Your boss asks you for a meeting. You’re excited and a bit nervous — you’ve been doing good work, getting nods from important people, and your numbers are higher than ever.
“We’ve loved the work you’ve been doing this year,” your boss tells you once you’re sitting down. “And we would love to offer you the new role of…”
Your good mood is suddenly curbed, though. You have a new title and new responsibilities, but there’s a crucial point missing: A raise. It’s extra stress and time at the office without the financial benefit.
Roughly 4 in 10 HR managers today say it’s common for their company to offer employees a promotion without a raise.
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While receiving a promotion without extra pay isn’t ideal, it can be okay to accept this deal — if the new promotion is in alignment with your long-term goals.
Below are three things you should do if you’re offered a promotion without a raise:
1. Set a timeline
When you are first offered the promotion you should ask your boss for an exact date when you can revisit the conversation about compensation. You can tell your boss something like, “I am very happy to take on this additional title and role, but in six months I would like for us to revisit the compensation component.”
Whenever you have the discussion around pay, you should be sure to have the conversation in person or over the phone, rather than via email or text.
How your boss reacts to this conversation could be the motivation you need to just look for another job.
2. Negotiate for other benefits
Aside from negotiating pay, there are other benefits you can ask for that will help you to better leverage your new position.
Think of all the ways you can polish up and learn a new skill set that you can incorporate into your newly-revised resume. Maybe there isn’t a budget for a raise, but you can ask if there is one for online learning or for traveling to attend a big conference in another area.
Regardless of what you’re able to negotiate, think of your current promotion-without-a-pay-increase as a temporary situation that’s helping you to build your resume.
3. Start applying for other opportunities
If salary conversations aren’t going in the direction you had hoped, then it’s probably time for you to start seeking opportunities outside of your company.
You should set up job alerts so that you can stay in the loop on any new positions that match your skill sets. Also make sure to keep your resume updated and as detailed as possible.
As an example, if you were an associate director and now your new title is director, you will need to get really measurable in your resume about the amount of the budget you’re managing, how many people you are managing, etc.
Your promotion can be viewed as a way to help prepare you for the “job that maybe seemed out of reach” at one point, but is now in line with where you are career-wise.
(written by: Whitney)
