Once you accept a position, you’re going to make the same pay forever right? Well if you let it, yes. While there are jobs out there that are inflexible with their payscales, more often than not, increasing your pay at work is not out of reach. Instead, you’re likely not positioning yourself to get more. Let it be known, if you don’t care to, that’s fine too. However, for those who do, I think you’ll find this helpful in getting a raise at work.

Some jobs have incremental “cost of living” increases. I put that in quotes because if you’ve ever seen your cost of living increase, it’s usually a few cents an hour. Inflation averages around 2% a year. Using one of my per diem nursing gigs as an example, in 2017 I made $44.45/hour. In 2018, I made $44.80/hour. That’s an increase of a little less than 1%. Inflation beat me that year. In 2019, I made $45.80/hr. That’s an increase of a little less than 3%. Great! Oh, except they must’ve realized they did too much because I’m making $45.80/hr in 2020. This is proof that these teeny increases are not enough. We have to be more proactive.

First Things First

Do the job you are being paid to do. Sounds simple but I think people take this for granted at times. Look at your job description. Ask yourself if you are meeting what is asked of you and how. Write down whatever you have come up with that you have accomplished. Also, see if there are things you might have missed the mark on or forgotten about. Create a plan to address them.

Also, look at your organization’s mission & values statement. How does your work and accomplishments line up with those values? Write them down.

Do a Little Bit More

So you have met the standard. How do you prove you deserve more? By doing a little bit more. There’s a balance to this. You do not want to overstep and take over projects at your workplace that belong to someone else. That’s annoying. It is also not necessary to work tons of overtime or lose sleep over it. You can…but that’s not what I am encouraging you to do.

Instead, identify an issue that your organization or manager has shared is an issue that needs work. You can ask them for ideas. Also, you can volunteer for committees that need representation at your job. Come up with a strategy to improve customer service. Make a service line more efficient. Organizations love engaged staff members who make them look good. Ideally, you want for whatever you come up with to be something you can track so you can provide evidence of your work making the difference.

If your job has annual performance evaluations where they ask you to evaluate yourself first, give yourself the rating you deserve. Don’t sell yourself short because you feel embarrassed or shy to praise yourself. Do not oversell either. If there’s an area you clearly need to improve in, don’t give yourself five stars. Once again, give yourself the rating you deserve.

If your job doesn’t require you evaluate yourself, then it’s a good idea to meet with your boss a few months before to set goals and sell your accomplishments. That way when it’s time to ask for a raise, your boss isn’t wondering where the notion or thought came from.

Compare & Contrast

Look online to see how much people in your role are making in your area. There are websites like Glassdoor that post salary information. Sometimes salaries are included in the results of a job search. Factor in how much experience is needed to make the amount you’re looking for. If you’re making less, you have a case for asking for market value. When you do this, rather than just telling your boss you FEEL as if you deserve more, you can logically present the reason for your request.

Talking to your co-workers about how much they make is a HUGE help. Some people are finicky and uncomfortable about talking about money though. So if the person you’re asking is uneasy, then leave well enough alone and find someone else more receptive. You are not to use that information to say to your boss, “I know So-and-so makes more money than me so I need a raise”. No no no. You want to use that information to make the fair market value argument by making it known that you are aware that other people in your role make more. That way you’re giving them the opportunity to even the scale. Isn’t that so much nicer?

Personal Application

My full-time job does annual reviews. Three people rate me: myself, a peer, and my manager. The scale used is from 1 to 5 in categories that correlates to my organization’s mission and values (see how that works). In 2019, I got a 4.0/5.0 which equaled a 3.26% raise. I loved the score and I beat inflation! I was honestly satisfied. But in conversation, my co-worker mentioned she thought it was impossible to get a 5/5 for the maximum raise. Well honestly, I don’t like the word impossible so I set out to get the maximum raise.

The first thing I had to do was take the evaluation seriously by giving myself the rating I deserved. I had to be my own advocate. If you don’t stand up for yourself, who will? Instead of just giving myself a 5/5 in each category, I put finite examples of how my actions and work met the standards of that category. That combined with the scores of all the people involved led to a final score of 4.6/5 for a raise of 4.26%. I didn’t tell my co-worker because I didn’t want to rub it in but I achieved my goal. It felt AMAZING! Like a great report card you run home to show mom.

This doesn’t work for everybody 🙁

I know this won’t work for everybody. Some jobs are unionized so your pay is dependent on what they negotiate with your employer. If they’re not cutting the mustard, then it might be best to look for employment elsewhere.

Even if your job is not unionized, sometimes the only way you’ll make more money is by finding another job. If making more is your goal, then do it. Put on your job alerts at Indeed.com, LinkedIn, etc. “You miss 100% of the opportunities you don’t take”. I don’t know who said it but it’s genius.

To-Do List

• Keep a list of your accomplishments and how you’re caring for your organization’s values.
• Find opportunities for measurable change that you can reasonably take on.
• Make sure your ask for a raise is reasonable by doing your research on fair market value.
• Ask for a raise.

What do you do with the extra money? Don’t let it go to waste by increasing your cost of living. Try to maintain your expense and instead build up your emergency fund and start investing. If there’s one thing coronavirus taught you, let it be the importance of having money to hold you over in trying times.

Do you have questions/concerns? Leave them in the comments and we’ll talk it out. If you’re shy, then reach out via my contact page.

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