Money Matters
Money Matters
Maximizing Your Career Potential
Unlock the secrets to leveraging your career for maximum financial gain with Money Matters! I'm thrilled to be joined by Yolanda Whitmore, a seasoned expert in career advancement strategies, as we explore the art of negotiating a raise. Get ready to master the skills needed to confidently present your case based on performance, understand the timing, and avoid common pitfalls like ultimatums. This episode promises to equip you with actionable insights that can help transform your financial trajectory.
Curious about your role in career development? We tackle the often-debated topic of who holds the reins of career progression—employees or employers. Dive into a lively discussion on self-improvement, from taking on additional duties in a contact center to pursuing further education. With insights from my personal experiences at Neighbors, learn how mentorship, training programs, and organizational support can propel your career forward, ensuring you're always one step ahead in a competitive job market.
Finally, we emphasize the importance of maintaining an up-to-date professional presence, from your resume to your LinkedIn profile. Discover how these tools can open doors to unexpected opportunities and how networking plays a crucial role in career growth. The evolution of job titles and their impact on career development is also on the agenda, offering practical advice on how to position yourself for success. Tune in for an episode packed with strategies and real-world advice to navigate the ever-changing landscape of professional growth.
Have an idea for a show or a question for Kim? Send us a text message
Welcome to Money Matters, the podcast that focuses on how to use the money you have, make the money you need and save the money you want – brought to you by Neighbors Federal Credit Union.
The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice.
Welcome to another edition of Money Matters. I am so excited today to have Yolanda Whitmore join me back again so that we can continue our conversation on, basically, how are we going to use our careers, our income, to better our financial situations. So on our previous episode, that's what we talked about salaries versus benefits. I take a job that's maybe paying me a little bit less, but I have better benefits that work with my lifestyle. But now we want to refocus and talk about, now that you have that job, how can you leverage your career? How can you maximize your income potential? How do we even know what your income potential is, your net worth? So guess what? Yolanda has come back today to help us answer some of those questions. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:I think after our last episode, we got into such a deep conversation about what we're going to talk about today and that was so compelling that I was like, yes, we have to come back and talk about it Because now for those individuals that have a job, you may say that episode wasn't helpful for me because I have a job already. So now we're going to talk about if you have that job, if you're in the career that you want to be. How do you leverage that? How do you go to the next level and you may say this is a personal finance podcast. What does that have to do with anything?
Speaker 1:Every day we're talking to individuals that are in situations that they need more income, and so sometimes it's easier said than done. Does that mean that you need to take a part-time job, change careers? Maybe not, but hopefully what we discussed today will give you some insight in what you can do where you are, to maybe get to that next level. How do you ask for a raise and I'm going to start right there with your loan at HR. How do you do that? If I want more money, do I just go up to my boss and say look, slide this little sheet of paper over and say can we add a zero to that? Absolutely, that's all you have to do. Can I expect to get an answer? Can I expect to have a job after that sheet of paper slid over to that side?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. This is what I'm saying. First and foremost, if you are in a place where you feel that you should be receiving a raise, I have a couple of things that I say to a person before you choose to slide that piece of paper across the table to your manager how long have you been in that position? There are some people that would be in a position for three months and feel that they have mastered and say, oh, it's time for me to get a raise, so it's time for me to push that paper over, just like you did. I need a raise, but you didn't explain the reason why you would need a raise. But what I suggest to people, first and foremost, be in your position and become comfortable in your position within six months. If that's comfortable and you're like if I accepted a position, I accepted that salary you should not be asking for a raise in three weeks because you felt okay with that salary in the beginning.
