AI and salary sites to research pay (21:05) Why you need a friend in HR (23:17) Tip 3: Know your acceptable salary minimum (26:37) Tip 4: Review the benefits first (27:49) What else can you negotiate besides salary? (29:57) How one client negotiated a senior director title (32:09) Competing offers, and why you shouldn’t lie (33:36) Can they legally ask your current salary? (36:03) Tip 5: Be prepared to hear no (38:31) Chess, not checkers: when the strategic move pays less (42:03) Tip 6: Practice, practice, practice (42:25) Tip 7: Reinforce your interest (43:58) Tip 8: Always ask for time to think about it (46:45) Tip 9: Ask for everything the first time (47:48) Tip 10: Get it in writing (48:45) Negotiating a raise with your current boss (52:50) The $28,000 internal raise (54:48) Negotiating your severance (56:28) Don’t sign anything in the room (58:11) Pricing your work as an entrepreneur (1:03:41) Coaching as an investment (1:06:54) Where to find Bernie, plus the 20% discount