Annual Review

leiela

I graduated Uni a few years ago and had a short run of tempory contracts before eventually settling down in my current postion.

when i took the role i was given pretty much standard market wage for someone in my line of work and experience. (ie graduate wages). Since then i have taken on a number of projects single handedly and i my daily activity's in no-way resemble those of your average graduate, i've been on the learning curve of my life and every day is a new challenge.

I so many way my job is brilliant, im gaining vast amounts of experience in lots of different area's i've taught courses, single handedly managed projects built entire systems from scratch, provided support for clients, sales the list really does go on and on.

Out of intrest and curiosity i posted my CV back on the web at christmas just to see what responces i got, with no intention of moving. the responces where great, even in the current climate there was plenty on interest in my skill set, and every agent that phoned me seemed to be offering at least 10k more than i'm currently getting paid.

Roll on a few months and im begining to be less happy about my role, we are a small company with means we are all very very hands on and muck in with everything which was great in the begining, however now im begining to feel like im becoming a "jack of all trades master of none" in 12 months i can honestly write on my CV that i have exposure and experience with over 50 different things however no company is going to take this seriously as time frame wise it would be impossible for me to have gained any real mastery of any of them and i really feel it's time for me to start specialising.

Now luckily the area i want to specialise in is the one that i've had the most exposure too during my 12 months with my current company, having taught 2 courses to clients, and having managed/developed 4 systems single handedly in the area, unfortunatly because on the nature of the company i feel there is no room for me to become a true specialist here.

Add to this the fact that a couple of months ago my boss was made redundant and his workload fell to me. Now from what i understand it had always been the intention of the senior managers to "get rid" of him because franky he was being paid double what i was (standard market wage for someone of his experience) their plan was to get someone cheap in and shove him out the door as soon the less experienced person was able to take over the work.

Thing is besides feeling terrible that that person was me, and he's now been gotten rid off, i sort of feel abit taken for granted, im now doing my own role + the role of my managers and frankly my manager wasn't being overpaid for his position. So essentially im now doing the role of someone with 10years more experience than me while still on graduate wages which lets face it is just cheeky, i mean they took me on with the intention of "swaping me" for a more experienced person.. thats just WRONG!.

im stressed out 100% of the time because the job is HARD, and truely i don't have the experience for it but im coping and by the admission of one of the higher managers im "pulling it off".

My Annual review is coming up, and frankly at the moment i feel like im being taken advantage of, they took me on because i was cheap they've now thrown all this work at me, made my boss redundant risking the fact that i could cope, which lucky for them i have. Im making the company money and right now im possibly thier biggest earning consultant bringing without a doubt the biggest number of new contracts.

Part of me thinks i should think about leaving, perhaps moving to somewhere i can specialise. Having posted my CV at christmas i know i could possibly get 10k more a year than im getting by moving, which is quite a big jump.

But part of my thinks that im getting such good experience that perhaps i should stick it out a while longer as another move on my CV might look bad (i have 3 since i graduated 2 years ago though 2 where temp contracts). After all there are only "so many" new products they can throw at me and it's only a matter of time before i start gaining 2nd doses of experience on stuff i've already done.

I've decided to stick it out till at least my review (at the end of the month), i like the company, i like the people but i've come such a long way since i joined the company 12 months ago that i really feel my pay should reflect the job i'm doing, and right now they aren't even on the same page of the manual.

Now granted they got rid of my boss in order to save money, it was all very sneaky so i really don't hold much hope for them giving me a good pay rise however at the same time im also aware that there was a flaw in thier plan, yes im on graduate wages, but i was taken on at a time when they had the oppertunity to "train me up" with a more experienced consultant. If i was to leave they have numorous projects in motion that no-one else in the company is qualified or experienced enough to take over, so i think they would have difficulty finding qualified and experienced enough to "take over" without going back to paying someone what my old boss was earning which im hoping give me abit of leverage...

Anyway it all boils down to the fact that im curently bieng underpaid for the job im doing and granted i don't in anyway expect to get the money my old boss was earning but i'd like to nagotiate myself upto at least the pay rate i deserve.

I figure by best choice right now is to hang on till my pay review see what they offer me and make a decision then. Im not adverse to staying in my current position but i don't think i'd be doing myself any favor's staying on graduate wages, then of course theres there whole "current job" climate situation to deal with let's face it even i know right now is not the best time to be looking for work.

what would you do?

Bobl

Stop moaning and get on with it!

sillylittlejill

first of all, Bobl, I think that is a really unfair comment, Leiela has came on here for advice!

I would personally write down things that you want to bring up in the review, all of your jobs, as I notice that my brain gets a bit scrambled in meetings like that. Explain that you are overstretched and that you are not on the correct wage for your position.

Hope it goes well, I know how it feels to be doing a job that you don't enjoy for almost peanuts!!

let me know how it goes

xxx

leiela

sillylittlejill wrote: »

first of all, Bobl, I think that is a really unfair comment, Leiela has came on here for advice!

I would personally write down things that you want to bring up in the review, all of your jobs, as I notice that my brain gets a bit scrambled in meetings like that. Explain that you are overstretched and that you are not on the correct wage for your position.

Hope it goes well, I know how it feels to be doing a job that you don't enjoy for almost peanuts!!

let me know how it goes

xxx

Yeah totally, im realistic i know im not even going to get the current market average, the company took me on too wiggle out of paying someone market average but im 2 years out of uni now and im doing a very challenging role i think it's time i looked beyond graduate wages.

It makes it very hard when all my friends i graduated with are doing less and getting paid more, with the recent addition of travel (a new responsibility since my boss left) im finding it VERY difficult to juggle my kids and work.

when i took the job it was under the understanding i would travel to client sites once every few months, right now i'm going almost weekly and it looks like that is going to increase before it decreases. Right now i drop my kids off at school on days im in the office but on days i "travel" i have to pay for emergancy childcare and as it does look like its going to be regular im having to look at the possibility of paying a full time childminder to take my kids to school, something that frankly isn't do-able on my current wages.

