How to Ask for a Raise

By Madeline Vann, MPH Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Is it time for a step-up in your salary? Even if that rightful raise is long overdue, actually asking for it can be the hardest part. So before you schedule a meeting with your manager, you’ll want to do some research and carefully plan your approach.

Here’s your first step: According to standard career counseling guidelines, it’s important to research the salaries of people who do your job at other organizations. Making this comparison could give you leverage when asking for a salary increase.

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So does that mean you should suggest to your boss that you’d be making a better salary somewhere else? Not necessarily, says researcher Hannah Riley Bowles, PhD, an associate professor at the Kennedy School for Business at Harvard University — especially if you’re a woman.

“My research suggests that this type of argument — that you could get a better salary elsewhere — can backfire on women,” says Bowles. On the flipside, she notes: “If a woman is perceived as someone who cares about her organizational relationships, she can likely avoid some of the negative costs of asking for higher pay.”
Factor in a tough economy, and there’s even more need for more strategizing before you talk to the boss.

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9 Musts When Prepping for the ‘Big Talk’
Consider these tips to make your argument:

• Put yourself in your boss’s shoes. When you ask for a raise, remember: It shouldn’t only about be about themoney and the reasons you want a pay upgrade. Your boss will want to hear how a raise will motivate you to bring even more to your organization
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• Get input from a mentor. Your best strategy, says Bowles, is to be able to say, honestly, that someone who is well respected within the organization recommended you ask for a pay increase. “It self-presents you as somebody who has close, positive relationships within the firm. This is not a unilateral threat to go elsewhere,” she says. In addition to backing your request, a mentor could provide other career counseling advice, such as tips for improving your portfolio, or the type of problems that keep your boss up at night — problems that you could help with.
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• Spotlight your strengths. In addition to highlighting your professional skills, Bowles recommends positioning the negotiation as an asset. Say something like “I hope you’ll see my negotiating as a strength I bring to the job.” Try to signal that you are team-oriented, even when asking for more pay.
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• Print out your proof. “Bring a manila folder with copies of your resume and letters of reference,” says New York City mediation and relationships expert Laurie Puhn, JD. “It’s a good idea to wait to ask until you have three substantial pieces of evidence that prove your added value to the company. If one of those three things is a current project, then wait for near-completion or a point at which it is clear that your role in the project makes a large, positive difference.”
• Consider the when and the where. Be strategic about the time you choose for your meeting. Says Bowles, “Some people get their raises on the golf course. In other places it’s over coffee or a very standardized thing when you come up for a quarterly review.” Try to find a time when your boss is most likely to be relaxed and able to concentrate on your argument. If your boss has to get approval for any pay increase, you should schedule the initial meeting early in the week, says Puhn. Ask for at least 30 minutes.

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• Probe into pay. It’s important to know what other people with your same expertise are making. The challenge for women, says Bowles, is to step outside of their usual network to find out what men (who are often paid more) are making. That’s the comparison point to shoot for.
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• Lean on your network. A network of professionals can be valuable: If you want honest feedback about what you are asking for or what your boss is offering, share it with a few people in your network.
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• Be open-minded. Budgets are tight all around, so you should consider some alternative requests for 
• professional advancement if your boss can’t or won’t support a pay increase.“You could ask for a match to your 401K or a paid maternity or paternity leave,” suggests Puhn. Consider asking for your boss’s support to join a specific team within the organization, work on a prized project, choose specific colleagues for your departmental team, or get some additional training in your field or in leadership and management — all of which could strengthen your request for a raise later on. Other possibilities are more flexible scheduling or telecommuting, if your tasks allow these.
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• Keep calm. Asking for a raise is stressful, but if you are well prepared, you should be able to take a deep breath and get back to your argument and your evidence. If it becomes clear that money is a sticking point, acknowledge that and bring up the other career advancements you have considered. You can also ask for time to consider your boss’s counter-offer before you respond.

Money and Manners: Are You Offensive?

