Who Thought This Was a Good Idea?: And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House

by Alyssa Mastromonaco

Out of left field, VICE asked me what I thought I should make. If anyone ever asks you this—and they probably will—do not give a number. Sometimes employers will ask what your current salary is, and unfortunately, you cannot fib there; if they call your reference and it’s your boss, they could find out what you’re making now and know you’ve lied, which looks so much worse than working for a lower-than-average paycheck. But if anyone asks you to tell them what you want, you should respond as follows: “I’m sure there’s a salary band for the position, and my hope would be to come in at the high end of that.” I, however, sat down and did what I thought was thoughtful and considered math: I incorporated what I could expect to bring in through fees for speaking events, what I had made working in the government, my experience level, and what other companies had floated as salaries to me when I met with them. I came up with a number, and I sent it to VICE. I’ll say it again: Don’t do this!!!!! When they came back with less than what I’d asked for, instead of chalking it up to negotiation tactics and calling Bob, I was shocked. All my bros from the White House didn’t seem to run into this issue when they got their first jobs post–White House; as far as I knew, they’d just gotten their offers and accepted. (This is probably not what happened.) At the time, I don’t think I realized my confidence was still simmering on low. Maybe I wasn’t who I thought I was? I talked them up a bit an...