I love my job, but need more money!My 6 month anniversary is coming up, and I am expected to receive a review. I have reason to believe that if a raise is given, it wont be very significant. To give a little background to my situation, I am a 25 year old student. I just started going back to college. I needed a steady day job, so I posted my resume online, and my now employer contacted me through Monster.com. The interviewing process was amazing, I thought they were going to hire me right on the spot! After I completed a customary online assessment test, they called and hired me. I had had no real prior experience in this field per say, however; I have had other specialty office experience. They hired me at $25,000/yr. (which was fine for me at the time), with the promise of an increase after 6 months. The problem I am facing now is the difference between what I feel I deserve, and what they may offer me. I heard that it may only be a $500/yr raise. That just wont cut the mustard! But I ABOSOLUTELY LOVE this job! I couldn't imagine working anywhere better right now. I guess I just need to know how to ask for the money that I want, and that I believe I deserve without stepping on any toes. Afterall, I have only been here six months and I didn't have much experience to begin with. But they only have reviews every 15 mos. and I can't financially afford to wait that long! I know I am worth it, but how can I make them see that too? Any ideas? A couple of problems you're facing and which you apparently recognize: You've only been there 6 months and when you took the job you had no experience. If you're right, and you're offered a $500 increase, that would be about 2% more which, frankly, isn't all that bad under the circumstances. Nevertheless, what you need to do is prepare a list of your accomplishments during the last 6 months - goals met, objectives achieved, responsibilities assumed, initiatives taken, money saved or earned for the company - anything that will show that you're not only doing a great job, but more than the job requires. Make two copies of your list, one for you and one for the person doing the review, so you'll both be looking at the same information. If you're offered a 2% increase, as you suspect, you can politely ask if the increase is negotiable and see what sort of response you get. If the answer is "no," then I'd let it drop. If that should happen, you're only other choice is to quietly start looking for another job - keeping in mind that it's always easier to find a job when you have one. If the increase is negotiable, highlight some of your accomplishments and be prepared to say that you were anticipating an increase in the 5% to 10% range, and see what happens. This isn't matter of what you think you're worth, but rather a matter of showing how you've made the JOB worth more to the employer because of your overall performance! Hope this helps. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert | |
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Career Tips
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