It can be difficult for many of us to ask for a raise or to negotiate a fair wage for the work that we do. However, there are some other ways in which you can demonstrate your knowledge and skill set to your company as well as to make sure that you are receiving a competitive salary.
Here are five basic steps to follow to make sure you are getting quality compensation.
1. Find a position in a division of the business that is growing, not shrinking or stagnate. You would think this is common sense, but often in the current job market we take whatever we can get. But if your department is staying in one place, size wise, then asking for more money is not going to go over very well with the management.
2. Find a position in a division that is a revenue center, and not a cost center. Jobs in areas such as product management or sale rather than finance, operations or human resources generate money for the company. If you are part of that team, getting fair compensation is going to be a whole lot easier.
3. Seek out roles that allow you to demonstrate the link between your work efforts and real business results, and make those results visible to senior-level leaders. If you have done something noteworthy, blow your horn! No one else is going to blow it for you! And until the senior management sees the fruits of your labors, your value is a relative unknown.
4. Try to position yourself to report to managers that like you. Maybe you can’t always get this in a job, but whenever possible, aim to be on the same team as someone willing to mentor you. And even better, make sure your manager’s manager likes them. This kind of mutual trust and good connection up the chain of command helps everyone’s career advance faster.
5. Look for those opportunities that will put you on high-profile projects; preferably the kind of work that will cast you in a leadership role and challenge you to grow outside your current scope. Doing good work that is highly visible and pushes your boundaries raises your value to the company and helps ensure you will get the compensation you deserve.
