Too quick to re enter workforceI re-entered the work force as a Business Systems Analyst II earlier this year at a Fortune 100 company after a 6 year hiatus to start a family. I worked as a real estate agent while home which helped me brush-up on adult people skills that I used to have when I worked as Business Systems Analyst I for 7 years earning $45k when I left to start my family. I jumped at the first offer I received and regret it since I realize now that I underestimated my skill-set and thought I was much rustier than I really am. I am salaried at $65k and think I should be paid at least $75-$80k. I do not want to job hop, but am concerned that now I am stuck lower on the ladder in terms of salary and job duties than I should be and this will continue to hold me back financially and professionally. How do I fix this? I am thinking I should discuss with my manager at the 6 month review, what I need to do to either be promoted within her area to the next grade level at the one year anniversary or to be recommended for an internal job offer at the next grade level at my one year anniversary. Adding to the rub is my manager told me I would not have to travel for the first six months and at the end of my first week I was scheduled to travel every 6 weeks. So far it has been three days at a time but the next trip is for one week. When negotiating the offer I mentioned to my manager that I would have to pay someone to replace myself at home in order to travel and my manager did not budge on the salary "to start". My manager has only been with the company for 2 years and I am my manager's first hire at the company. Is this a situation where it makes sense to leave sooner rather than later so I do not get pegged in a lower salary and position level? What I am doing now is two notches below what I was doing over 8 years ago. What should my strategy be? Thank you for your suggestions!
I think you need to take a step back and really evaluate where you are before you go in with demands, even nicely phrased ones. You were out of the work force for 7-8 years. That's a pretty long time and to expect to step right back in where you were isn't really reasonable. You're getting a very good salary now and while it is nice that you think with a couple months of recent experience you're worth another $10-$15K over that, there's no basis for you to think that. If you want to (quietly) go out job hunting and see if you're worth that much, you can, but I think you'll probably find that you should stay put for a while. Although it is fine to ask your boss about career paths and where you go next, I'd save that for the one year review. It just strikes me as pushy at a 6 month review, again especially in your circumstances. As to the travel issue, you don't get paid more for travel. If you don't want to do the travel, find another job without it (although that may be easier said than done right now in your circumstances), or put up with it with the thinking that this is taking you where you want to go down the road. You don't get money to "replace yourself at home". Honestly, there's no amount of money that could "replace" me at home when I'm traveling anyway! You're either willing to do it or you're not. It is going to take you a couple years to recoup the gap that was created when you left. That's the trade off that you make for leaving the workforce. Eventually, you'll even out again but you have to be very realistic about it when you're just starting back in. Tess
Were I you, and I'm not of course, I'd be thankful for having had theopportunity to stay at home while my children were young (not everybodyhas that choice) and consider a supposedly "lower" salary at re-entryinto the workforce an entirely acceptable trade-off. What Tess saysmakes a lot of sense. There IS a trade-off for staying at home,but, IMHO, it's totally worth taking a slight step backward in salary.You have years ahead of you in your career--you'll get "back" to whereyou think you should be. Really, a $10k difference isn't all that much,and if you were making $45k when you left 6 or 7 years ago, frankly interms of salary, you are doing pretty well. Salaries have not gone up awhole helluva lot in that amount of time, and a $20k increase is very,very good. I think you should stay put till your one-year anniversary (unless yousimply aren't willing to travel), then look at where you can/should gofrom there. You're now competing against folks who have not been out ofthe workforce for so long--and you are making a great salary, espciallyconsidering you say you are at a lower level. You're doing pretty well,given that. Reality is that lots & lots of folks who haven't beenout of the workforce aren't making anywhere near $20k more than theywere 6 years ago. Seems to me you've done extremely well for your firstjob "out of the gate." Don't get greedy or make the mistake of assumingthat salaries have risen such that you should be making $75 to $80k/yr.They haven't, in most cases. I think you've got a sound plan in mind, but you should wait until you have your first-year review and see how it goes. If the outcome isn't satisfactory, then I'd quietly initiate a job search and see what offers might come your way - keeping mind that it's always easier to find a job when you have one. You'll find out if you expectations are too high, you'll find that out pretty quickly. If they're not, you can make the jump at that time. In the meantime, however, I think you may be expecting too much too quickly. Wait until you've at least been with this employed one year before trying to make up for lost time - not wasted time, merely lost time! Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert
Thank you for your suggestion to wait until the annual review and see how that goes first. I appreciate your time.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my posting and I will take your advice and wait until the annual review to make my next step. Unfortunately I did not make it clear that I was earning $65 in real estate sales, so it is a lateral move from that perspective. Also, the area of the country where I live has a high cost of living so $65k does not go very far here. Recent college grads with no experience whatsoever earn $45k in this area, so it is not a matter of greed but of paying for housing costs and childcare expenses while making sure that I am compensated fairly for my demonstrated skill set and work-experience compared to those who have none. While I do not respect my manager's lack of honesty surrounding the travel component of the job, I do appreciate the fact that I have a job with a well respected and stable company. At least if the annual review does not lead to a promotion or increased salary, I think it will provide me with a good stepping stone to a better paid position which uses my full skill set. Thanks again for your posting.
Thank you for reading my submission and providing me with your thoughts. The consensus seems to be to stay put for a year and wait to see the outcome of the annual review, then make the next step. That advice makes sense and I will follow it. Thank you for your time!
While I agree with most of what everyone else said, as a prospective employer I would accept the fact that your travel issues are a legitimate reason for leaving a job earlier than normal. So, I would start looking now. Bear in mind that you don't get to do this (short stints at jobs) often so when you get another job make sure it is one at which you can stay. | |
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