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How to get the raise you want

Corey —  January 21, 2013

Asking for a raise can definitely be difficult. You don’t know whether your manager/employer will say yes, no, wonder why you’re asking and so on. You don’t want to feel embarrassed either. The best thing to do is prepare yourself! You should do your research, know your accomplishments, practice, respect your employer and also be realistic.

Everyone knows that the economy isn’t the greatest. Some companies are laying employees off while other companies are thriving in this economy. There are also many other factors that should be kept in mind when you are asking for your raise.

Below are tips on how to get the raise you want and deserve:

1. Research.

What are people who are in similar positions as you earning per year? Try to look at similar industries and companies. Look at their responsibilities and everything that you can possibly find out.

Also, think about what you make altogether already. If you compare yourself to someone else in a similar position, but don’t take into account the different benefits that each position offers, you are not being honest with yourself and your employer. Fully total everything together: salary, bonuses, commission, life insurance, health insurance, perks such as freebies, and so on. It is said that they “extras” in you job can be worth around 20% to 30% of your actual position pay altogether.

2. Make a list of your accomplishments.

This is a big step! Going into a salary negotiation meeting and not knowing what you have done for the company recently or in the past year is a mistake. Try making a list and adding to it whenever there is a worthy addition. Review what you have done and possibly make copies of this for the people who you are negotiating with.

3. Practice.

Practice makes perfect. Practice what you are going to say. Think about any questions that they might ask you and practice saying why you are worth the raise. Sounding confident is key when asking for a raise. If you don’t sound or seem confident, then why should they have confidence in you?

4. Try not to threaten your employer.

What a lot of people do is throw things in their employer’s face. They might tell their employer that they can do better elsewhere or that they’ve already started applying for other positions at other companies. This is most likely not the best decision for you.

Some employers will take this as that you will continue to threaten them into the future. Also, that you will take the next best thing, and that you are not in it for the long-term. So before you throw something threatening at your employer, really think about it and what you want to do.

5. Be realistic.

Asking for a 100% raise when you are already topped out in your position and everyone else in your position is making way less than you is probably not realistic. Asking for something too high that you might not deserve might result in you not looking the smartest, and it might make you look like you’re trying to take advantage of the company.

Also, if you’re company is not currently doing the greatest financially, think of other ways that you can get a “raise.” Maybe you want a couple more vacation days and that’s all that will make you happy. Truly think of what exact you want out of your salary negotiation.

Be realistic with your worth and know what skills you bring to the company.

What tips do you have for getting the raise you want?

Finances and Going Back to School

Corey —  October 23, 2012

Is going back to school in your future? Maybe you can no longer move up in your company and a degree with help move you up, you want to brush up and increase your skills, increase your professional network, etc. However, what else should you think about when you finally decide to go back to school?

Your finances!

Your finances will be effected of course. Now that you’ve decided (or are planning) to go back to school, there’s a lot of planning to do, especially if you’ve been out of school for some time and have many bills to pay. Just quitting your job and going back to school isn’t a plan for most people. Those bills need to be paid and your debt that you currently have needs to be paid down. Also, what will happen to your retirement?

With the right amount of financial planning, going back to school doesn’t have to kill your budget and your goals for retirement, savings and paying down debt. If your financial plan is well thought out, then hopefully you’ll come out ahead after you graduate.

What you should financially think about when you decide to go back to school:

1. How often you’ll work.

Working while attending school can be tough. Will you attend school full-time while working still? Attend part-time and work full-time? Will your work allow you to do both at the same time? I’ve heard of companies that will not allow you to attend school full-time while working at their company because they don’t want you to have to choose which one that you’ll give more effort towards.

I did my whole undergraduate and graduate degrees while working full-time. It was definitely hard, and I only did it that way because I had things to pay for. Working part-time wasn’t really an option, but maybe if I had a better plan then it would’ve worked.

You can also majorly cut expenses and try as hard as you can to live like a student. You can find somewhere cheaper to live, find a better fuel efficient vehicle, eat cheaper, coupon, and so on. The list is really endless. Cutting expenses can really help you financially if you are unable to continue to work the same amount of hours while attending school.

2. What the costs are.

There are many costs to think about when going to school besides just the college tuition. How much will food cost between classes? Will you be able to go home and grab a snack? How much will the added cost of gas be? If you’re driving from work to class (or vice versa), then your gas costs will most likely increase.

Some people fund all of their costs by tacking it all onto their student loans, but I don’t think this is always a good idea as you will be adding a lot of unnecessary debt which will be a burden after you graduate.

3. Your budget.

Now that you’ve finally decided whether you’ll attend full-time or part-time, and whether you’ll work full-time or part-time, now is the time to decide your budget. You need to calculate how much you need every month, and also estimate how much you’ll be earning (if you’ll be working).

Also think about whether you will work on paying down debt (including any student loans that you may be adding toy our current debt) and if you’ll be saving any money towards retirement.

 

How were your finances affected when you decided to go back to school?