Speaker 1:But inflation has hit in those three weeks. Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 2:Understandable in that aspect. But one thing I always tell people don't put your personal to ask for a raise, for instance, like you just say, oh, it's inflation, oh, I got to pay my bills, oh, I got to pay my car now. Oh, I got stuff going on, so I need a raise. It should be about your performance, what you're actually doing at work, or if certain things change within work, where you may have had someone that was in a department and they are actually no longer in the department and it's been several months. You've been taking up that role. You've been doing those duties and your duties at an exceptional level. They see that I can do both jobs and I'm comfortable. I'm not stressed out, I'm not burnt out, I'm okay with doing both of those jobs. I think it's about time now. I've been at this company a little bit over a year and a half. I think it's time and I'm comfortable and I have the information and they see that I'm doing both jobs and doing both jobs well. I can bring my job description to the table with my letter and state hey, these are the duties that I've been doing. As you stated, I've been doing these things at an exceptional level as well, I have picked up these additional duties as well and I continue to do those. What I am suggesting and requesting is may I or can I get a raise or possibly blend these positions together where I can actually get an increase? That's a way that you can actually come to the table.
Speaker 2:I just tell people do not come to the table just saying I need a raise, or, oh, I'm coming to the table, I want a raise. If not, because we can flip that conversation as well. Oh, they got me doing all this work because we need another person, another body there. But you're frustrated. You have an attitude with doing this extra work as well, as you're not doing it to the ability that you could do. It is very subpar.
Speaker 2:But the economy at this point there's not anybody applying for this position. So what you do is push that paper over and say, oh, I need a raise, if not, I'm going to quit. So it can be reversed. But that's not what you want to do, because sometimes you would be rather surprised. Some organizations will be like, okay, that's your choice. So you could put yourself in a catch-22 where you threaten a company, so you never know. So that's why I say anytime you want to actually go to the table because it's a negotiation at that point where you're requesting a raise. So when you do that, you want to do that as professional as possible. Bring your information, bring the reasons why you feel that you are qualified for that raise.
Speaker 1:And, in keeping with that, if I look at my salary and say, ok, I want to raise, I've been working hard, how do I, as the employee, determine what the appropriate amount to ask for? How can I find out what my worth is in terms of the company to say, okay, I want a 10%, I want a 5%, I want a 15% raise? How can I measure that so that I can present it to my employer and feel confident that it is a reasonable amount? So how can I really come to the table? I'm confident in saying I've done a great job, I have excellent service, etc. But how can I be confident in that number I put on that sheet of paper and slide over is reasonable?
Speaker 2:OK, what you want to know. First and foremost, you said that you've done your research.
Speaker 1:If your salary is in that range, my research in terms of what I'm making sure I've done, dotted all my I's and crossed out my T's for my role in anything extra. So if I'm completely in the dark about what I should expect beyond, how do I do that research? Where should I do that research?
Speaker 2:The way I tell people. First, you can go to BLS, which is the Bureau of Labor Statisticsgov. That gives you a plethora of information compared to where you can find information on benchmarking within your positions. Also, look locally If you are at an organization for instance, we're at a credit union All the credit unions are financial institutions in and around the surrounding area and verify what those salaries actually are in those positions. Usually you can find that information on job descriptions, job postings, or you can pull that up sometimes and get that information directly off the internet and you would verify. Usually, hey, I see down the street they're paying $5,000 more for a similar position. And when I tell people that you get that information or you can get that data, sometimes when you bring it to us, we can go into as far as I would be more basic, as far as, like a teller. We know a teller here is a teller the same usually in majority other organizations. So it's easier to leverage to say, oh, this organization is paying their tellers $15 an hour. However, I'm only getting paid $13 an hour here. But I can see, hey, I've done everything that a teller can do. I'm actually stepping up, helping the assistant branch manager or things like that. What you're going to see is that at that point you're bringing that information and that attention up that maybe that organization did not notice that, hey, these organizations now are paying those, our majority of their tellers, at $15 an hour. That's just an example that I'm using so that can actually bring the attention and is hey, at this point we may be lowball or not paying our employees or what they're worth.
Speaker 2:At that point the organization itself can take a look where a raise doesn't even have to be involved. They can make adjustments themselves across the board. If there's something that is in a position that is completely out of the norm and you're way skewed, I tell people as well. Even though it's the same job title, it doesn't mean your duties are the same. Sometimes you may get a no, and even if you get a no or a decline for that salary that you're requesting, ask the questions why? Because you will be surprised sometimes of why the answer was a no or not at this time. It could be the fact that the organization right now have a freeze on actually any type of raises or promotions, because we can be going, or an organization can be going through some type of financial strain and it could be at the point we cannot, as an organization right now, give increases to our employees right now. So sometimes there's always a why, sometimes even behind the no or the no not right now.
