It is great that you provided the credentials you have but you did not say what your job is in.
Often times having a degree is only meaningful to get your foot in the door or to make you more competitive for a promotion with a (masters degree) these days. But once you are in all that matters is how your performance is perceived by leadership and sometimes favoritism/politics does come in to play.
If you did market research and determined you should be paid more. The next time the performance review comes up you can request a raise and have not only the market data handy but a list of achievements and justifications of what you did in attempt to convince them. Just because the market data is there, not all companies follow the same logic in how they pay their employees. While you are doing market research, try to do research on similar companies, see if they post jobs with a higher pay range and if so, apply to them.
When it comes time for performance, what you should not do is compare yourself to other people. In any and every work environment there will always be people that performs better or worse or the same than you and you may not always see it that way. Unless you are peeking over your peer's shoulder 24/7 you really do not know the extent of what they get done. Or if their are politics involved, they may do a better job of networking than you or they could be shagging an executive to give them a leg up. That is just reality and life is not fear.
So rather than compare yourself and being bitter about it, take some alone time and figure out what do you really want? Do you want a promotion? Do you want a lateral move? Are you bored where you are currently at? Are you not being challenged or desire more work that will help you shine?
Also do the introspection to see areas where you can improve personally, everyone has room for improvement. After a certain point in our lives, I think it is age 30 we are hardset in our personalities but can you try a little harder to be more personable with leadership so they see you more as a person and less as a robot?
Do you think you are being undervalued and want to be paid your worth? If so, go ahead and start putting in for promotions in areas of interest. But make sure you also interview the interviewers (covertly) as possible to get a keen sense on what the work environment is like. Until you spend 3-6 months in a new place, you really don't know what you are getting yourself into unless you already know someone on the inside. There may be a million people on this planet wishing to trade places with you because their were recently laid off their "new" job due to their company closing due to economic reasons or due to a toxic boss at a new job and would rather deal with being invisible at their previous job than being battered and bruised at their new. So really think this through and be very methodical about your approach.
If you do decide to approach your boss about pay, be careful not to compare yourself to other employees. There is nothing wrong in asking a boss hey how can I improve, but it seems like you hit a mute point based on how your content reads.
Regardless, do what makes you happy, but don't be foolish in comparing yourself to other people. Run your own race, pray for guidance in how to navigate your next steps to transition into an environment where you are so happy you could care less with other people's performance or if they get paid more than u.
Share your insight
Join an authentic community that helps women support each other at work. Share your professional experience or ask for advice — you can even post anonymously.
14 Comments
Join the conversation