You Never Know: A Follow-Up
Back at the end of July, I blogged about the you never know concept as it pertained to my job. I asked my boss about a potential salary increase and your encouraging comments were fantastic!
It's been two months... and I've got nothing to report back. My boss never followed up with me like she said she would in August. We also had an employee quit at the beginning of September so myself and the other associate have split his responsibilities. This week, there was a relevant conference up in San Francisco... but the other associate got to go, not me. Even though I'd been promised a conference for the past two years in my job since everyone else has been to at least one!
Needless to say: I'm frustrated. Very much so. I thought about bringing up the salary issue again with my boss, but didn't want to be a pest. My monthly meeting today was rushed and by the time she asked if I "had anything else" to discuss, she was already standing up near the door because she had another meeting. Of course, I didn't have the guts to bring it up right then!
So, I've made a decision. I'm going to start looking for another job. To see what's out there and test the waters. I spent the weekend re-writing my resume and searching for jobs. I figure this could go a few different ways:
- I find nothing and have to hang on to what I have,
- I find some jobs and can move onto something with better pay/opportunities, or
- I find some jobs and can use them as leverage for an increase at my current position.
Any thoughts/suggestions? What would you do?
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10 comments:
Definitely send out feelers! I have no intention of going anywhere but I'm still subsribed to all the job listings that I signed up to at the start of the year. It's always good to know what's out there. Do you feel there's still a lot of room to grow at this company?
You never know whats out there until you start looking. You might find something even better. :)
I think it may save you some time & effort if you just tell your boss that you're going to be looking for another job if the things you had discussed don't start happening. Obviously, you want to say it in a nicer way, but as a manager myself, I'd feel rather annoyed if I wasn't ever told (even repeatedly, if necessary) how much this means to you, and only really realized it because you were quitting. By not bringing it up again, it's basically reinforcing to them that it's not a big deal. I'd be careful, however, to make sure you don't come off as confrontational, but I do think it's possible to have such a talk that emphasizes the importance of these actions and the consequences of their lack of support. Good luck either way, however!!
Always keep on looking for better opportunities. Even though I am content with my current job I still search for my "dream" job on a regular basis.
The asset management industry is a shell of itself from its peak in 2005. Asset under management (thus fee) are down across the board (except for fixed income funds but they are usually lower fee anyways). Assets are concentrated within a fewer number of firms.
What are your job responsibilities? Portfolio Admin/accounting?
@eemusings - There COULD be growth, except that since we're on a hiring freeze, no one is really moving around internally (or leaving) at all...
@Sara - Thank you very much for the suggestion! I am planning on bringing it up again at my next meeting with my boss, as I was giving her the benefit of the doubt and some time to see if she would come through. Good to hear thoughts from an actual manager! :)
@BackOfficeMonkey - Yes, our assets are WAY down which is a bummer and I know it's like that across the board. I'm in performance reporting/analysis.
I would bring it up again but disagree that you should repeatedly bring it up else it is not a big deal. Part of your manager's job is your career development. It seems many companies do not have a formal plan on career development (most of mine do/did).
I'd also look at other jobs.
My last job was in performance measurement/attribution which paid 45k+5% bonus (in a major northeastern asset management city that is not NYC) which is average for the industry. I passed CFA level 1 and had over 1yr of fund accounting experience at the time.
Performance attribution is a tough gig in that while they want you to have an MBA/CFA you can easily still get stuck in that role without ever becoming a portfolio manager even if you achieve either. Also many firms outsource their performance measurement/risk analysis to custodians.
To say the least its really tough to move up without a MBA/CFA (both is preferred).
A word of caution...
choice #3 will most definitely backfire on you.
If you find a promising job that pays more make the leap.
The only real leverage you have at your current job is your performance and the friends you have made in high places.
Cheers,
jeremy
1. I agree with looking for another job
2. I also think it might be that you may not be firm enough in saying: I mean it when I want to go to a conference to expand my skills (bringing it up again might help) to get the feelers out, but not to kill the job
3. Finding other jobs as a leverage don't work unless you have a job offer you can jump to in case they tell you bye bye
4. They might be squeezed for money and not be able to give you more, which means disaster.
I think you should just look for another job and leave.
Chiming in late here but I don't think that, however nicely put, threatening to leave without having an actual place to go is a good thing to verbalize.
Emphasizing your merits for the raise consistently, yes, but not basically making an idle threat. A smart manager will already know that if you've been asking for a raise that you deserve, he/she needs to find a way to reward you or at least be very honest with you because it's a very real possibility you will leave. That's my immediate understanding as a manager.
A dumb manager, one who's only self serving, or even one who's simply easily put on the defensive, who hears more than that sees only a threat and nothing more and reacts instead of proactively works on your behalf and you get screwed.
You need to advocate for yourself but also protect yourself.
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