Career Management 103: How to build a case for your next promotion and pay raise

I was blessed with a great career in America. For the past 15 years of my professional life, I successfully served in a variety of industries, in many different roles, earned a good living and I enjoyed my work. What is my secret?

In the post, I will share the last few steps of a program I successfully employed for the past 15 years to get promotions in every single company I worked in. So, let`s dive in and review the four steps you need to take to build a case for your next promotion.

In case you need to review two prior posts:

Step 1: Upgrade your professional credentials

I can not stress this enough. School is never out for a business professional. If you want to get promoted you will need to commit to continuous learning and professional credential upgrades.

Consider signing up for all internal training opportunities, participate in your company`s leadership programs and be in the know about which certifications and licenses can provide the most edge for your profession.

What can you do now?

Use the Bureau of Labor Statistics, FREE Occupational Outlook tool to research your job/functions
Under “How to become one” tab in Occupational Outlook view, locate Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations required in your line of work
Check with HR manager to confirm if your employer offers Educational Assistance program, if they do, ask how to qualify for the free money
Set a new credential goal, research providers and sign up for the class or a seminar at the local college or university as soon as you can.

Step 2: Know your worth

How long have you been doing your job? Regardless of what you make now, it is vital to understand national, state and county salary ranges for your occupation. Whether you are a deli department employee or a mechanical engineer, you must know what is a typical salary for your job.

What can you do now?

Use a nationally accredited database to look up your salary, such as the following:
- FREE Occupational Outlook tool
- State Employment and Wage Database
- Salary.com What are you worth” feature
- Saslary.com Salary estimator feature
Consider purchasing Personalized Salary Report that will reflect your specific level of education, years of experience, sector, location, company size, industry, etc.

Note: I purchased Salary.com Personalized Reports to negotiate my new salary during my job interview process, and also as a source of reference during my semi-annual performance reviews.

My manager appreciated I did the research, came prepared and the report helped me to approach salary conversation with confidence and ease, knowing that I have up to date, accurate data about my worth at my fingertips.

Steps 3: Ask for your promotion

The last step may feel a bit intimidating for many people. It was for me. How do you walk to your manager or an HR department and ask for a raise or a promotion? It is not easy.

Here is my secret sauce on how to approach the discussion. First, separate the promotion which is a title and responsibility change versus the salary and pay raise or a pay code adjustment.

Typically, after learning new skills, contributing more, getting a new professional designation, knowing your salary and consistently documenting your accomplishments, you will be well-prepared to make a case to your manager that it is time for you to change the title.

Each job, industry and the individual company has different ways of recognizing and promoting their top employees. What you ask for depends on your current role, your latest performance, company performance, and industry trends.

My Own Story:

A few years ago I worked at one company as a logistics coordinator. The job was hard but a few months after I started I was offered to manage a team of four other coordinators. I agreed and asked for a Supervisor or a Lead title.

It took some time for the company to agree to change my title. Roughly 9 months after my title was changed my manager also gave a pay raise.

Next, I started to work on the next level promotion and discovered that the company offers educational assistance, so I applied for the online MBA program at Colorado State University.

A year later my son was born, and I had to put my school on hold, but after a few months, when I got a new job at the next company, I renewed my interest. A few years later, I graduated with my MBA degree, which helped me to secure yet another jump in pay.

At each company, I was aiming to do more, a lot more than I was hired to do. Additionally, I was very strategic about which projects I would take on, which departments I partner with and which skills I was developing.

My efforts did not go unnoticed, in the short 13 years in America i was able to increase my salary by the factor of 12.

Remember, many years ago my first job was a Wal-Mart cashier. Today, I am a self-employed business consultant, making a great living, on my own schedule, while doing what I love the most: engineering exceptional customer experience, driving sales growth, and increasing profitability for companies.

I sincerely hope the program, secrets, and tips i shared here will help you to secure your next promotion, get ahead in your career and feel more satisfied in your current job.