Readers:
Dr. Randall Hansen, a nationally recognized career expert, is the Career Doctor.
Discover more about Dr. Hansen, read about the purpose of this column,
and find previous issues of this column at the home of The Career Doctor.
If you have any college, career, or job-related questions or comments that Dr. Hansen could
provide valuable assistance with, please
feel free to email him at: careerdr@quintcareers.com.
Dr. Hansen writes this column on a biweekly basis.
Robert writes:
It’s a new year and I want to start earning what I feel I deserve. How can I
get the salary increase and/or promotion that I feel that I deserve from my
employer?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
The new year is a great time for setting your agenda for the year ahead --
whether it’s something personal like getting more exercise or quitting
smoking or career-related, such as finding a new job or obtaining a raise.
Even though you can do these things at any time, the beginning of a year
is always a time to take stock and make plans.
The good news is that most salary surveys I have seen in recent months
show the first sizeable increase in raises in years. Whether employers are
sensing the economy turning around or whether they see the writing on the
wall that workers are looking to change jobs, most studies show they expect
to hand out much higher raises than in the past few years.
So, you need a plan. It will be easier if you have a scheduled meeting planned
with your supervisor, but if you don’t, you’ll want to request one. In the time
leading up to the meeting you should document every accomplishment since
your last promotion/raise. You want to document how your actions have
impacted the department, office, company. Whenever possible, quantify those
accomplishments. Please note that accomplishments do NOT have to be
cost-savings or sales; you could have written computer scripts that made the
company Website function more efficiently, created a staffing system that led to
lower turnover, or you could have logged some number of customer service
issues/complaints. Accomplishments are simply the outcomes of your job --
and ideally show how you go beyond your job description to help your employer.
One final thing to do before the meeting is to get a sense of what people with
your experience and training make in similar positions within your company
and in other companies. Many professional organizations conduct annual
salary surveys and there are also several online salary sources. (Find the
sources in this section of Quintessential Careers:
Salary
Negotiation and Job Offer Tools and Resources.
At the meeting, you can either discuss your accomplishments with your list
in front of you or present it to your supervisor so that he/she has something
to help document why you should get the raise you request. Make a logical
case for your raise; do not discuss how much you need it because your
kids are heading to college or need braces…
And finally, be prepared to not get the raise you think you deserve. If that
happens, you’ll need to take time to decide whether or not you need to switch
employers to get the raise you deserve -- which is the more likely scenario.
Hazel writes:
I have only just started thinking about my future, and my future as an income
earner (as I now find myself single and without a penny saved!). My
question is, what do you think are good industries (or careers) to be
involved in for the future?'
I am currently employed as a personal assistant for a high profile CEO
and am also working on the company's Computer Based Training (CBT)
courses as the technical consultant.
I have posed the question above because I'm fretting right now, about which
direction I should be heading, whether the job I'm in already is a good one
with good possibilities for earning in the future.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
You have a tough choice ahead of you. On one hand, you have the excitement
and perks of working with a CEO -- seeing the inner workings of the boardroom
firsthand -- and on the other, a more stable, but certainly less high-profile
position in corporate training. If you are soon facing a choice, you should
sit down and weigh the pros and cons of each career path.
For the personal assistant position, as long as the CEO appreciates your work --
and as long as he/she stays a CEO -- you should have good job security and
perks. But if he/she is nearing retirement age, your future is a bit more hazy
unless your boss is open to helping you find a similar position before he/she retires.
For the corporate training position, you have a more stable career path… and
actually have more chances for advancement. Corporate training is a big industry --
and only growing as more employers are spending the money on advancing the
education and training of their workers. Whether its computer-based or
Web-based, corporate training will continue to play a major role in the future.
But you need to conduct further research and self-reflection. You need to
decide what path gives you the most of whatever you seek -- money, stability,
satisfaction, etc.
Q:
Anonymous writes:
I have been a legal secretary for 10 years. At first I used this job to pay for
school, where I majored in fashion design. Since then, I have been married
with children and did not complete my major. I've been in business for myself
for three years since then and basically gave it up because of a lack of interest.
I'm in the beginning stages of outlining a game plan to change careers and
am look toward my creative side.
How do I begin the research for a lucrative job that involves my experience as
a legal secretary with a creative flair in fashion/entertainment? I also have
interests in computer animation for major films.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Well, a new year is a time to make radical changes -- and you
are certainly in that category!
I am going to offer you the best advice I can give you, but I honestly
feel that you could really benefit from several sessions with a career
coach. I think you have a lot of issues that need to be resolved and
focused to help you move forward. For example, can’t you use your
creative side in your job as a legal secretary -- or if you moved to
some other position within the firm? What if you moved to a legal
office that practiced entertainment law?
A career change this drastic is going to take time, planning, and
organization. I am guessing that your experience as a legal secretary
is going to come in handy as you move forward with this career change.
You obviously have a great collection of skills and interests. I think
you need to start here. Make an inventory of all your skills. Circle the
ones that you most want to use in the future.
From those skills, start researching career paths that will best fit you.
Get as much information as you can, including the types of training or
education you need. Conduct informational interviews with people working
in those careers. Find volunteering opportunities that allow you to practice
some of these skills and build experience.
Melanie writes:
I am currently employed full-time in an office, but would like to change to
part-time (and work from home). How do I come up with a written proposal
to present to the president of the company for this? Do you have any
samples of what such a proposal would look like? Can you help?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Workplace flexibility is probably one of the biggest issues facing
employers today. More and more employees are seeking some
form of flexibility -- compressed workweeks, different work hours,
flextime, job-sharing, telework, etc. And more employers are at
least exploring options in response to this increased demand
from workers.
There are all sorts of issues tied to workplace flexibility, however,
and many employers -- while wanting to do the right thing -- are
struggling with issues of equity, productivity, and management.
The good news is telework is on the increase. According to the 2004
American Interactive Consumer Survey conducted by The Dieringer
Research Group, the number of employed Americans who performed
any kind of work from home, with a frequency range from as little as
1 day a year to full-time, grew from 41.3 million in 2003 to 44.4 million
in 2004, a 7.5% growth rate.
But your task is made all the harder because you are seeking two
changes in your status. And the move to part-time is made tougher
by issues of how salary and benefits will be handled.
Your goal is to develop a detailed plan that will show the company
how and why your move to part-time telework will be beneficial for all
parties -- how it will make you a more productive worker and the specific
benefits to the company.
You should conduct research into how other companies handle these
issues. There are also a number of online resources that can help you.