Speaker 1:You said, okay, they see what you're doing, they recognize your work, but is that always the case? What if they're not? What can you do as an employee to make sure if you're going above and beyond to make sure your supervisors recognize that, so that if you are going to ask for that raise, if you are going to ask for something in addition, that it is recognized? I know that some companies offer an annual review. How important is an annual review, or even a self-assessment in terms of that? And then, beyond that self-assessment, is it okay to toot your own horn? What can you do so that, if you want to ask for a raise, or if you want to just show them that, hey, maybe you don't have to ask for it, you want to put it out there so that they're going to come to you and say, look, we've seen you do this, we've seen you do all of these extra tasks. How can you make sure that your superiors or your supervisors are aware of what you're doing?
Speaker 2:Okay, I'll try to answer all 15 questions. First and foremost, on this aspect, I tell everyone, even the people that I do mentor, keep a brag book, that brag book. There's nothing wrong with it. Anything that you do out of the norm, out of the ordinary, write it in that brag book. So when it's that time, if you are at an organization that actually does annual performance reviews, do that self-evaluation on yourself or give that information to your manager, because sometimes you have to understand managers may manage several or more employees and they're not probably remembering what you did at a moment. And when you bring that back to their memory because you know what you have, wrote all those memories down in that brag book. So when it's time for that review, oh, I'm going to let you know everything I did these past 12 months, just to refresh your memory.
Speaker 2:Managers appreciate that. And when they're like, wow, this person did do all of these things and I'm sorry I did not recall, yeah, he did work on the committee. Yes, he did work extra hours and when accounting needed help, they wanted some backup if possible when he used to work in the accounting department. So those type of things put in your brag book. Put anything work-related, even non-work-related, that can be volunteer-focused. For instance, if you volunteer to work for the Cancer Society on the weekends and things like that and you know that your organization is volunteer-focused, make sure you actually add those things, because, keep in mind, some personal things that you do outside of work can also help you inside within your job.
Speaker 1:All right. So I want to bring it back in and narrow it down. Are there any key, maybe two or three things that you would say if you're going to go in and ask for a raise that you should be prepared to present, and if you are declined, are there two or three key things that you want to know before you walk out the door? In terms of why is it just the no, an updated?
Speaker 2:resume. Okay, bring your updated resume and your current job description, because at that point you're giving your manager an opportunity to be like okay, these are the job duties that I have. However, on my current resume, these are the previous companies and organizations that I worked for, so they know what your history is as well. You're just refreshing them at that point, but you're letting them know I've been at this company X amount of months or years. These duties now have evolved. This is what is stated on my job description. That's when you bring out your brag book with you and you let them know. But these are some of the things that have been added to my duties, so you're gonna let them know I that have been added to my duties, so you're going to let them know I'm doing this, I'm doing this and I'm doing this. And also be comfortable, let them know this has been removed or because I have started this, I have improved this in efficiencies you want to let them know all the things that you've done to improve the position that you're currently in.
Speaker 2:Now, keep in mind, I let people know as well.
Speaker 2:But if it's a plethora of people like if you are in a contact center, for instance, and it's 40 contact center people taking calls and y'all have all the same duties.
Speaker 2:However, to ask for a raise and everybody's doing the same thing at the same level, sometimes it may be a little different and you will have to find a way to actually, I guess, stand out. Sometimes it may be a little different and it'll be. You will have to find a way to actually, I guess, stand out to me when you bring that information and you are standing out because you're doing over and beyond, taking on extra duties and things like that it can be more of. Maybe I need a job change, maybe I don't need to be in the same position as all these other 38, 39 other contact center reps. You can actually pivot and change that conversation as well of yes, I'm asking for a raise, but I understand that these raises may not happen because it's a group of us or whatever. I'm asking for a raise, but also I'm asking for a position change or a position title change.
