The job market is still not back in full upswing motion yet, so there are still many companies out there not focusing on how to keep their top talent once the drought has ceased. One of the first areas where companies love to cut cost is salary increases; it is also one of the biggest reasons why employees leave the company.  For now, it is up to the talent—you—to take matters into your own hands.   Here are some suggestions for how to get yourself that much deserved raise. 

Focus on Performance
If your performance is not up to snuff then you can bet your will not be getting that raise.  Impressing upper management definitely has its affects.  BUT—you need to define up front where your line is.  What is your line between hard work and indentured service?  If you see that you are working days, nights, and weekends to no avail, then that is a sure sign that your company is not going to value hard work by giving you a raise.  Don’t go the opposite way and completely slack off though.  Maintain solid performance at all times. 

Give Asking a Try
This is a tricky one.  Most companies have a salary increase program that outlines when salary increases will be given.  It is all too easy for your manager to hide behind “policy”.  But if you know that you are a valued member of your team or company and that they might be in a bit of a bind if you were to leave, then I say go for it.  The answer is always “no” unless you ask, right?

Find Your Raise Elsewhere
If it is clear that your raise will not come from staying in your current position, no matter what kind of talent you are, then it is time to look for that raise elsewhere. You might find a job you enjoy doing more along the way, which is a nice added bonus in addition to the rise in salary.

A raise in tight economic times is not going to happen for everyone.  But it can happen for you if you are vital talent for the organization.  Strive to be the best and you will have two possibilities: getting a raise because your current company values you, or getting a raise because another company values you. 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 6:44 pm and is filed under Career, Job Performance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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