Career advice of the day: Advocate for yourself
-
Slacker007 wrote:
that person is now on our radar
[Devil's advocate mode] Being on management's radar as someone who is not happy with their salary may not always be a good thing. [/Devil's advocate mode]
It can be a good thing if you are a valued employee.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
-
If you are not already doing so. Thought I would share this real world experience with some of the newer developers here. Do you think you deserve a promotion or a raise in pay? Ask for it. You can't expect anyone to advocate for you other than...you. I try to take care of my team, and reward those who are on the radar, but sometimes that falls through the cracks and I miss things. I recently had a team member who felt they were being overlooked on promo/raise. That team member advocated for himself. They brought their concerns to me, we discussed, and now they are scheduled for promo and raise. It doesn't hurt to ask. If you work at a company where asking can have negative consequences, then you are working at the wrong company and you need to move on. :thumbsup:
Thanks for the advice. For future reference I'm just letting everyone know that I'm awesome :-D
-
Thanks for the advice. For future reference I'm just letting everyone know that I'm awesome :-D
Mathew Crothers wrote:
I'm just letting everyone know that I'm awesome
As you should, and is highly recommended. :)
-
If you are not already doing so. Thought I would share this real world experience with some of the newer developers here. Do you think you deserve a promotion or a raise in pay? Ask for it. You can't expect anyone to advocate for you other than...you. I try to take care of my team, and reward those who are on the radar, but sometimes that falls through the cracks and I miss things. I recently had a team member who felt they were being overlooked on promo/raise. That team member advocated for himself. They brought their concerns to me, we discussed, and now they are scheduled for promo and raise. It doesn't hurt to ask. If you work at a company where asking can have negative consequences, then you are working at the wrong company and you need to move on. :thumbsup:
Rightfully said, I've known people rise to the top in terms of pay just by keeping pressure on the management for raises. Others lacked the vigor to push their agendas afraid of getting the pink slip. Take your chances. Sometimes it is better to be sorry (ephmerally) than to be safe. ;P
Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine
-
Rightfully said, I've known people rise to the top in terms of pay just by keeping pressure on the management for raises. Others lacked the vigor to push their agendas afraid of getting the pink slip. Take your chances. Sometimes it is better to be sorry (ephmerally) than to be safe. ;P
Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine
There is some evidence that this behaviour may contribute to the gender pay gap. As a generalisation there is a greater proportion of men than women prepared to say they are awesome, regardless of whether they are or not. In general I would also say that the likelihood of stating that one is awesome is also not directly linked to ability...
-
If you are not already doing so. Thought I would share this real world experience with some of the newer developers here. Do you think you deserve a promotion or a raise in pay? Ask for it. You can't expect anyone to advocate for you other than...you. I try to take care of my team, and reward those who are on the radar, but sometimes that falls through the cracks and I miss things. I recently had a team member who felt they were being overlooked on promo/raise. That team member advocated for himself. They brought their concerns to me, we discussed, and now they are scheduled for promo and raise. It doesn't hurt to ask. If you work at a company where asking can have negative consequences, then you are working at the wrong company and you need to move on. :thumbsup:
Did it. Asked for it after the startup won two gold medals for innovation. Brought my concerns. "The technicians get less than you" was the answer.
-
Slacker007 wrote:
If you work at a company where asking can have negative consequences, then you are working at the wrong company and you need to move on.
If you work for a company that has no idea of your work, how you are doing, your skills and abilities, where you need to ask for recognition instead of just getting the recognition you deserve then you need to move on and find a company that takes an active interest in their employees :)
I don't agree. A business needs to be concerned about running the business, of which only part is keeping the employees happy. At every place I have worked, people always have more to do than they can actually accomplish and so they don't always focus on employee happiness. A supervisor might be completely happy with your work, but neglect to mention it. An employee advocating on their own behalf could just remind a supervisor of something that should have been done a while ago. I've had at least three occasions where I have worked for excellent people who have not offered me a raise, but who responded positively when I asked.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend; inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. -- Groucho Marx
-
It can be a good thing if you are a valued employee.
The difficult we do right away... ...the impossible takes slightly longer.
Depends on the organization. Such practices in highly structured organizations where salary review is part of a set schedule can be considered stepping out of line or whishing to be treated with 'special' consideration over and above coworkers who operate within the bounds of policy. Such organizations it would be better to keep your powder dry until such a review interval and then express a strong case advocating your position while remaining within the set parameters of policy.
-
Mark_Wallace wrote:
"They can only say no".
Exactly. However, even if I say no, or upper management says no, that person is now on our radar, and the next time could be yes.
And if they say 'no', then ask about what goals you can achieve that will change that. Open a conversation about your career path in that organization. Let them know you want advancement, otherwise you'll just be one of the worker-drones.
Mark Just another cog in the wheel
-
If you are not already doing so. Thought I would share this real world experience with some of the newer developers here. Do you think you deserve a promotion or a raise in pay? Ask for it. You can't expect anyone to advocate for you other than...you. I try to take care of my team, and reward those who are on the radar, but sometimes that falls through the cracks and I miss things. I recently had a team member who felt they were being overlooked on promo/raise. That team member advocated for himself. They brought their concerns to me, we discussed, and now they are scheduled for promo and raise. It doesn't hurt to ask. If you work at a company where asking can have negative consequences, then you are working at the wrong company and you need to move on. :thumbsup:
The only thing I'd add is advocate for others as well. If you fell that somebody on your team does a job which is goes above their level, make sure that people know about it. Ensure that those people are on management's radar as well. I'm actually kind of proud that I'm four-for-four at my current company in people I've advocated for getting promoted. (Not to say it wouldn't have happened anyway, of course).
-
If you are not already doing so. Thought I would share this real world experience with some of the newer developers here. Do you think you deserve a promotion or a raise in pay? Ask for it. You can't expect anyone to advocate for you other than...you. I try to take care of my team, and reward those who are on the radar, but sometimes that falls through the cracks and I miss things. I recently had a team member who felt they were being overlooked on promo/raise. That team member advocated for himself. They brought their concerns to me, we discussed, and now they are scheduled for promo and raise. It doesn't hurt to ask. If you work at a company where asking can have negative consequences, then you are working at the wrong company and you need to move on. :thumbsup:
If you want a pay rise, work as a consultant. In the USA, thanks to paid vacations, healthcare plans, 401-K, sick days and, not least, the fact that 15 separate taxes (8 on the employee's side and 7 on the employer's) are taken out of an employee's pay check before he ever sees it, it costs a company the same to employ a 1099 consultant at $60 an hour (=$120,000 a year) as it does to employ a W2 employee at $60,000 a year. Make that point, and you're in. Then, as a consultant, you can get into the business of finding write-offs and so on, which, since you're now working for yourself, you can do for any related stuff you buy, the portion of your house (and therefore rent/mortgage/bills) you designate as your office, and so on. Effectively, you should be able to double your salary without changing desks.