Speaker 1:You must be reading my mind, because that's literally what I wanted to talk about next, in terms of you've been on a job, you've been comfortable, you've been in this position and you may realize that at that position you've reached the ceiling. So when is it appropriate to start looking at other positions? I know that there are some employees that will apply for everything. Everything that comes up is I'm going to apply. Tell me your feelings about that internally. Is that a good look? Does that say that you're ambitious? Or how do you think that's perceived in the corporate world if you have an employee that every time there's a position available, they're applying? And then what is your recommendation in terms of giving thought to the positions that might be available?
Speaker 2:I think that person is still trying to find themselves. Okay, I don't tell anyone not to apply for something because they may feel like I thought this was a good fit for me but maybe it's not. Some people may have to go around the world three times before they find out. Hey, this is my home. I don't say that it's looked at any way, whether negative or positive. That's just me personally. That's the way I take it, especially when I feel if they are seasoned in their position and we do use performance reviews here.
Speaker 2:So if you are exceeding or outstanding at that type of level in your position that you're currently in, I can see sometimes where you may feel stagnant or at a plateau and you're looking for something different. If there's a position that does come up that you feel that you are qualified for and you do meet those qualifications, absolutely apply. If you are in a position and you are still learning that position or learning those duties, do I feel comfortable for you to apply for a position and you are still learning that position, are learning those duties? Do I feel comfortable for you to apply for a position that you pretty much may not be qualified for? I can't stop you. All I can do is tell you or give you the phone call and say unfortunately you did not meet the qualifications.
Speaker 2:And do we do that a good bit of times for a lot of what? Yeah, as long as you meet the qualifications, you're eligible to apply for those positions, and it depends on what you do in that interview at that point. But I strongly suggest that when you do apply, first and foremost, especially for an internal position, make sure your resume is updated. I think that's more so our pet peeve than you applying for $50 million. Anytime a position opens, it's because you've been in a position for three years, you've been employed with us for those entire three years and when you apply for that position, that's the resume that we're receiving. It's not telling us that you even work here at no not in three years, which is supposed to be looking over my shoulder, exactly.
Speaker 2:So first and foremost, even if you're applying internally for a position, update the resumes, your resumes. You should be literally honestly updating or just looking at it at least once or twice a year, because duties change in jobs. So that's one thing I say. Make sure your resume is up to date in that aspect.
Speaker 1:Well, look, we're going to pivot, because that's why I asked him, because I know I won't remember, but I want to pivot. And this is still in this same area career development and this is a great debate question that you and I discussed in a similar meeting, and it's career development who should, who is the responsibility of more? Is it the employee or the employer?
Speaker 2:responsibility of more. Is it the employee or the employer? Just to let you know, I think when I stepped on the side, it's more of the employee's responsibility for self-development.
Speaker 1:And I was on the other side, but I'll let you go first.
Speaker 2:Okay. And the reason why I stated that is that, if just me personally, I feel that if you do not take stake in your own career development and put yourself out there and let your managers know, hey, I'm taking extra classes, I've signed up, I'm getting my master's, I'm getting my doctorate, I'm taking certifications, I'm doing these things and I'm choosing to do these things on my own, it doesn't have to be your manager or your organization's responsibility to say, hey, it's your responsibility or it's their responsibility for your career development. And I think we're missing that major word that was in the difference of who's more responsible. That's the more word. I'm not saying that employers are not responsible for their employees' growth, but, however, they're not the one that is majority that responsibility is for.
Speaker 1:And so I was on the other side, and one of the reasons that I was on that other side is the fear of not knowing what you don't know. And so I think that, as an employer, you have to present those opportunities. Yes, it's the employee's initiative. They need to have the motivation to take advantage of them. But if you don't know XYZ exists, how can you take advantage of it? If you don't know that this company allows for cross-training, offers these opportunities, how will you know, especially if you're in an entry-level position in any corporation? If you don't know what exists, how can you take advantage of it? So, yes, I may be developing my career outside, like you said, furthering my education, but within that corporation, I do think that the organization has that responsibility to not only, not just, provide those opportunities but to make sure employees are aware of it, which I can say, neighbors, is definitely doing a great job, because this all came about through our Sink Mentorship Program.