I recently found myself sitting around a pool listening to a complete stranger brag about how he has too much money and too little time to spend it. This conversation went against a rule I was taught as a child: you don’t talk about money and you certainly don’t boast about your own wealth.



Oddly enough, no one else at the table seemed uncomfortable, so I began to wonder if perhaps my thinking is a bit old fashioned. We live in a much more casual society today than the one I was raised in. Perhaps in 2010 it’s okay to discuss topics that were once taboo. I decided to give etiquette expert Peter Post of The Emily Post Institute a call for his opinion.

It turns out my instincts were correct. “Talking about wealth is really crass, especially when it’s done in a one-upmanship sort of way,” Post says. And it’s even more distasteful to discuss money during a recession like the one we are experiencing now, he says.

Avoiding any talk of money, of course, can be difficult. The key is to handle these discussions in an appropriate manner. Here are five sensitive topics and how Post recommends you handle them:

1. Your Salary


The rule. Everyone knows you should never divulge your income unless you’re speaking with a headhunter or spouse. The same guidelines apply to your bonus. And under no circumstances should you ever brag about your compensation package, even if you don’t mention an exact number.

Sometimes, however, you may be put in the uncomfortable position of someone asking you how much you earn. The only appropriate response is “I make enough to get by”, says Post.

2. Real Estate


The rule. Real estate can be tricky. How much money a home trade hands for is recorded in the public record. Still, Post recommends you don’t show off to your neighbors and tell them how much you got for your four bedroom Colonial or how much you spent on your new Tudor. If a neighbor wants to know, he can go down to the local county clerk’s office or look it up online.

If you’re asked how much you got for your home, you should keep the answer vague and just say it went for either below or above your asking price, says Post.

3. Cars


The rule. You never start a conversation by talking about the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan you just purchased. And you certainly don’t mention its sticker price — even if you feel you negotiated a great deal. But if you do own, say, a Ferrari, it’s okay to drive it around town and even to your kid’s school, says Post. The key is to never discuss an automobile’s value, he says.

If asked what you drive, you should simply name the car that sits in your driveway and leave it at that.

4. Public versus Private School


The rule. It’s no secret that private elementary and high schools cost a small fortune. They can also serve as a status symbol for the parents writing the checks. Post, however, feels it’s wrong to name drop your child’s prep school with strangers or to try and impress friends who send their kids to the local public program.
If asked where your kids go to school, you should mention the private school’s name but then follow up with something you like about the curriculum.

5. Your Investment Portfolio


The rule. Your investment portfolio is like your income, you should not divulge its value. Similarly, you should stay away from gloating about money you made during a particular trading session or quarter. You can, however, discuss your investment strategy or even a stock you recently purchased, says Post. Just don’t tell your friends how many shares you bought.

If asked how much your portfolio gained or lost last year, it’s better to deflect the question or answer using a percentage rather than a dollar figure.

In closing, try to remember that bragging about money and wealth is offensive, and even worse, it’s boring, says Post. Better to ask your friends and acquaintances about themselves instead of trying to impress others.

How to sell your manager on a raise

By Toni Bowers

April 7, 2011, 11:02 AM PDT

Takeaway: Before you approach your boss with a raise request, have your case built around more than how long you’ve been there.

I have worked with some very intelligent people who happen to believe they are entitled to raises on the basis of seniority alone. They would be wrong.

Managing to not get fired is not the same as doing a good job. And, as a matter of fact, doing a good job is not the same thing as doing a raise-worthy job.

Before you step into your boss’s office to have that all-important how-about-throwing some-more-money-my-way conversation, take a moment to answer these questions about yourself:

• How do you contribute to the workplace and the company?
• What problems have you solved for your department or the company lately?
• Can you be counted on to complete duties as asked of you?
• Do you have a good working attitude or would your colleagues rather undergo full-body dermabrasion than talk to you?

Once you get the answers, pack them up in your arsenal and lay them out for your manager.

Salary Negotiation Lessons Learned from Hiring a Nanny

Hiring managers should always ask job seekers whether they're entertaining other job interviews or offers. It's about leverage.

