Every practice makes pay decisions differently. What do you know about the rationale behind how…
John Borrowman, CPC
Borrowman Baker, LLC
Gallatin, TN
All the talk of bigger paychecks has your attention. You’d like a bigger one yourself and you’d rather not have to show up with an offer just to get a raise. How do you position yourself to get one anyway?
Remember that in your boss’s eyes there’s a direct connection between profitability and pay. And that’s why it’s easier to make the case for more pay if you start by making the case for your contribution to profitability.
There are lots of places to look, no matter where you are in the hierarchy. Start with document production, for example. Are there more efficient ways to put reports together? Do you seem to run out of supplies at the worst moments? Would a better managed inventory make a difference? Suggest something.
When it comes to research, there’s always another angle to pursue for getting just a little more information about a company or its industry. Push yourself to bring something new to the process. Something that supports—or rebuts—a particular approach. The quicker you can move to stitching the parts into the whole report, the more profitable you can be.
The name of the game is deliberately looking for “what’s next?” What is the next thing that inches you up the ladder? Climbing the ladder at your practice isn’t necessarily a rung-by-rung proposition. As a practical matter, it’s a game of inches. Taking on this task. Leading that project.
Initiative like this gets the boss’s attention every time. And helps you make the case for better pay.
Paradoxically, initiative like this may also be necessary to assure yourself that this might not be the place for you, after all. Only an all-out effort will let you satisfy yourself that you’ve given it your best shot and justify moving on.
John Borrowman
