ONE LESSON I LEARNED the hard way: Never give your number before you’re ready to. Do not allow anyone to force you into a negotiation that you haven’t had time to prepare for. You can simply say, “I’d love to take the night and come back to you on that first thing.” If I had someone coaching me, I would have been so much more prepared in that moment. But I wasn’t. I had no coach and no idea that this happens all the time—especially to women. Even more often to young women of color.