POSTED BY: Meridith Levinson in Best Practices TOPIC: Personal Management BLOG: Career Connection CURRENT RATING:  COMMENTS: 5

Today is my first day back to work after a four-month maternity leave (thank you, IDG). While trying to hire a babysitter to care for my daughter during the workday because I can't get her into a local daycare center until the fall, I learned a lesson about salary negotiation that's important to job seekers and hiring managers, especially when hiring is back on the rise in IT. The lesson illustrates a critical question hiring managers should always ask prospective employees during job interviews:

Are you interviewing for any other positions or entertaining any other job offers?

I, stupidly, failed to ask this question when I interviewed the young woman who's currently caring for my daughter three days a week. (I chalk my carelessness up to new parent sleep deprivation.) Had I asked this question during the job interview and had the nanny told me she didn't have any other interviews or offers, my husband and I probably could have hired her at a lower hourly rate than what she was seeking.

But because I didn't think to ask this question and because my husband and I were under pressure to find some kind of childcare solution for our daughter, the nanny was in a strong position to ask for—and receive—the hourly rate she wanted. (And even in my small, rural community, nannies don't come cheap. More than half my monthly take-home pay is now going to the nanny.) 

The lesson from my bush league hiring manager experience is about leverage, and who has it during a job interview and subsequent salary negotiations. If a job seeker tells a hiring manager that she doesn't have any other job interviews or offers, the hiring manager knows he can nickel-and-dime the candidate on salary. But if the job seeker is in fact mulling other offers, she's poised to negotiate a better salary, and the hiring manager will know he'll have to pony up, especially if the candidate possesses the skills, experience and stellar references the hiring manager seeks (as my nanny did). 

The moral of this story for job seekers: If a hiring manager doesn't ask you whether you're interviewing for other jobs or considering other offers and you do in fact have promising opportunities in the works, make it known during the job interview. Your salary depends on it.

Want to Bridge the Pay Gap? Get Dressed Like a Man

By Laura Vanderkam | March 17, 2011

Theories on the male-female pay gap are bouncing around BNET these days. Is itsexism? Choices? All of the above?

Here’s something I do know: according to the American Time Use Survey, among full-time workers, men work 0.76 more hours per workday than women (46 minutes). There could be many reasons for this. Maybe women feel like they have less time to work because they spend a lot more time on housework. Lowering one’s standards there (or outsourcing chores) is always an option for freeing up time. But if you’re looking for more work time in pursuit of that next raise or promotion, another good source is the extra 0.27 hours (16 minutes) women spend on personal care each day.

Think about it: most men look reasonable. Yet they’ve got an extra 16 minutes to knock out that first memo while the average woman is still putting on her shoes. How much time could you save by getting dressed like a man? Here are a few ways to free up more than an hour each week:

Pare down your closet. When my husband and I recently lost our closet to some apartment renovations, we had to cram our stuff into two wardrobes each. To hit that goal, I had to send a lot more bags to Goodwill than he did, which was instructive. Men spend a lot less time shopping than women do (another way to free up 15 minutes), and that’s probably a good thing. There’s no point cluttering your closet with clothes you never wear — it keeps you from reaching the stuff you do wear in a hurry.

Start a rotation. Two weeks of work outfits, which you know make you look fabulous, should do. If you don’t know what works for you, consider hiring a personal shopper to save time and ward off fashion disasters. I have done this twice and it’s cost about $400 each time. You could also recruit a brutally honest friend, and some department stores offer this service for free if you purchase your suits at that store.

Don’t fight nature. I have never understood why people who are blessed with naturally curly hair spend half an hour each morning straightening it. Then again, I spend time curling my straight hair. Maybe we should all knock it off.

Keep it simple. Men don’t (usually) wear make-up, but they do have to shave, so we’re all facing face issues. But rather than coming up with a different product for every square inch of their facial hair, men stick to a few (shaving cream, razor, maybe moisturizer). It’s not a bad approach. Get enough sleep, eat well, don’t smoke and wear sunscreen and you’ll probably need less make-up anyway.

How do you streamline your mornings?