Not to mention that financially my family is just plain struggling with money, i don't want to leave the company but if i can't get a reasonable rise on my pay review im going to HAVE to leave, i can't do this much travel on my current salary. So i just want to make sure that i'm going to get the best possible deal i can.

Zazen999

I would test the waters and see what the reaction is but don't make any decisions or comments that give them the hint that you have been looking.

Then get your CV out again and once a firm - suitable - offer is on the table, then you can bargain.

But for all Bobl's upfrontedness....it is a fair point! Sometimes the grass is greener and you can waltz out of a good stable job into a hornets nest - been there done that and the extra money is sometimes not worth it.

Idiophreak

It's a tough call. I've been in a similar position. What you need to do is list all of the additional responsibilities you've taken on since starting and especially since your boss left. Provide figures about your performance (if you can) relative to others in similar positions. Do thorough research on the market and what you *really* think you could get elsewhere. (it's highly unlikely anyone would value a year's work at £10k+, however productive you may have been...) Go into the meeting armed with solid arguments and you might find them more generous than you expect.

Many graduates in smaller companies find they don't get rewarded enough for the work they're doing and move on - but switching roles more than every couple of years does start to make your CV a bit wobbly, so I'd be really cautious of moving on so quickly if you can stick it out there for another year.

Liz_the_Whizz

Your bargaining position depends entirely not on how hard you work, but how expendable you are.

If they can recruit easily (bearing in mind the increased employment pool at present), you have little chance of success.

If you have made yourself a niche and will be difficult to replace at the same salary, they may well be prepared to deal.

Go in with an ideal outcome and a fallback position, based on both your increased level of contribution and additional outlay for childcare costs etc.

And take your time with any decision - don't do anything hasty in the current climate, it's always easier to find a job if you have a job.

Good luck!

Emmzi

agree with all the above.. and never Never NEVER trust recruitment agents. It's all monopoly money until you have a contract on the table and they will talk any kind if crap if they have a vacancy you are suited to and a client willing to pay commission.

10K MAY be realistic, I'm just saying don't let them swell your head :-)

Or, go for interviews elsewhere. Sounds like a job with less travel and more money would suit better?

leiela

Ohh don't get me wrong im not expecting a 10k increase.... goodness im not even expecting half of that, i just don't want to be fobbed off and spend another year on less than i should be getting at this point of my career.

The simple truth is that

• a) i am on graduate wages (lower end of average if truth be told)
• b) im NOT a graduate as i have been working for 2 years in my current line of work, having graduated university, and the salary of someone 2 years out of uni and someone JUST out of uni is different.
• c) im not even doing the role/job of someone 2 years out of uni but the job of someone with 10-15 years experience.
• d) i am working in a very specialised field.

Yes i had interest at from agents at 10k more than im earning.. infact i even had some at 15-20k more but i figured they where agent having a brain melt :rotfl: . Im not aiming that high but i do think with the added responsibilty that i at least deserve the going rate for someone of MY experience.. which is frankly about 5k more than im on (though i have friends on much more than that).

If i were to leave, the company would have projects and support contracts they would need to cover NOW! which means they wouldn't have the ability to get someone in on the cheap and train them up and would be forced to get someone in who is experienced.

Looking around myself i've worked out that in order to simply replace me... they would need to pay at least 15-20k more than i earn, so really concidering im on less than im worth, as a 2 year graduate, never mind less than anyone else who could do the job, surely asking for the same wage as other people who graduated 2 years ago is reasonable?

I know they are nervous, i was taken to dinner by the owner and one of senior managers a few weeks ago, i think they know im not as dumb as they thought i might be and plod along as i am.

The asked me if i was happy doing what i was doing, told me that if i wanted to branch out into other fields they's like to know. They asked me to think about my future and my future with the company as they wished to get me "training" but didn't want to pump alot of money into me if i didn't plan to stay for long.

They waffled on about how as a new graduate i didn't truely understand the oppertunity's that the company was offering me and how very lucky i was to be in such an exciting area of specialty... basically i got the distinct impression they where fishing to see if i had any intentions of leaving if i didn't get the pay raise i wanted while trying to convince me that i was SUPER lucky just as i was.

jm2926

In my experience the only way to get a significant pay rise (more than 2-3%) is to change employers. I have seen many people (including me!) waiting for the promised pay rise/promotion to new job title/training etc, and it never happens. This is over small/medium/large companies. I have also seen companies lose people they could have kept for less than 5k extra and had to pay the new person 15-20k more than the original salary (and also pay recruitment costs etc) - there's no logic to the policy of some companies.

The travel doesn't suit you and your family, and you're struggling on your current salary - so apply for something elsewhere. Just try your best to make sure it's a stable company/sector etc. Applying for other jobs doesn't commit you to anything, you can still present a case with your current employers at your [FONT=&quot]appraisal [/FONT]- a letter of offer of employment elsewhere would only strengthen your case . The time to decide is when you have a concrete offer, just don't burn your boats where you are in the meantime.

Stop worrying about what other folk earn - they work for other companies/sectors etc, and in any case it's very much down to the individual and opportunities that come along. If you think you are worth it - then apply for other jobs and find out!

[FONT=&quot]Appraisals and job applications/interviews go well together - you have to review your performance/skills and practice selling yourself for both - it focuses the mind to do them at the same time. Also folk are more likely to hire/reward the person they believe in - so practice being confident and justifying your worth in a concrete way.[/FONT]

BlameTheGame

Don't rely on the word of agencies.