I had to leave work early so that I could come home and cry.
I've been employed in my current situation for about 13 months now. I don't have a contract, per se, however it's written in the employee handbook that salaried employees who do not operate on commission structure are supposed to have their pay evaluated once per year on their anniversary date.
That date came and went. I figured, "No sweat - we'll see what happens on payroll input day."
Apparently not shit seeing as how I got all that faxed off this morning with not a single change other than some other peoples' insurance deductions.
I'll be frank, and this isn't my huge ego talking here: I'm underpaid - vastly so. Most tenured people in my position are earning 2 1/2 times what I'm making right now, and those are the ones who don't have degrees.
If I had been the sort of person that just does enough to get by every day, I probably wouldn't care because I deserve what's coming to me, but I'm the kind of person who has to make shit up as she goes along because it's NEVER been done in the office before. I take work home to do and spend evenings and weekends tweaking our database from home. I buy supplies with my own money and sometimes don't even bother to get reimbursed for it.
I have the highest I.Q. and lowest salary.
Scott thinks that it's perhaps just an oversight seeing as how I'm the only person that's supposed to be reiewed - maybe Bossman forgot.
The way I see it, if I'm so valuable then that makes it even more heartbreaking. If I left tomorrow, not only would he be on the lurch to find someone as qualifed who'd be willing to be paid what I am, but he'd also have to rewind and figure out for himself what I do so that he can train someone else to do it...seeing as how I trained myself and all.
I think it would be humiliating to have to say "Say, Boss - aren't I supposed to be evaluated?"
That may be the most transparent question I could ever ask. It's not like there's anyone else to compare me to for the sake of evaluation. I created the tasks for the position. It's not like I make a LOT of mistakes that some entry-level boob would be making. I make probably one correctable mistake per month and that's usually in having to transcribe financial records from my stack of shit to Bossman's stack of shit. Oops, I forgot to carry the two. And boy, does he get great satisfaction out of me making mistakes.
Let's get one more thing straight: I shouldn't have to take on new responsibilities to qualify for a raise (just in case anyone proposes that objection). I took a lowball salary in the beginning because it was a start-up business. I assumed that when the place was established (we're now the top office in our corporate classification) naturally I'd be compensated justly. I do everything from cleaning the fucking bathroom to managing the employee benefits. I'm not doing anything else without a serious sit-down discussion of what exactly my job is supposed to be.
I know a 5% pay raise per year is standard to cover inflation. I'll put it this way: 5% for MY salary would be such an insult that I would IMMEDIATELY tender my resignation. In la-la land, I'm worth a 75% raise, but like hell if I'm going to see that without sucking some dick and making a real attitude adjustment.
Just needed to get that off my chest. I don't know what I'm going to do...nothing for right now, just a lot of thinking, and of course I'll have to write a new résumé just in case some knight on a white horse offers me a job within walking distance of my house. I won't be a happy camper at work tomorrow, that's for damn sure.
Posted by Tiffany at June 23, 2005 12:42 PMAsk for time off to go to a job interview, it worked well for me.
Posted by: wordweaver at June 23, 2005 12:58 PMHe really may have forgotten. I wouldn't despair or make plans until I talked to him about it -directly and right away. I've been a boss. Bosses screw-up too.
Posted by: Nanc' at June 23, 2005 02:03 PMI agree with Nanc- been there and done that. I would just ask him about it and go from there. I'll be surprised if it is anything other than an oversight.
Love your blog, by the by!
It is very likely an oversight on his part because its not important to him in the least. I remind my boss of my review time each year and she's always surprised that it comes around so quickly.
After my first year, my raise was nowhere near what I expected and I wrote up a three page letter detailing my impact on the company including money saved, other PR people in my position's salaries and the like. I presented it to her on a Friday and asked her to read it over the weekend and discuss it with me on Monday. She wrote me an email ten minutes later basically telling me to look for another job. But, strangely, I stayed on and got a really good raise the next year. I'm still paid way under scale but I'm getting closer.
Good luck and don't be afraid to look around for other jobs. There is nothing that lets a company know how valuable you are by seeing that other companies want you.
Posted by: Johnny Huh? at June 23, 2005 03:34 PMTiffany, I've been a boss, but usually not the one that made those decisions. Mostly I've been upper management that had to work for the big boss. What a "joy" that is. I wouldn't feel annoyed or hurt that you have to remind your boss that it is review time. You ARE basically the HR manager in the office, so it is KIND of your job to keep him up on that stuff anyway, right? At least, that's what you can tell him.
