It is important to make sure you start any new role with a fair remuneration package, but keeping track of your pay progression while in a job is also essential. You should always do this in the context of your overall career progression in order to include possible additional responsibilities or new learning opportunities.
If you feel underpaid, there are three main possibilities:
1. You haven’t asked for more money
2. You are not experienced or qualified enough to earn more
3. Your employer cannot afford to pay you more money.
In the first case, you need to identify an appropriate time to sit down with your line manager and make your case for a salary increase based on evidence of your good work, the progression you have made, and the market rate for a contribution of your level. Ideally, this should be at the next official opportunity for review. Ask for advice from peers in your functional or industry specialism, or ask recruitment specialists for a view on the market.
If you plan to make a case based on the advice given, make sure those you ask know your intention; they may refine their informal comments if they know you are actually going to inform a specific career conversation with your line manager on the basis of their remarks.
In the second case, identify what qualifications or experience you need to gain to encourage a pay rise, and whether it is possible and/or practical for you to do so. Would your current employer sponsor you through a management accountancy qualification, for example? Can you manage the time commitment at this point in time? Do you need to move companies in order to gain increased exposure?
In the third case, you need to evaluate whether other positives such as the company culture or the prospect of better times in the future are actually worth staying for. If they are not, you need to explore other opportunities. These might even be as a freelancer or in a consultancy position rather than in a like-for-like role elsewhere. Be disciplined and identify all the factors that are most important to you, as well as how you can best realize them through your next role.
A closing remark on pay and career progression is the importance of continued development and self-awareness. In some scenarios, a candidate’s pay goes up and up based on length of tenure, specialist knowledge of a particular company and/or strong bond with the management team. That is good – and deserved – on the face of it. But could you end up priced out of the market for external opportunities when circumstances change?
To avoid being caught unawares by this type of scenario, keep in touch with recruiters, external peers and contacts at least every year so you remain aware of the outside world and how you benchmark. Furthermore, make sure you pursue learning opportunities to expand your skill set and put yourself in the position to take on a bigger remit (with a likely bigger remuneration package) in your next move, whether that be internal or external.
Remuneration is an important factor throughout your career. Make sure you take time to think about it and thus address any issues calmly and in good time, always in the context of your wider career progression and desired lifestyle.
Our top tip would be to actively give thought to remuneration and learning at least once a year, perhaps when you also spend a few minutes reconnecting with your referees, recruitment contacts and peers. January is a good time for this, as is the run-up to your annual appraisal.
Heather McGregor is managing director of executive search firm Taylor Bennett
This article appeared in the fall 2016 issue of IR Magazine