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What’s Your Minimum Wage?

These days, I’m spending many of my 168 hours writing a book about money. As I’ve been doing my research, I’ve realized that the internet is chock full of silly suggestions for saving small amounts of cash. Spend all afternoon running to different stores to save $2 on toilet paper! Cut dryer sheets in half — as if dryer sheets are a major component of anyone’s budget. Save scraps of soap to wet together into a new bar, and pocket a grand total of $5 per year.

So when a friend sent me a link to a website called “Money Saving Mom,” I assumed it would be more of the same. I believe I said something like “great, she’ll probably tell me to make my own soup stock.” Then I clicked over and, to my surprise, found an article called “Why I Don’t Make Homemade Tortillas.”

Here’s the explanation from blogger Crystal Paine: “Here in Kansas, we can pretty routinely pick up a package of 8-10 tortillas for around $1. When I priced out the ingredients of homemade tortillas, I figured up that it would likely cost me around $0.30 to $0.40 per batch. …. To make 8-10 tortillas from start to finish would likely take me around 30 minutes. At that rate, I’d be spending 30 minutes of my time to save around $0.60 to $0.70 total.”

In other words, she’d be earning a wage of $1.40 an hour, or maybe $2 if you price that out before taxes. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. As she put it, “Personally, if I’m not saving at least $20 per hour by implementing a particular frugal practice, than I’d rather invest my time elsewhere. …. If I’m doing something primarily for the money saved, then it is important to me that I’m actually saving money!”

I like this idea of setting our own minimum wage. In our quest to be good stewards of money, we often forget that time is valuable too. We shoo the kids outside — without us — so we can spend a Saturday scrubbing because a cleaning service is a “waste” of money. We buy food we don’t like because we have a coupon for it. People who charge $100 an hour will wait in a 30-minute line on free cone day at Ben & Jerry’s. Why?

A better approach is to figure out roughly what your time is worth (or what you’d like it to be worth). If you earn $80,000 a year, that’s roughly $40 an hour. If doing something yourself isn’t netting you $27 or so per hour (the after-tax take) then it’s below your minimum wage. If you love doing it, fine — we all spend money on things we enjoy. But don’t fool yourself that you’re saving a whole lot. Many of us can make more money. None of us can make more time — and so the latter should be treated with the respect it deserves.

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Show them you're worth the money

As a job seeker, you constantly hear that one of the biggest detriments to your job search is not quantifying your achievements on your résumé. Yet still, many don't understand what that actually means.

Admittedly, some positions are easier to quantify, such as asales agent or manager. But even less concrete jobs, like an editor or administrative assistant can be quantified -- sometimes you just have to work a little harder.

"Quantifying achievements is essential to creating an impact as a job seeker. Whether we are making widgets or making multi-million dollar deals, we seldom take the time to carefully consider how each task we complete has a beneficial, ripple effect throughout our organization," says Kirsten McKinnon, a professional development coach.
"The first and often most challenging step is to fully acknowledge our workplace contributions. It's so easy to get immersed in the daily grind and not step back to take stock of the full impact of what we do. We can begin to take our strengths, talents and achievements for granted, resulting in the 'I was just doing my job' phenomenon," she says.

Richard S Deems, co-author of "Make Job Loss Work For You," suggests job seekers take the "So what?" approach to quantifying results.

"If you just tell me you're an editor of a monthly periodical I'll yawn and grab the next résumé," he says. "OK, so you're an editor -- so what? 'Well, I edit articles for a monthly periodical.' So what? 'Well, I get letters back from authors telling me they appreciated my editing work.' So what? 'Well, my superiors have noticed this.' So what? 'Well, they have asked me to submit several articles for a variety of awards and recognitions.' So what? 'Well, this past year I've received five awards for articles I've edited.' So what? 'Requests for reprints have increased by 41 percent.'"
To quantify your achievements, McKinnon says to remember that your role is part of a bigger picture.

"No matter how mundane the task, each plays a role in the ultimate bottom-line of an organization. Everything we do (or don't do) has an impact on our workplace. This concept can be simultaneously empowering and daunting as we recognize the importance of our role," she says.