Speaker 1:I posed that question to. Because this all came about through our Sink Mentorship Program. I posed that question to about wouldn't you agree about? 80% of the room was on the employee side, and so I pivoted and I asked the question. I said now raise your hand. How many of you have been in a mentorship program before Neighbors? And there were only maybe about two hands up, and so I felt that those two individuals, yes, that on their own initiative they were developing their own career, whereas I felt the rest of them, the reason that you are now involved in this program, is because your employee ie neighbor shout out was offering that particular opportunity.
Speaker 2:And absolutely I did believe in that, and that's when I say again, shout out to neighbors, we actually do amazing in self-development as well as employee and employer developments. As far as I've been here almost 18 years, and from my previous organization even though it was a multi-billion dollar organization they did not believe in self-development as employees, you had to develop yourself. They wasn't paying for you to go to conferences, they were not paying for any type of mentorship programs, anything of that nature. It did not matter what position you were in, whether you were on the C-suite levels or not. So that was one of the things that was completely different here at Neighbors. That's one of the things that we do foster.
Speaker 2:We believe in actually training our employees. We believe in actually and I'll give the example of training. Our trainings are extensive, they run, whereas other organizations then that was one of the benefits People say, oh, my goodness, y'all do a training that long. Yes, we do. Where some people say I trained in just three days, yeah, it's just the fact we want to make sure we give people a foundation and we want our employees to grow. And that's one of the things why we do believe we're promoting from within, because we feel that when we have our employees here, we don't want to not have them grow, we don't want them to not mature, we don't want them to not learn anything else. We want them to actually grow and grow within their organizations.
Speaker 2:When they ask certain questions about hey, I want to know more about this, that's what we say. Your manager is there and your manager is supposed to be there, like you stated, and you made the comment as far as if you don't know, if you're very green, how would I know about? It's okay for me to have these opportunities to go out and to actually learn and to further my education or just further my knowledge. And one of the things also just to plug out there is that we do tuition reimbursement. So there's a lot of companies and organizations that do that as well. But that's just one of the things as we support. We support people to actually further their education and that's why we do have that type of program put in place.
Speaker 2:But again, it is still the employee's responsibility if they want to actually grow within the organization, if you want to be a leader or if you want to move up within the organization, sometimes you have to be the person to take initiative and when that manager see you as that person that's taking initiative, they would be like, okay, they've came to me, they told me that they were interested in these certifications. They're in the IT department. They should know about certain certifications. Whether you're green or not, you know about something in those positions, whether it be in my department, where they're talking about certain certifications pertaining to human resources, and they come to me and say, hey, I feel this would be a benefit for me to learn as well, as I can bring that information and my knowledge, become more knowledgeable in this department, and that will, in turn, help the organization.
Speaker 1:Right, excuse me. We've shared a lot of information in terms of what can you do within the company. Obviously, all of this is focused because we want to look at how can we increase our incomes to keep up with inflation, to make sure we can retire, to make sure we can take care of our families. But of course, we don't live in a perfect world and sometimes things just may not work out at that organization and you may have to start looking at other companies, other organizations, to maybe get the income that you need. So let's kind of circle back and talk about resumes. How important are resumes and what are the tools that you think are vitally crucial today? Because resumes almost feel a little antiquated when you have tools like LinkedIn. Keep them updated. Is that really going to help me get a job a little bit more? And then I want to talk a little bit about those tools like LinkedIn and how important a role they can play in helping you with your career path.
Speaker 2:Resumes are not antiquated by any means. That is still what a person gets to know about you, first and foremost, before they even hear your voice across the phone, things of that nature. So one thing I do suggest is always, when you're actually looking at your resume, make sure it's up to date. If you're applying for positions, whether internal, within your job, if you currently have a job or if you're actually seeking, make sure that resume is up to date. Make sure you review it, make sure things on your resume is actually antiquated. You don't want to be saying that you're proficient in Microsoft 98 or whatever. It's been 20 years people. So you just want to make sure you're up to date with the technology, because people will be surprised oh, nobody uses this anymore, things like that. So you want to make sure that information you are updating, or if you actually have any type of new certifications, or if you have actually finished your degree and it wasn't on your resume before, make sure you add those informations. Or if you join any type of organizations, make sure you add that information as well. So I always say make sure you update your resume. You'll be rather surprised what you'll look back and be like oh, last year I actually completed this certification. It's not on my resume. I may need to add it to my resume. Just why I say look at it every six months to a year, because at that point you won't forget that I need to add this to my resume.
