It’s been a while! I just turned 23 and I don’t have much to say about it, but, there’s that!
Full disclosure, I’ve been really busy with my full-time job and I just don’t feel like I’ve had much to say lately. I feel like I’m just waiting for my next step to blog about, like moving out or getting married or having kids blah blah whatever comes after college.
But as I’ve said before, I’m very much in that in-between state … but I realized recently that my huge focus right now is crushing my career goals. And I guess that means I sort of am in a state, one that involves loving my first full-time job post-grad, building the stepping stones for my future, and really learning what it’s like to advocate for myself and showcase my achievements so I can keep moving up.
So, inspired by that I decided to kick off an “early career” series for my fellow ambitious folks who are just starting out post-grad, too. First up? Let’s talk about getting more money!
I recently had my year-in-review meeting at work and I was SO stressed about it, even though I know I had a great year and I crushed all of my goals. Considering I’ve only been at the company for a year full-time (18 months if you count my fellowship), I walked away from the meeting with a pretty nice raise and I’m quite proud of myself for speaking up in order to get it.
Here are some tips I followed or, truthfully, tried to follow.
First off, figure out if you’ve got the grounds to ask for a raise.
It’s true that it “doesn’t hurt to ask” but a real confidence-booster will be figuring out what you’ve done over the past year or so to really earn a raise.
That said, if you’re looking at your past year and find that you haven’t really done anything special and that your work has been just OK, you might want to hold off.
Find the right time to ask.
Many companies have year-in-review meetings that occur around the time you began working at the company and this is often the perfect opportunity to ask. If your company doesn’t have these or yours seems just too far away, speak to your boss about setting up a meeting to discuss how you’re doing.
Always set up an in-person meeting ahead of time rather than asking your boss at a random point during the day or in an email.
Leading up to your meeting, sing your praises to higher-ups.
I used to be afraid of coming off as being braggy or self-absorbed by sharing my achievements, but I realized that it’s simply just being proud and making it known how much greatness you’re doing at work.
For starters, try sending out a monthly/quarterly email to your manager about some stand-out stats and projects you’ve taken on recently. At my job, this is basically a requirement and I’m SO glad it is. It makes it easy to look back on my highlights and it means my bosses are constantly in the know about the work I’m producing.
I recommend doing this for a few months ahead of time since it’ll make it even easier to showcase your growth and/or consistent great work.
Gather your thoughts beforehand and pick out some talking points.
Are there some stats you have to mention? Have your responsibilities increased? How are you contributing more than you were a few months ago? Did you achieve all of the goals the company set for you?
I found it helpful to write myself bullet points ahead of my meeting, sort of like I was preparing a speech … in a way, I was! I didn’t end up saying everything, but I did use these bullets to give a quick highlight reel of my past year to my boss.
Figure out what other people with your title make.
This can seem kind of ballsy, but it’s SO important to sort of poke around. You can start by checking websites like Glassdoor to see how much an X in Y city is making each year, but it’s often most helpful to ask coworkers; I think this is something that shouldn’t be so taboo.
This isn’t something I ever felt sure enough to do, but then one of my coworkers straight-up asked me what I make and we got into an entire discussion about salaries and worth and it ended up giving me a reference point going into my one-year meeting.
Overall, I think that being open about what you make and what others make can just help everyone have more awareness and ensure that people are being paid fairly and equally … but it’s also important to note that everyone’s job is a little different so if there’s a salary gap there could sometimes be a practical explanation.
Expect to negotiate a bit and ask for more than what you want to settle for, no matter what.
There’s a good chance they won’t offer you exactly what you’re looking for right off the bat, so go into any discussion asking for a bit higher than what you’re hoping for.
Have some numbers and stats on hand.
Sure, it depends on your job, but statistics and percentages often speak volumes. What percent of traffic do you help your company get on social media? How many sales did you make this year? How much as your X, Y, Z improved over the past few months?
Take some time to prepare numbers, charts, and stats. Even if you don’t end up taking them out, they’re good to have if you plan on negotiating or simply want to boost your own confidence.
If you can’t get more money, consider negotiating other perks.
If there’s simply no wiggle room for the raise you want, try asking for other perks like more vacation days or work-from-home days.
If all else fails, ask again later.
Consider any “no” to be a “no FOR NOW” and don’t be afraid to try again in a few months or during your next one-year meeting.
And during your meeting, ask about what you can do to get that raise in the future. Maybe there are certain goals you thought you were hitting but aren’t or certain steps you can take to better prepare for your next meeting.
Read More:
10 of the best pieces of career advice I’ve received
8 pieces of career advice that aren’t as useful as you think
5 things that won’t actually help you get an editorial job + what to do instead