Bosses do make oversights, however some bosses just won't make the first move because it saves them money. (You know, if Suzie Q never brings up the raise then I just won't have to deal with it and I may get by for another year without that additional expense!) I've seen that happen more than once, even if it is only for the interest that he gets to keep from that money sitting in his account when he's got to pay the raise retroactively. Really, I'm not kidding.
Anyway, I'd do as Johnny said and write out a memo detailing all that you do, all that you have contributed, all that you plan to do and how you took the lower pay because it was a start up. I'd also include comparable salary information for others in your position and stress that you are a degreed employee, unlike many that are getting paid twice your salary. You may even want to suggest a new salary range that is comensurate with your experience and with the development of that office. If your office has made it to the top in its level, you had a great deal to do with that. Be prepared to defend your work and also be prepared to walk. You are too smart and too talented to be getting paid what a GED/high school grad could be making. (I suspect from your hints that you are in that range). There are companies that would welcome your intelligence and skill with open arms. You just need to try harder to find them.
Good luck. You know I think you can do better!
Posted by: Momotrips at June 23, 2005 06:57 PMA few comments
* IT F-ING SUCKS! But (sadly) some bosses are not so organized or cool
* Don't walk if you don't get what you want (which will most likely happen)... Smile, thank him and use the time to find a new job (do your job to the best of your EXPECTATIONS not ability)
* Look at this as your "time to get to the next level"... sometimes we all need to be pi$$ed off to better ourselves... we tend to get comfy
* When you give your resignation and they ask why... tell them "that'll cost you more than you can afford".. smile and take a break.. a long break.
Posted by: Keeme at June 24, 2005 04:21 AMI would quit if I were you. You are hard working, intelligent, witty, with a great sense of humor and pretty good looking too. You would have no problem finding a better job with higher pay elsewhere.
Posted by: Ed Wood at June 24, 2005 07:40 AMI don't have anything additional, but lawdy, I can get with the feeling of wanting to walk out the door. Hope the Bossman gets his shit together.
Posted by: Erica at June 25, 2005 12:48 PMDamn, and I thought I was unappreciated. That sucks, and you deserve better. I would definitely be looking for employment elsewhere.
Posted by: Fraulein N at June 28, 2005 04:28 PMI'm feelin ya at the moment, my boss is very shady and is the type that tries to squeak by without giving raises until he absolutely has to. We had our Annual Reviews a little over a month ago, and when he called me in to give me THE BEST REVIEW I HAVE EVER HAD with this organization (all previous review's I have gotten the maximum 5% raise), he told me that this year the maximum that they were allowed to give was 4% for an excellent review (lie # 1,234- I know of at least 3 other people in the office that got 5, 6, and 7% raises)so he was putting me in for the 4% raise, and would try to push for the 5% that I have normally gotten, well when the actual raises were put into effect, SURPRISE, i only got 3%! Well the lead in my department quit (for that same reason) last week, well naturally since I am the most qualified, and have the most seniority in that department, I assumed that this was my chance to get moved up and demand the raise that I deserved (plus be compensated for the lead position)well that has not happened, and as of today he hired a retail girl to fill the spot in our department (not as a lead) and through idle conversation she innocently let it slip that "she was very surprised at the great starting pay of..." a price that is more than .50 an hour than I make!!!!!!! I am up tonight contemplating my 2 week notice or confrontation, only problem being he left to go out of town today and will not return until August 8, I honestly don't believe that I can wait that long for a confrontation...I have already decided to take tomorrow off and contemplate, but can change my mind if i need to.....Any suggestions?
Posted by: Jenni W at July 26, 2005 12:12 AMyeah, i can see where u could be pissed. check this though. my boss hired me as a drafter. 3 months later he asked me if i could take over the lead designers job because he was quiting. i agreed due to offers of more money and all the other crap they tell u. fast forward 2 years, i just put in my 2 weeks notice because i NEVER got a raise, or compensation for the new position. not even a penny. even after i asked for one and was told that i would get it. when i put in my two weeks notice my boss had no clue what i made an hour, and told me that he was "just about to put in my raise", and that he had forgoten about it. hmmm. his counter offer was 3 dollars an hr. less than my new job! PLUS, the money he offered was ecactly what i would have been making if he wouldnt have forgotten my raises! no appology was offered, nor did he even offer that the raise be retroactive. oh, and just so u know the average pay range for what i do is between 24 and 45 thousand a year depending on experience. i make 20,000 a year with a college degree, and a total of 8 years experience. lol. how's that for a total ass pludering?
Posted by: mic grippa at September 28, 2005 09:19 AM