Cheryl E. Palmer, president, Call to Career, gives the following suggestions for areas when trying to quantify your achievements:

Time or money saved: "If you instituted a process improvement that saved time and made a procedure more efficient, you can estimate the amount of time saved by comparing the amount of time that the procedure initially required with the amount of time it took after you improved the process. This can be stated in units of time like hours, days or weeks, or it can be stated as a percentage," Palmer says. "By the same token, you can quantify the amount of money you saved for your organization. For example, you might have saved $1 million by switching vendors and negotiating a better price. You can state the dollar amount or the percentage of money saved."

New business for the company: "Even if you are not in sales, you may still have contributed to the bottom line by referring new business," Palmer reminds. "You can estimate how much money you earned for the company. Or perhaps your work led to more sales. If you are inmarketing, you may have created materials that were used by salespeople to increase sales. Quantify the sales that were generated after the marketing collateral you created was implemented."
Increase in customer satisfaction: "You may have been in a position to directly impact customer satisfaction. If your company measures satisfaction through customer surveys and you know that there has been a significant improvement in the customer satisfaction scores as a result of your intervention, you can quantify that increase and write it as an accomplishment on your résumé," Palmer says. "You could say, 'Boosted customer satisfaction scores by 30 percent in six months by instituting a process that resolved most problems with one call.'"
Staff retention rates: "Instead of saying something generic like, 'Increased morale in the office,' talk about the fact that you initiated programs that boosted staff retention rates. This is significant because it is very costly to replace staff," Palmer says. "You can either mention the decrease in turnover or the increase in staff retention. Human resources should have data on staff turnover that you can use to compare what the turnover rate was before you came and what the turnover rate has been during your tenure." 

If you're still having trouble attaching a number to your achievements at work, Heather Krasna,author of "Jobs That Matter: Find a Stable, Fulfilling Career in Public Service," suggests considering the following questions about your job duties:
1. What would have happened if you had done a bad job? How much money would have been lost; how many clients would have been disappointed; how many files misplaced?  This helps you see your impact, she says.

2. Ask yourself if your contributions improved your organization. "Are things more efficient than they were before you came along? If so, by how many days was the turnaround time improved? How much staff time was saved, in hours per week? Are things being done in a higher quality way? If so, how many errors per month were reduced? Did you win an award or recognition for the improvement? Do your best to add numbers or percentages," she says.
3. For every bullet point in your résumé, look for the nouns in the statement and ask if a number or percentage can be added. "For instance, how many phone calls did you answer?  How many records were in the database you managed?  Make sure to include context -- list the timeframe within which you did the work," she suggests.

5. If you don't already, start keeping track of your accomplishments as soon as possible, she says. "Go back to your job and start a tally of how many clients you see per day, then make a guesstimate of how many you see per month. Look at your client notes, or go through your calendar and compile your appointments. Tracking your accomplishments will help you in performance reviews, even if you aren't job seeking. Even if you left a job, you can often call your former boss or co-workers and ask whether a project you worked on led to a certain result. Did your recommendations get considered, or better yet, implemented? If so, have they led to the desired result?"

No matter what your duties entail, it is possible to attach a number to your accomplishments. Take the time to do it, and you could find yourself in the running for your dream job.

Is Your Job Costing You Too Much Money?

When you're considering a job offer, you can't help but factor in salary. Money matters, unless you have a sizable nest egg that lets you spend without care. That is not the case for most workers.

Instead, you have to consider the cost of your rent or mortgage, student loans, monthly bills, food and other expenses. A dream job can quickly lose its glimmer when you realize it doesn't pay nearly enough to survive.

But do you continue to examine your expenses once you've accepted the job? If you're strapped for cash on a regular basis, have you resigned yourself to thinking you need to earn more? Well, until that happens, you might want to examine what your job is costing you, not paying you. Many workers forget the indirect expenses of work, such as wardrobe, transportation and food. If you can cut down or make alternative arrangements, you might be able to boost your bank account even without a pay raise.

