March 9, 2011

How to get the title and salary to go with your increased responsibility

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By Kristen Fife
NWjobs

Q: I've been working at the same company for several years. I have gotten increased responsibility (including people management), and I always receive positive annual reviews, but the company has consistently refused to give me the title and salary commensurate with my responsibilities. Do you have any suggestions?
-KS, Redmond

Kristen says: Well, obviously you are a trusted and valuable employee, although perhaps not as much as you should be. If you have not already, it sounds as if you need to have a career path discussion with your manager, and I would recommend that you ask to include someone from Human Resources as well, for a couple of reasons. First, to make sure there is no misunderstanding to the exchange; second, to let your manager know you are quite serious; finally, for documentation in your personnel file. This discussion would be about leveling you appropriately with regards to job title and compensation.

In preparation of your discussion, I would recommend doing some research in your industry for job titles that are similar. You can do this by checking out job boards, using keywords that are part of your current duties as well as the Occupational Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Once you have found the one or two titles most closely related to your actual current duties, do some research at sites like payscale.com or salary.com to find the median target range for what you should be paid.

This research will also help you prepare for the possibility that you might end up looking for a company that understands your career stage better. If your current employer is unable or unwilling to reevaluate your true role at the company, it might be better to start off fresh where there are no preconceived notions about it.

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2 Comments

John Peekstok on March 13, 2011 10:17 AM | Reply

Kristin,
If you are going to put yourself out there as a resume expert, you might want to exhibit better habits for job seekers. If I received a resume with the word "leveling" meaning anything other than getting knocked flat, I would chuckle and toss it in the "No" pile. Decent grammar and usage is still important, and made-up words only work if there isn't already another common meaning for them.

Kristen Fife on March 13, 2011 9:14 PM | Reply

Hi John,
According to Dictionary.com (based on Websters):

28.
to bring things or persons to a common level.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/leveling

In HR terms, "leveling" is a pretty common practice referring to creating equitable employment based on experience and pay grade. I wouldn't expect anyone outside of the HR to use it on a resume. Thanks for your comment and hope that helped explain your confusion!

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