By: Stephanie Burke
Year-end review season can be an excellent opportunity for those in the workforce to receive feedback on your job performance and push your career forward. Sometimes, year-end conversations can create anxiety, especially if you plan to negotiate a promotion or pay raise and aren’t quite sure what direction the conversation will take. This article will provide some tips and tricks for having a productive year-end review.
If you want to negotiate a pay raise,
Do your Homework. Browse open job postings on LinkedIn and elsewhere and compare responsibilities and salary ranges with your current situation. Many states have enacted salary transparency laws, which means salary ranges are made public. If there are extra responsibilities you’ve taken on throughout your tenure that help the firm, make sure to make a note of them to discuss during your review.
Make the Pie Bigger. Perhaps a salary increase is not going to happen this year. What else can you negotiate besides compensation? Maybe there is a conference or training program you’d like to attend for which your company will benefit from your additional expertise. Perhaps you can receive permission to leave early/arrive late one day per week to fit in an exercise class or sports league you’ve wanted to try or an additional remote work day. It doesn’t hurt to ask; you might be surprised with a yes!
If you want to secure a promotion,
Ask for Opportunities. The surefire way to show your boss you’re ready for a promotion is by asking to take work off their plate. If you’ve created efficiencies in your role thus far, use the extra time gained to take on additional responsibilities. If you have direct reports, think of items you can delegate to them to further their career growth while you do the same. Document these instances and prepare to discuss them at your review.
Roleplay with a Friend. Asking your boss for a promotion at year-end is an awkward conversation for most and a downright dreaded conversation for many others! If you’re lucky enough to have a friend or family member who looks forward to and rocks these conversations, pick their brains and ask for tips on approaching the conversation. If you’re extra nervous, it’s helpful to create a script of what you plan to say and memorize it, similar to how you might prepare for a public speaking event.
If you feel you need to look elsewhere for opportunities,
Update Your Resume. This is obvious, but if you haven’t updated yours recently, it may take more effort than you expect. Make sure your most recent experiences are descriptive and up to date, and consider consolidating less relevant or previous junior roles. Conciseness is key, but you may take advantage of a second page if you have more than a decade of work experience. If it’s been a while, and you need to overhaul and upgrade, consider hiring a professional resume writer to help.
Network, Network, Network. This is another obvious one, but its importance cannot be understated. Some estimates suggest that up to 70% of jobs are not publicly posted on available websites, which means these hires are being made predominately through word of mouth and who you know. If you have contacts in the industry, try meeting up for coffee or lunch to catch up on what’s happening with your careers. Even mentioning offhand to friends and acquaintances that you are looking for a change could end up with an introduction to the right contact. This way of job hunting might take longer than mass-applying to jobs online, but the conversations and relationships built will serve you well, no matter the outcome.
Go forth, and good luck with this year’s performance review!
Stephanie Burke is a Candidate for CFP® certification at Highland Financial Advisors, LLC, a fee-only fiduciary wealth advisory firm based in Wayne, New Jersey. Stephanie joined the firm in 2022 after spending over a decade in operations and project management at various financial institutions. She passed the CFP® national exam in 2023. Her passion is helping people understand their personal finances and transforming that knowledge into a plan for achieving their dreams.