EasyChange asks:
Do you really think that you got what you deserved still? And beyond that, are you worried that there will be any retaliation as a result of your “playing hardball�? These are major concerns that I’ve had in the past with going for a counter-offer. I’ve always felt better with just leaving. And my feeling was usually that I was making all other points “except� money when I met with my boss regularly. If they weren’t doing it for me before, why would they do it now?
Did you feel the same way? Or did you feel like you didn’t have a forum to voice your concerns? And were they acted upon before your request for an internal raise?
The short answer is YES. I think I got what I deserved. Is it what I am actually worth on the open market? No, I don’t think so, I could still easily go out and make $10K more than than I got. But I was not willing to push it that far with my company and if you read further, you’ll see why. Therefore the answer is still a YES, I got what I deserved.
I do not think there will be any retaliation and I do not think I was playing hardball. Senior management has been well aware of my displeasure at their initial job offer since I arrived. I have made squeaky wheel noises and this year was my first opportunity to say something about it. I will admit that this has not been an easy year of employment due to extenuating circumstances in my family, however, I have met or exceeded several of their goals as a team player, stepping up at every opportunity. I deserved a raise and I am pleased to say that my senior management thought so.
Retaliation would be petty and put my management and team at a loss. If they want to drive me away, that would be their own fault and they would be the ones to suffer. Oddly, there are few candidates out there who could ramp up to this work as quickly as I have, due to the slightly specialized nature of our work. Trust me, we’ve sat around and brainstormed who we know who has the chops to do this work, and we end up with a very short list each time. I honestly didn’t think my management would be able to give me a raise in one big chunk, but they did and I am really grateful to them.
If you read the whole story, the bigger picture of my interest level in work changed as next year’s projects were revealed to me during the conversation about a counter-offer. I can understand wanting to pick up and leave because money is not everything, but I have all three of the things that count at work, Money, Social Life, Work. I get paid decently now. I love my boss and teammates. The work on deck for next year will be stimulating and exciting. For the first time in 5 or 6 years, I can genuinely say that I really like what I do here and feel like I am accomplishing and contributing a lot to the success of my team. (We were a team of 2 for a while, so yes, that’s quite a lot of work.)
As to the question of voicing my concerns, the only time I have been unable to tell a boss about my concerns about money in time for the review process was when I had 3 managers in the space of 9 months. Somewhere in there, the organizational changes made it difficult to get my two cents into the review process. Let me stress, that was a previous employer and not where I work now. That was a disaster and a half. The day I wanted to quit, the two people who had been my most current managers pulled me aside and asked if it was about money. I told them no, it wasn’t. It was about feeling fed up with doing technical support work and no amount of money was going to make me rescind my resignation. I gave that company over 4-12 months to fix things or make stuff change, and they were moving like tortoises. To this day, I only regret not exiting more gracefully due to the kindness of one specific manager who tried her best, but it was a question of my sanity in the end and no one I think regrets that choice.
Perhaps I’m really lucky, but I’ve gotten along well with most of my managers. I’m a people person and for the most part, I do my job well enough to be a valued member of my group. (almost always a small group) I usually get a chance to pull my managers aside and give them a piece of my mind when I feel like it. My bosses also know to get good work out of me, I am relatively ovine in my response to incentives and praise. By telling them what I need in specific and actionable terms, I usually get what I want. But invariably, I also ask my boss what they want and try to give it to them too. It’s a two way street and one has to be a grown up about it. I can’t be a spoiled princess forever.
Does this help? Does it still sound like I got shafted? I really don’t think so. I hear a lot of empty promises from large corporations are the norm. I believe that to be true, but I think if you are working for good people, good things happen.
Related posts:
- 4 Tips To Get Away With A Bad Attitude At Work I don’t recommend having a bad attitude at work. It...
- How Well Has Your Retirement Rebounded? The Wall Street Journal featured an article about retirement accounts...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Unfortunately for me, I work for the U.S. Government…so my pay isn’t “negotiable”. Nor do I have the option of picking up and leaving whenever I want.
However, my pay raises are almost entirely based on my longevity in service, my ability to test well and my job performance…so at least I have that going for me. It could be worse than having an objective, merit based pay raise/promotion system.
I work for a private university which is a bit more negotiable than the government sector but not a lot. The only negotiable points usually are when you start and if you have an offer from another employer…
I don’t have much experience with these things but it sounds like you approached the whole thing very professionally. More important, you didn’t doubt your worth!