This week quite a few good things happened, one of them was that I got a pay rise.
When I first started negotiating for this role, I fully understand this would not meet my pay expectation. I had to take a cut to get into a new area. FMCG isn’t an industry I was familiar with, also marketing isn’t exactly the area I have been working on. Events and Communications are my biggest strengths, I realised from the past 6 months that these skill sets also apply to many other roles.
I am very happy that I prepared the performance review with all my heart. I prepared a 9 pages PPT, listed all the areas I could think of. It is not easy to “brag” about what an amazing job I have done, as I personally dislike people who are very vocal about their contribution and performance. However, it is important to recap and summarise my achievements in the past 6 months. I also think if my manager is going to help me get a pay rise, the least I can do is provide her with some strong evidence to persuade her Superviser and HR department.
I have delivered a satisfying performance in the current role without much struggle. Next step is for me to grow more in the areas I am interested in. My strength is communication and execution, maybe its time to think about leadership and strategy building.
In the remuneration discussion I was asked what level of increase I would like, my reply was “as much as possible”. But I set a bench mark on where I would like to get paid in the next 2 years. This way I showed my dedication to the company and also give an indication on where I want to be both short and long term. I wasn’t sure at the time if this was the right way to ask, but now looking at the result it was a good decision.
I have never asked for a pay rise over a performance review. This is the first time and I am happy with the result and how it went. I appreciate the good management my company has and also the clear structure they provide, sometime it takes a bit of luck and lots of hard work to get where I want to be.
Most of all, I am proud that I asked what I think I deserve and got it. Lean in.
LIYANG'S THOUGHTS 