Raises are hard to ask for and when you do get one, you had better know whether it is good, bad or under market.
However, most people blow it because of the rationale and the way that they pose the question. But why is it that most reviews leave people feeling worse about themselves?
And while there are many tips and tricks to ask, plenty are pitfalls that could derail an otherwise perfect approach. Many are times when employees do everything right when asking for a raise, only to ruin everything with a single mistake.
It’s never good to take an uncalculated risk. Let’s explore what not to do when asking for a raise.
“Who are you?” asked Bill Campbell, Intuit’s CEO at the time I was sitting in his office discussing
business schools. I fumbled around for an answer, meandering all over the place, feeling not at all sure I had answered his question.
Next he asked, “Who is Sonya Sigler?” Yeah, this question just confirmed that I really hadn’t answered his first question. More fumbling around. Damn.
Finally, he said in an exasperated voice, “No, tell me what your top skills are.” More inarticulate answers. More fumbling.
Little did I know that he was giving me every opportunity to boldly state my elevator pitch, to share with him who I am at my essence, and what my top skills are. What a lost opportunity.
“I went out on my own, quickly, after I started practicing, and fell into immigration law,” she says. Shepelsky laments the complexities of an immigration law practice because of its “many rules and even more exceptions,” but she enjoys the writing. “I was good at filling out forms and writing stories. A lot of immigration cases are about writing a story and presenting your case, and I always did that, ever since I was a kid.”
Shepelsky’s team has mastered video marketing and social media to build the practice, with 62,000 TikTok followers and a robust YouTube channel.
Have you seen a colleague get promoted and wondered why? Why it wasn't you? What are they doing that you are not?
One skill can easily elevate one from other competent co-workers
Read more to find a critical skill in helping to be seen and appreciated for the work you do.
I worked for a crazy man who made our entire legal department miserable - with his micromanaging, his ever-changing priorities, the shifting directions that felt like quick-sand, and his Friday afternoon crisis that would ‘require’ working over the weekend to handle. I HAD to find a new job and fast!
Unfortunately, if you are just looking for ‘any job,’ you might get more of the same, more of what you have - unless you do this...
In this overwhelming and competitive market, your LinkedIn profile is as important as your resume.
Rarely, does an employer receive a resume without running to LinkedIn to check you out. A LinkedIn profile speaks volumes about your professionalism.
How your LinkedIn profile is written, what it says about you, how it distinguishes your personality, are all critical factors employers want to know to choose you as a candidate.