Here are six ways your job might be costing you:

1. Clothing and dry cleaning

Whether you wear suits or jeans, clothes cost money and you have to replace your work attire regularly. If you have to wear dress clothes, the upfront cost is already steep, but then you're stuck taking them to the cleaners every week. Or you have to buy enough clothes to go to the cleaners less frequently. Either way, you're stuck shelling out cash.

2. Transportation

Unless you can work from home or walk to work, getting to your workplace probably costs you money. Public transportation is usually cheaper than driving, but it often takes longer, so it costs you time.

But if you're driving, don't just look at the price of gas, which definitely puts a dent in your pocket. The back-and-forth of everyday commuting puts more miles on your car, which translates into more maintenance and eventually a need to replace the car sooner than if you worked close to home. And if you have to pay tolls, that's yet another expense to consider.

3. Food

One of the easiest ways to save money during the week is to pack your lunch. Unfortunately, life often interrupts the best-laid plans and you end up going out for lunch, which means you spend a few dollars here, a few dollars there, and by the end of the week you've spent 50 bucks on lunches alone. For many workers, job-related activities take up more than 40 hours each week. From the time you leave in the morning to the time you return home, you might have been gone for 12 hours, and that means you probably don't have time or energy to cook dinner. Therefore, you'll be picking up food on the way home.

4. Child care

If you have children, you know how expensive child care is. The cost depends on many factors, such as the child's age and how long the care is for, but it's never cheap. Several studies have shown that many working parents spend most of their paychecks on child care, and sometimes parents who work part-time end up losing money. Unless you have an on-site day care that saves you  money or can arrange a more affordable deal with a friend or relative to care for your child, this expense is one you can't avoid.

5. Housekeeping

OK, many people consider housekeeping a luxury, and that's fair. However, if your job takes up so much of your time between hours worked and the commute that you're gone 75 hours each week, you're not left with much free time. Therefore, you might feel inclined to have someone clean your house while you're working so you can enjoy yourself when you get home. A job that takes up less of your time would allow you to do chores without feeling like you're wasting your few hours of freedom.

6. Cell phone and entertainment

If you have to use your cell phone for work, your company might cover the cost. Not all companies do, however, and employees are stuck paying for expensive smart phones out of their own pockets because they're expected to be on call every day. They need to be able to access e-mail and send documents at a moment's notice, and these phones and their service plans are expensive.

Some jobs also involve entertaining clients. Again, many companies provide expense accounts, but not all of them do. If you get stuck taking clients to lunch or drinks on a regular basis, that cost adds up, especially if you're driving them around yourself. Just be certain that you're earning more from their business than you're spending.

Are You Being Paid Fairly?

When Rebecca Shu*, an employee at a sportswear company, inherited some reports from another division, she quickly spotted a problem. "The Caucasian employee that was junior level made 40 percent more than the African American employees doing more senior-level work."

She also found out about another problem. "The last two years of reviews, managers of minority employees were instructed to lower their job review scores as it was predetermined that no raises or promotions were to be given, and the reviews had to justify it, regardless of actual performance," Shu states. "Meanwhile, the two Caucasian employees of that division were given promotions."

While it may be uncomfortable to work in such an atmosphere, workers are oftentimes afraid to say or do anything for fear of losing their own job. Others are blatantly told to keep their thoughts to themselves.

When Jill O'Conner* took a job at an independent film company, she assumed a position held by a younger man. "I came to the job having been a National Director of Publicity at a film production and distribution company," O'Conner states. While she could document that she was more qualified, she was paid less. "When I complained, my boss told me to 'be a good girl' and be quiet." And she was.

Not all paychecks are created equal

While equal pay for equal work should be a fundamental right, the fact remains that differences exist. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the earnings disparity between black or Hispanic workers and Asian or white workers holds steady across all major occupational groups.