Speaker 2:And when an opportunity arises because we're going to speak on LinkedIn, like you just stated to me, linkedin is more so of a networking opportunity as well as to put yourself out there. If there's hedge hunters probably looking, they're going to look at LinkedIn when they're looking for somebody or for a certain position. That's one of the possibilities of places that they do go look. I say keep that up to date as well, because when organizations may be looking for a certain position or a certain professional position, they can go to LinkedIn and be like, hey, we're looking for XYZ, and they pull up and they see people that's in the local area where you're located, your experience. So, as often as you update that, update your LinkedIn, get that information and as well I say that to pivot to the piece of networking when you're actually using that type of tool or any type of social outlet to actually update or put your information out there, that's a way to connect, and that's a way to connect with other people as well.
Speaker 2:Some people may use that to see hey, this person is an expert in marketing and has been an expert in marketing for over 20 years. We have this situation that's going on. I wonder if I can just reach out to them and see if they'll be able to help me and to assist me on a certain question or concern. But you, because you at that time, you now met a person and you have that type of camaraderie. You never know in the future that person may think about you when somebody is asking about, hey, do you know anybody pertaining to marketing that may be looking for a job or an opportunity? And the first thing they remember, like bub, hey, on LinkedIn I sent out this question. I asked and they responded that's the opportunity to network. When you put yourself out there on LinkedIn, you're not just putting out your resume, you're giving yourself to be a person, to actually network with others.
Speaker 1:As well and I can definitely testify that it works not personally, because my LinkedIn page is probably needs to be dusted off, but I'll bring my son into this. He's used LinkedIn and he's had an internship with companies like Formula One, duke University and now he's living his best life over at Disney, working for ESPN. And all of this has been through him, leveraging and networking through LinkedIn. So definitely platforms like LinkedIn are really good. What other tools out there do you think are really useful if you're trying to stay, maybe, in your career, even going to a different career, but to get that exposure to find, for you, to find those opportunities or for those opportunities to come and find you? I tell people personally.
Speaker 2:If you're in professional positions such as human resources, internal audit, talent development, marketing, there are local organizations that specifically cater to those groups. Make sure you are part of those organizations and those groups. There could be local organizations or local chapters that actually give you an opportunity to mingle with people within your type of position that you are currently looking for. Put yourself in those places. Put yourself in those spaces.
Speaker 2:If that's not one of the best things that you can do, because at that point I'm putting myself out there I want as many people to know me and know my face and know my name so if any opportunity comes up, my name is on the tip of their tongue. So I tell people all the time put yourself out there to network. I know some people feel like, oh, once I got a job, that's fine, but that's not always it. You can be in a job for a decade or even longer still. Network because you never know what can happen or what blessings can lie ahead because of networking. So that's why I always say you want to put yourself out there, and some ways to do that is joining other organizations or certain groups that actually can assist with your growth and development.
Speaker 1:So I want to spend a minute and let's talk about leveraging titles. You mentioned talent development and so maybe our listeners that may not know. Let's talk about what is actually talent development department in terms of neighbors. That's our training department. So how important are titles, not just for departments, but even in your profession, in terms of, if I were updating my resume, what would be more appropriate that I am the VP of the training department or the VP of talent development? What is going to be received better in your opinion?
Speaker 2:It depends on what the organization, more so, has transitioned over to talent development. Years ago, the early 2000s, it was training. Everybody is your training department, so things actually tend to evolve and sometimes that means that job titles do evolve. It means that I'm saying that this needs to change because, yes, we're the training department, but what is our main focus? Our job is to develop talent, so we feel that speaks more to us. So at this point we see that we are the talent development department. A lot of people can understand because that's what we do. We grow talent and we develop it. We're not just training people and sending them off, we're going to develop those people as well.
