What I Learnt When I Asked for My First Pay Rise.

Time only serves one purpose and it isn’t yours

A pay rise. What a mythical beast that is, eh?

That’s what I used to think anyway. I figured the only way you could actually get an increase in salary was to change companies. Sometimes even jobs.

Nothing prepared me for this side of working life. I’ve never been a haggler. The concept is entirely alien to me. If someone tells me the price of something, I pay it. No negotiation.

The price of acceptance

Even when I was knee deep in the markets of Asia, prancing around the stalls in my oversized elephant trousers. I couldn’t haggle.

Even though that is literally the name of the game in these parts, I still couldn’t do it. If I wanted something I paid for it. At whatever price the kind lady or gent wanted.

Needless to say, I’ve paid the price for not negotiating. And the only person I have to blame is me.

Missed opportunities

There have been so many opportunities for me to improve my pay over the years and I haven’t taken them. When I’ve accepted a new job, whatever salary they offered, as long as it was an improvement on my last one I’d take it.

No negotiation, no uncomfortable silences, no beads of sweat casually dripping down anyone’s face. Nothing.

I remember one time when I embellished my salary ever so slightly. And I almost had a heart attack when I read on the internet that salary can be requested in a reference.

I was absolutely convinced that the company who had just offered me a job, would snatch it back as soon as they found out about my sordid embellishment.

And that the company I currently worked for, would boot me out for having the cheek to apply for a job somewhere else.

I’d be jobless and sad. Eating scraps thrown away by seagulls along the Thames because I wouldn’t be able to afford anything else.

The panic I flew into was A) utterly overblown and B) completely unnecessary as the company never even bothered to check my references anyway.

That experience was enough to put me off any embellishment that didn’t come on a jacket, however. And reinforced my belief that I should just be happy with what I was offered.

And then something happened.

I started reading these articles about women who negotiated their salary. Women who had even renegotiated their salary in a position because they weren’t being paid what they deserved.

The stories were inspiring, sure. But I wasn’t in a position to do the same, was I? I’d been at my company for a while and I’d received a small pay-rise.

Not one that was going to fling me into a world of Prada handbags though.

I was a very strong member of the team. My quarterly reviews were always excellent. I put in the work and I excelled. Is it time I asked for more?

I struggled with these questions for a long time. I didn’t want to appear ungrateful to my employer and I just couldn’t figure out how to actually ask for what I knew I’d earned.

That, however, is how they get you, dear readers. In our attempts to not want to seem ungrateful we disadvantage ourselves.

Always remember the value you bring

If you’ve put in the work, paid your dues and genuinely made the life of your manager easier. There is absolutely zero reason why you shouldn’t ask for more money.

All the benefits in the world don’t make up for a lacklustre salary.

Your salary is how you future proof and should always be a reflection of your skills and what you bring to the table. As you grow, so should your salary. And you shouldn’t really have to switch companies to get there.

After saying all the above to myself in the mirror a few times, I realised that by not backing myself in terms of my salary, I wasn’t backing myself at all. This was the push I needed to ask for an increase.

I sent an email to my manager and listed out all the things that I had done, all the things I had learned and all the things I brought to the team. I included project successes with metrics — increases in conversion etc and highlighted skillset crossover from the job description itself.

And hey, you know what? It worked.

For the first time I orchestrated an increase in my pay without having to leave the company. My manager agreed that I deserved the increase and made a promise that I would get it.

Which I did and it was backdated to boot!

If you take one thing away – make it this

When you come to do this, which you will and much sooner than me, I hope. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your work speaks for itself. That your manager is 100% aware of what you do everyday. They have a lot on their plate too, so that very likely isn’t the case.

You have to make the case for yourself.

Waiting around for things to happen to you is the fastest way to ensure that nothing will. You’ve got to go out there and shout about how great you are, showcase the skills you have and the energy you bring.

I, for one, will no longer hesitate to stand up for what I deserve or what I’ve worked for. And I very much hope the same will be said for you.

Cliche as it sounds, life is short, so don’t hesitate to act. The only person that stands to lose anything in not doing so, is you.