My professor talked about how women aren’t used to asking for things in the work place, such as raises, because we’re conditioned to downplay our achievements and hold off on asserting our value. She discussed how, even now at this stage in her career (a published doctrate), she shakes when she askes to be considered for a raise and about the first time she was really successful at getting one. After class I asked her what she asked her boss and she winked at me, took me to her office, and asked me to take notes.
She said she practiced this technique like 5 times in her office before she requested a meeting with her boss. I’m gonna share it with you guys because I really loved it.
You start off by thanking your employer for their support (whatever that means in the context of your work environment). You then say that you would like to take some time to discuss next year’s salary. You say, allow me to refresh your memory regarding some of my accomplishments or contributions from the past year, and you present a written summary of all that you’ve done. You close by saying, I hope that next year’s salary reflects this list of contributions and you thank them for their time and see yourself out.
I just loved how she made it seem so much less daunting of a task. She said not to underestimate your achievements as women have a tendency underreporting what they’ve done.
The fact that she shared this with me really meant a lot as well as women really need to be there to empower each other and help guide each other towards success. So if you end up using this, let me know! I want to see how it works for you ^_^.
It’s also helpful to research what people in your position are generally paid and give that to your employer. My mom was always underpaid in her positions and was able to consistently get a raise by showing that she should be making significantly more for the position and job duties she was doing.
I appreciate everyone adding on to this post! Please continue to share tips/strategies you know in order to help others <3
Thank you!
This is literally exactly how I asked/received a promotion earlier this year. Bring! That! List! As closely as you may work with your supervisor, they can’t remember every detail of what you did, and they may not be able to immediately identify the broad strokes of how you’ve grown as an employee - putting it out there for them makes a massive difference. And it’s likely they’ll have to go to someone else to get approval for promoting you, and the list gives them more backup in your favor.
One tactic I am trying to use is to create a monthly Word document of what I do and projects I’ve completed, so that at the end of the year, you can look back and have it all written down for you instead of trying to remember something you were working on 10 months ago.
Also, a technique I use whenever I ask for something I want/need but am feeling bashful about bringing it up: I imagine I am asking on somebody else’s behalf. I find it so much easier to want things for other deserving people than to request things for myself and when I face how reasonable it feels to make demands for somebody else, I feel more comfortable with that confrontation.