Speaker 2:Job titles begin to evolve depending on what those duties are at the time. Sometimes you have to take a step back. Just on the flip side, with job titles. I can use an example here. We had to hire for some senior member advocates and it was rather interesting the resumes that were coming in. Yes, I'm very comfortable with working senior citizens. I'm willing to help the elderly. I'm more than happy to assist them with any type of needs that they may have.
Speaker 2:And wait a minute, while we're doing this, did our applicant, did this mix up with a nursing home or a nursing facility. It was like no, it says senior member advocate. And what does that mean for neighbors? What that means? It's pretty much our representatives, our financial service offices. For the most part they are pretty much in the financial field, assisting our members that come in with any type of financial needs or concerns. So we were like I think it's time for a title change because at that point, if it's going to confuse our candidates that are applying for it, just imagine how that confused our members as well. So sometimes a job title can be a miss and not a hit for you.
Speaker 1:So you have to look at it both ways, and so we had member advocates and senior member advocates, which we were not referring to, the seasoned individuals. So, how important though, is it, if I have a resume, that I want to convey that I was not just at the base level of a member advocate, I was at a senior level.
Speaker 2:It should be posted on your resume. You can say that you are a senior member because that is currently your job title. So you would put that on your resume and I think some people, when you're doing your resume, some people would automatically be like okay, if I've been in an organization for five or six years but I've held several titles or several positions and there are different duties under there, Put those previous jobs that you had within that organization because you can be short changing yourself in other areas. If you're especially looking for positions internally or externally, because you have to keep in mind the person that you are actually sitting across from in that interview may not be aware of those previous duties that you do, even though you were in other positions.
Speaker 1:I think I want to end with what advice would you give somebody that wants to ask for a raise? Because I think, secretly, we all would like a little bit more than what we have, no matter what our position is, no matter what our income is. But I could see that some individuals might be intimidated about approaching their supervisor about a raise.
Speaker 2:I would say, first and foremost if you're intimidated, that feels that you're not confident enough that you're ready for that raise. That's how I honestly feel. Number two, make sure you're going in for the raise for the right reason, not for personal reasons. Make sure it's based on professional, of course, like you stated about inflation and things of that nature, everybody's going through that. That's not just one person, not one individual person's concern at this point.
Speaker 2:So are you to say, oh, I'm about to get evicted, so I need a raise? No, please do not make it personal. Always make it professional, pertaining to the reason why you're going or requesting a raise or a salary increase, pertaining to the reason why you're going or requesting a raise or a salary increase. And so, to sum it up, do your research. Don't go ask for a raise and you're getting paid $3,000 more above average compared to everybody else within an organization or a company. If you're at least over a percentage, a midpoint, it's a lot that you want to make sure, as you stated, do your research, please do research prior to asking for a raise and make sure you bring in the information as far as what I have provided to receive this raise. Also, make sure you are at an exceeds or outstanding level in your position as well.
Speaker 2:I don't feel comfortable. I would feel comfortable or ashamed to ask for a raise, and I know that my work is very subpar. You will be surprised that certain people will come and ask for a raise. Their performance is very subpar. Make sure that you are coming in with that positive attitude, with the experience of saying hey, I've been in this position XYZ, I have done blah blah blah, I have assisted with blah blah blah, I have stepped in blah blah blah, and I've done this on a continuous basis. People have come to me as the person with the expertise in this area. I feel that at this point, I should be eligible for a raise.
Speaker 1:Yolanda, it has been great having you here again.
Speaker 2:A lot of good information.
Speaker 1:I'm telling you this is really good. This is a conversation that can go on and on, because I'd almost love to ask that next question of is it who you know or what you know? But we'll save that for another time because I have to go ahead. I think we want a separate side to it too, right? Yes, we were, because I have to go ahead and make sure I provide some blueprint building blocks for our listeners which, based off of today's episode, get that brag book together If you have not been keeping up with your accomplishments.
Speaker 1:make sure that you are documenting everything you do inside and outside the workplace. So if you're volunteering, if you're doing some work, maybe with a friend or family member, put that information in your brag book. You never know how important that will be. If you're not on LinkedIn, if you're not using social media to network and leverage, challenge yourself to get that done, and that's our Blueprint Building Blocks for today. I'm Kim Chapman with Money Matters.
