Experts today often discuss the importance of being empowered, and feeling that way can be a key part of living a full and healthy life. But, take a second look at that phrase—being empowered—and you’ll see that it actually refers to a passive process, of other people empowering you. We’d like to suggest that, instead, you should empower yourself by understanding what you’re truly worth, embracing a philosophy of lifelong learning, and then using that combination to earn more money in the workplace. The following steps can help you achieve those goals.
#1 Conduct a Realistic Self-Assessment
There are self-assessment tests online, and there are consultants who can help you with this process. If you can be honest with yourself, you can do your own assessment. At its core, self-assessment is a process whereby you determine your strengths and weaknesses, and their value. Strengths can include:
- work experience
- educational degrees and certifications
- volunteer and other non-paid experience
- leadership skills
- communication skills
- organization skills
- strong work ethic
- problem-solving skills
- good judgment
- flexibility
- self-discipline and initiative
- analytical ability
- empathy
This is just a partial list of what you could consider your strengths during your self-assessment process. To brainstorm an even more complete list, it could help to use Google to find additional traits and experiences to include; sites that focus on resume writing, for example, often have an excellent list to browse through and consider.
You can use the same list to determine which of these are your weaknesses—meaning any educational, personal and work-related areas where you could use more bolstering of skills. When you create an actual list of weaknesses, note where you are already working on improving that skill gap, and then brainstorm ways you can further your worth even more.
As noted in the subheading of this step, it’s important to create a realistic list. If you’re too modest, then you’re likely undervaluing yourself in the workplace, which means you may be earning less than you deserve. If this resonates with you, why are you doing this? How can you build your self-esteem? Were you taught growing up that bragging was inappropriate, and that humbleness was a virtue? If so, then the task in front of you is to work on being honest about your accomplishments in a professional way.
Conversely, if your self-perception is higher than the reality, you may ultimately suffer negative consequences. It may enable you to convince a supervisor that you deserve a promotion and a raise, but if you can’t perform appropriately then you may get negative reviews and eventually lose that job. Take a step back and realistically self-assess. Then boost your skills, both hard skill sets and soft ones.
#2 Create an Ongoing Improvement Plan
Few of us can rest on our laurels. For example, if you’d like to continue to advance in your career and continue to raise your salary, then it makes sense to use your self-assessment list to create an ongoing plan for further advancements.
It can be beneficial to have a trusted mentor to serve as your sounding board. This can help if you tend to be overly critical of yourself, as well as if you internally overstate your levels of job performance. When choosing a mentor, select one who can offer direct, constructive feedback; you may discover that you could use more than one mentor. Perhaps one is excellent in giving feedback about your actual job skills and performance, while another can guide you towards your goal of being more empathetic towards clients.
If you have mentors, focus on being open to hearing what they have to say, putting aside any feelings of defensiveness. If you have the right mentors, those who have your best interests at heart, then actively listening can provide you with excellent gifts of insight. (If you don’t think you have the right mentors, then that’s another situation entirely, and one that needs to be addressed.)
Take notes as your mentors offer feedback so you can refer to them and reflect. This can help you to gauge progress and it also shows your mentors that you’re committed to the process and the time they’re dedicating to help you.
#3 Formulate Your Personal Branding Statement
Once upon a time, branding was for products. In today’s times, personal branding is key, and when properly articulated, it can serve as a beacon for understanding your true worth at work. When you create a personal branding statement, you are stating what makes you unique and valuable, and this helps you to proclaim your worth in the workplace in a professional way.
Remember when, at the start of this article, we differentiated between being empowered and empowering yourself? The reality is that if you don’t present a certain brand, others will decide your brand for you. Which would you prefer?
Questions to ask yourself as you create this statement include what you stand for and what you advocate for. What do you aspire to do now? In five years? Ten? In what areas of work would you make a good participant? A great leader? Where are you continuing to advance?
Here is a starter statement: I am focused on developing profitable new lines of service at work, while cultivating authentic relationships based on trust and respect. My ability to stay calm in crises is a central tenet of my leadership skills.
After you’re clear about your personal branding, think about how to most effectively articulate it—not only in words, but also in how you act and interact each day, as well as doing what you say. If you don’t do exactly what you say, make sure it’s because you over-deliver, not under-perform. Your appearance is also important. This doesn’t mean wearing the fanciest attire, but it does mean the most appropriate. Being well groomed always matters.
The way you treat someone when it doesn’t necessarily benefit you may be the litmus test that determines whether you truly believe in and live out your branding. Your personal branding statement isn’t an overblown marketing slogan, written just to pull out of your pocket when you want to get ahead of the next person. It should always accurately reflect the authentic, genuine you.
#4 Asking for More Money
By living life as an ongoing learner, always filling in gaps and improving yourself personally and professionally, you are creating a scenario where you deserve more money. Sometimes you also need to ask for that extra cash.
Entire books have been written on how to ask for a raise. Overall, it involves research and preparation. Be prepared to discuss your accomplishments and how, specifically, they have added value and will continue to add value to your workplace. Quantify benefits whenever you can while also discussing how they add to the quality of the company and customer service provided.
Be aware of what the industry standards are for your position, and if you’re asking to be paid on the high end, be ready to share why you’re worth it and how you can continue to move the company forward, including financially. Be courteous and clear in your request and consider how much more responsibility you’d be willing to take on if that’s a counteroffer given.
Practice giving your pitch in front of a mirror. Watch your body language. Is that the image you want to portray? Practice your pitch in front of your mentor and/or other trusted colleagues. What feedback did you receive? What did you think of any comments made and how does that change your pitch? You don’t need to use all feedback that’s given, but thoughtful consideration of advice provided by intelligent professionals is wise.
Anticipate questions you may be asked and consider how you might answer them. Conversely, don’t create prepared answers that may sound stiff in the meeting with your supervisor, and may not precisely fit the actual conversation that’s taking place
Prepare your response in case the answer is “no”. Could you counteroffer by asking to meet again in six months to discuss the requested raise? If not, what does make sense as a next step?
At a minimum, this conversation demonstrates that you value yourself and gives you a chance to discuss your contributions with your supervisor. It may ultimately lead to a raise at your current workplace or it may give you confidence to job seek elsewhere, in a place where your skills can be put to even better use with better compensation given.
Bonus: Pay It Forward
As you continue to move forward in your career, any advancements that you make will likely have occurred—at least in part—because of mentors and other supportive professionals. So, it makes sense to consider how you can pay them back by paying it forward. Ways you can do that include the following:
- serving as a mentor/role model to others
- helping others in less formal ways
- encouraging co-workers who are feeling down
- introducing people in your industry who could likely help one another
- complimenting people who are going the extra mile
- keeping calm in an office crisis
The various ways to pay it forward are as unique as you are. Once you have figured out how to empower yourself and increase your net worth, take the time to help others do the same.
