I still remember my first pay conversation after moving to the UK. My manager named a figure. I nodded. No question, no counter, no "here's what I was thinking." I was just relieved to have a job at all.
A lot of people who've recently moved to a new country recognise that feeling. You don't know the local norms yet, the language of the workplace still feels slightly foreign even when you speak it well, and there's a quiet fear that pushing back too hard will make the wrong impression. So you stay quiet. And, year after year, that quietness can add up to a meaningful amount of unrealised income.
The unspoken deal: why newcomers can end up underpaid
There's a pattern that shows up a lot in the UK job market for people who are new to it: an unspoken assumption that you should be glad to be here, so you shouldn't push your luck. It's rarely said out loud — but it shows up in interviews, in pay reviews, and in how a first offer gets framed.
The result, in my experience and in conversations with other people who've been through the same thing, is that newcomers often accept lower starting salaries than similarly qualified colleagues — and that gap can widen with every year you don't actively negotiate. (Personal observation. Individual results vary, and this isn't a claim about any specific employer or industry.)
"I assumed my experience would speak for itself. What I didn't understand was that on the UK market, you have to learn to say it in the right language — and that's not really about accent or grammar."
The turning point: what changed my approach
For a long time, my strategy was simple: stay safe, stay quiet, stay loyal — until a conversation with a former colleague who'd gone freelance changed that. Same qualifications, similar experience, but a noticeably higher income. His "secret" wasn't really a secret: he'd learned to state his value clearly, and to say no when an offer didn't reflect it. That sounds simple. It isn't, in practice — but it is something you can learn.
The advantage that internationals often overlook
Here's the part that actually surprised me: people who move to a new country for work usually build a skill colleagues on a more settled career path rarely develop. I think of it as an adaptability edge — the ability to learn fast in an unfamiliar system and stay functional under real uncertainty. That's exactly what makes someone effective in a negotiation.
The catch: most people don't consciously apply that skill to their own pay. They see their background as something to explain away rather than something that sets them apart — until they learn to frame their own value properly.
Three things that changed how I approach pay conversations
No shortcuts here — just consistent work on the right things.
Learning the market data
I stopped guessing at what I was "allowed" to ask for and started actually researching typical pay for my role, sector and region. Numbers change the whole conversation.
Naming the blockers
I got honest about why I'd never pushed back before: fear of rejection, the sense I still had to "prove myself" — all common patterns for people new to a workplace. Naming them made them easier to let go of.
Structured, guided practice
This was the biggest lever for me: a structured online course focused specifically on negotiation technique. I worked through a Coursera course at my own pace, alongside my job.
What I know now that I didn't back then
Nobody pays you automatically what you're worth — most systems are built on the assumption that you'll ask, and if you don't, you tend to get the minimum offer. As someone new to the UK, I'd never really learned that: some of us come from places where talking about money openly isn't the norm, or where pay is fixed rather than negotiated. Here, negotiation is much more of an expected part of the process — and not knowing that can be an expensive gap.
The good news: it's learnable. I learned it, mostly through the course that helped me the most — if you'd like to look into it yourself, you'll find my recommendation further down.
A note on advertising: this article includes recommendations for third-party products, for which I may receive a commission. My personal experience is genuine, but results can vary from person to person. Nothing here is legal, financial or employment advice. Individual results vary.
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