In this episode of The You Are Friendly Black Coworker Podcast, I’m joined by my girl Lauren Simone and we break down the crucial practice of self-advocacy in the professional world. Lauren shares the pivotal, yet humbling, story of her first post-grad job, where her eagerness to accept an offer without negotiating left her looking for a new role, a lesson that spurred her transformation into a fierce self-advocate. We chat about some actionable advice on negotiation tactics, such as asking for a sign-on bonus when base salary increases are off the table, and setting high-end salary expectations from the start. We also dive into how to address mistreatment and hostile environments, stressing the importance of documenting repeated unprofessional behavior, seeking out allies, and realizing that we spend too much time at the workplace to be unhappy.