A manager has given notice and interviews for a replacement will start soon—should you apply? Your year-end performance review is coming up—is it time to ask for a promotion? Or maybe you have taken on additional job responsibilities and want to request an increase in salary. When faced with these and similar career crossroads, what is the best way to remind your managers about your contributions to the team without sounding self-serving? Last March, a powerhouse mother-daughter team, Ann Brennan and Claire Heffner, walked us through some strategies that can help us navigate these tricky situations.
Ann, President of Brennan Executive Benefits, Inc., an insurance brokerage firm, began by evaluating our strengths in a number of soft skills—for example, managing, problem solving, and communication—that could transfer to the next level up. She urged us to think creatively about these areas. For example, if you don’t have any direct reports, you could offer to head a project team or be the lead person at a conference call with a client or partner company. Ann emphasized that speaking up about your contributions is not being self-centered but rather a signal to others that you are ready to move up.
Working entirely remotely, Claire Haffner, a Russian-English Editor at Playrix, a leading mobile game developer, has successfully negotiated contracts and raises in her current position. She shared her experiences and offered advice for promoting yourself:
seek out senior management for advice,
focus on building a network, and
pitch in to solve problems, always staying focused on your overall goals.
Claire also encouraged us to be sure we know what the benchmarks for compensation are in our respective industries. We deserve to be paid what we are worth, and the first step is knowing what that is. Ann and Claire have shared their presentation slides. These outline the main points of their talk, but if you missed the event or need a refresher on their advice, you can view the entire presentation here.