Consider these BLS findings:

• In 2008, median usual weekly earnings of Asian men ($1,403) and white men ($1,255) working full time in management, professional and related occupations were well above the earnings of Hispanic men ($1,002) and black men ($892) in the same occupations.
• Hispanic and black men employed in production, transportation and material movingoccupations had median earnings of $514 and $559 per week, respectively, which were less than the median earnings of their white ($658) or Asian ($585) counterparts.
• In management, professional and related occupations the earnings of black women ($763) and Hispanic women ($775) were around 85 percent of those of white women ($900).

While these statistics might lead a worker to assume the worst if faced with a paycheck that is less than what she thinks she deserves, approaching this sensitive issue with care can be the key to resolution.

Factors affecting salary
"Many factors can influence pay rates," says John Millikin, a professor in the management department at Arizona State University's W.P. Carey School of Business in Tempe, Ariz., and a former vice president of human resources at Motorola Inc. in Phoenix. "Most compensation systems have pay ranges for specific skills and/or responsibility levels. Within a pay range or 'grade' there can be many reasons for variations. These can include performance, seniority/experience (both in the skill and within the firm) and starting salary in that position. (Did the person start high or low in the range of the pay  grade?)"

Linda Matias, author of "201 Knockout Answers to Tough Interview Questions: The Ultimate Guide to Handling the New Competency-Based Interview Style," echoes these thoughts as possible explanations for paycheck differences among similar employees.

"The person's colleagues may have been better prepared for the salary negotiations during the interview or at their performance review. By preparation I mean that they took the time to write down their accomplishments and bring it to the manager's attention. That list connects the dots for the decision and brings to the forefront key reasons they are worth more. In addition, they may have done their homework and researched the average salary for their profession and demonstrated why they fall above the bell curve." 

A plan for success
If, after examining other factors, an employee still believes that something is unfair, experts generally suggest proceeding carefully and keeping emotions in check. 

Matias recommends coming up with a strategic plan focusing on the following: 

• Volunteering for assignments
• Providing ideas during meetings
• Being a team player by lending a hand to colleagues
• Refraining from speaking negatively about the company
• Not participating in rumors

Then, after three to six months of implementing this plan, the employee should request a meeting to outline these recent accomplishments and ask for a raise. 

"Most of us would prefer not to be in an adversarial position with our own employer," Millikin points out. "Likewise, most companies would rather resolve any unintended problem internally." If you feel comfortable doing so, he suggests going to your human resources department and requesting a confidential review in which your direct supervisor is not contacted and you are given feedback on the results before you decide if you want to pursue the matter further.

Filing a charge
Valerie Rawlston Wilson, vice president of research for the National Urban League, notes that workers who think they are suffering from pay discrimination can file a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A worker filing a charge will be asked for various pieces of information, including a description of what is believed to be discriminatory, on what basis and any supporting documentation. 

The EEOC can help an employee decide whether or not his situation is covered by the laws it enforces. If a charge is filed, the EEOC may try to settle the dispute through mediation -- an informal and confidential way to resolve disputes with the help of a neutral mediator. If the case is not sent to mediation, or if mediation doesn't resolve the problem, the charge is given to an investigator. 

More information can be found on the EEOC's Web site (http://www.eeoc.gov) or by calling its national contact center (1-800-669-4000).

*Names changed to protect privacy

Front programmer. How much do you earn?

One ot the things we´ve posted about in this blog is the Actionscript job market, not only in Spain, but also in the rest of the world. In fact, we support this from Linkedin.

So, last weekend I was surfing on the web in some of the marketing links I have. I discovered "el libro blanco de los contenidos digitales", it is a spanish publication about digital contents. Also I came up with the "Estudio de Honorarios de Marketing Directo e Interactivo 2008", I would translate it as "The Direct and interactive marketing wages research". We posted about the Coroflot, la Design Salary Survey some time ago. If you want you can participate, I think it´s until last day of december, and look forward to hearing from the results.

Back to the pdf, there´s a big mistake cos they´re talking about money in Euros per day when everypeople here talks about thousand Euros per year. There are also huge differences between for example a 'front programmer' and an 'advanced front programmer'. So, which is the limi? Actionscript 3? Flex? The server side? We shall ask them...