Higher Pay: How to Figure Out and Ask For What You’re Worth
Have you looked for a new job because you wanted higher pay? Or did you learn that a new hire with similar job responsibilities makes more than you? According to the 2023 HERC Job Seeker Survey, the top reason respondents searched for a new job was to secure a higher salary.
Before you start any moves to leave your current institution, you might consider reflecting on what could make you stay and, if staying is a possibility, allow your employer to keep you (oftentimes, it’s truly in their best interest to try).
If getting higher pay is the main thing you want – everything else about working at your current institution is acceptable – then prepare to make the ask and leverage the current movement for pay transparency to your advantage. Pay transparency, which is the practice of sharing employees’ salaries and compensation packages within an organization, has been gaining traction, particularly as a practice to close wage gaps and reduce pay discrimination.
Even if you’re at an institution that doesn’t practice pay transparency, you can still use it as one of the tools to support your ask. There’s no federal requirement to include salary ranges in job postings, but several states and local jurisdictions have enacted pay transparency laws that require employers to disclose that information to prospective candidates and/or current employees.
So, are you ready to figure out what you’re worth? Follow these steps to find out and possibly prepare to ask for a raise and/or promotion:
1. Take stock of your situation
How long have you been at your institution? Do you feel like you’re getting the support you need to do the work? Do you feel connected and valued? Have you seen any evidence that your employer is open to hearing your feedback and possibly changing to meet your needs? Thinking through questions like these will help you decide if you should stay or go.
2. Assess your job description (and title)
Do you have access to the job posting that you applied to when you were first hired or is your original job description saved somewhere? Take some time to draft a description of what you’re doing now and compare it to that original job posting or description. Do they match or are you doing more or doing something completely different? Do the differences warrant a possible job title change, promotion, and/or raise?
3. Track your productivity and successes
Choose a period, like two weeks or a month, to document your daily tasks, completed projects, and any other unexpected requests that you fulfilled. Think about your accomplishments in the past year. How do these align with your original job description versus the new one you’ve drafted? Reference these when you make your case.
4. Research what other employers are paying
Websites like Salary.com and Glassdoor can help you research the current market rate for your job title/type and location. But don’t forget to research what your institution’s competitors are paying. Many institutions are now including salary ranges in job postings. Make a list of other institutions that you’re interested in working at or are in the vicinity, then check if they have job postings for positions like your current job on their own websites or on any job boards like HERCJobs.org. How do those descriptions and salary ranges compare to what you’re doing and getting now?
5. Present your findings and advocate for what you want
Based on all the homework you’ve done, do you believe you deserve a raise and/or promotion? If the answer is a resounding “yes!”, then schedule a meeting with your manager and make your case by sharing all your documentation and research. Your thoughtful approach will be hard to refute and will bolster your manager’s ability to move your case up the chain of decision-makers.
If you’ve done all the above and see no meaningful movement, then you can choose the next step that gets you what you deserve. You will feel good knowing you tried everything you could to stay.
Check out more Top Articles on HERC Jobs.
About the Author: Marcia Silva is the director of marketing and communications at the Higher Education Recruitment Consortium. She strives to create engaging, research-informed content that empowers job seekers and employers committed to creating inclusive workplaces. She is passionate about using digital media and technology to encourage participation and strengthen communities.