Welcome back to another episode of the corporate Cowboys podcast as always my name is Alex today’s proof of life it’s Wednesday yo April 12 2023 in the form of this podcast if you don’t know by now I always introduce it this way folks get over it right it’s a 30
Minute window a 30 minute free consultation it’s an ad hoc opinion right it’s not advice that’s a disclaimer I’ll give that to you up front none of what we distribute across this platform none of the messaging should be construed to be legal advice right we do not condone or promote any
Wrongdoing or wrongful activity though we might discuss it right because who would we be if not corporate Cowboys when discussing uh certain ethical or unethical practices in corporate or personal practices navigating through corporate but if you haven’t engaged us or retained us we are not your lawyer this is not legal advice
So take everything we say with the grain of salt if the shoe fits then you know caveat caveat non-emptor because you didn’t buy it right so whether or not it fits you it may not be tailored to you we treat every single one of our clients as individual cases
And for that we need extensive interviewing sometimes to get as much information as possible to than make an informed opinion and give advice if necessary right to keep them out of legal hot water or career hot water our question comes from our slash career guidance and they’re asking they’ve
Flared it for advice they’re asking I found out the guy I manage makes significantly more than me how do I proceed damn sounds disappointing to say the least I found out the guy I manage makes significantly more than me how do I proceed to me it sounds like you haven’t taken advantage of
Opportunities to negotiate for yourself right if you’re not receiving cost of living adjustments or not negotiating for them at least waiting to because at this point you’re waiting right I’m not sure if if you’re actively waiting but you could be passively waiting what you’re just waiting in line and hoping that
That the company or your employer cashes you out on your seniority they’re like yeah you know Alex has been with us two or three or five or however many years yeah we’ll give them a cost of living adjustment no no good managers managers that care about your personal professional development good managers
Are hard to come by and even fewer managers are going to look out for your development and pay you commensurately I mean pay you what you’re worth right you have to advocate for yourself you have to go out and promote yourself that requires you being a consummate professional
And not letting these opportunities Fall by the wayside because now I mean yeah you’ve been there enough time you have some seniority otherwise they wouldn’t be giving you the responsibility the duties to train a new hire or to train a subordinate they wouldn’t give you a subordinate they wouldn’t put you in a
Supervisory position if you didn’t have the experience but it doesn’t mean that they have to pay you more you have to get them to pay you more now how you get them to do that there are a number of ways on this podcast we explore the most professional ones
Sure we might address we may may just address the least professional ones but we mostly recommend the ones that will Empower you to conduct yourself like a consummate professional right not burn any Bridges if anything add to the bridges that currently exist and open up more opportunity for you to develop yourself
Let me read on with this question because the body is a little long so I’ll try not to interrupt too much okay they write the title pretty much says it all all right well [ __ ] should I just not read it but no it says you’re for context and context is what we want
Right so this is we’ll get specific may become more particular more granular and so the listener you The Listener should keep your ears attentive to whether or not this individual’s circumstances somewhat reflect your own or whether or not you could take away key points from their situation and superimpose them onto yours
Depending on you know what the recommendations are take notes and applaud them where they’re applicable if you find yourself in a similar position if you don’t have a circle to take this this issue up with you can bring it to us we’d be more than happy to walk you through it
If you have a friend or a colleague an associate if you have a manager that you think you could refer to us by all means that’s what we’re here for anywhere from entry level to executive on through middle management I mean reality is that everyone is entry level
Forever it could lose your position from one day to the next you think you got it made and the next day [ __ ] you could be six feet deep right so they’re writing here for context I work at a Fortune 500 company corporate chef’s kiss I’ve been with them for about three
Years two as an intern and one full year sorry one year full time so two years as an intern and one year full time I accepted a job offer in September 2021 without negotiating slash looking around too much I liked the company and the people I worked with and the
Offer sounded Fair based on the research I did okay see I was about to I was about to rail into them but they did some research granted they did not negotiate they didn’t look around too much but they did some preliminary research right so they didn’t go in with you know wet powder
And Rusty steel but it doesn’t mean that they went in with a loaded with with a loaded piece even right so we could have had their [ __ ] ammunition in the [ __ ] trunk the magazines in the glove box and just [ __ ] pieces Strone about their um their person right
So not readily accessible not actionable they were just given an offer and in their mind they’re like that sounds fair and they signed on Reckless right not doing your due diligence Reckless but nonetheless they did some some research before agreeing to it and in their mind at the
Time believed it to be fair I mean I don’t know how fair you can get if you don’t negotiate if you accept the first offer that’s given to you always the first offer it’s going to be low that’s that there is negotiation 101. the first offer is always low and you’ve
Got to come back with something that you can justify if you just say yeah sure you have valued yourself at their lowest offer even if you are somebody with billion dollar ideas and million dollar outputs if you take a hundred thousand dollars offer that’s what you’re worth you’re a hundred thousand dollars asset
[Laughter] so they continue I like the company and the people I worked with I liked I see they’re already speaking in past tense they’re they’re thinking about leaving I like the company and the people I worked with the offer sounded Fair based on the research I did my starting salary was 65
000 and last week I received my first raise to bump my pay to about seventy thousand dollars in my performance review my boss praised my work and mentioned that they ranked me at the top of my position group hmm rank them at the top of their position
Group I mean if everybody’s just saying yes to the first offer they receive they’re probably all getting screwed royally and our hypothetical client is just getting screwed at least right but I digress I started managing a new hire oh this I started managing a new hire in
January January this year I take it he’s a few years older than me and has the same level of degree as me that doesn’t mean much he could have more experience regardless of the of a degree he spent the last few years working in a completely unrelated
Industry oh okay so maybe not not the experience we’re thinking he was in game and Park’s outdoor type stuff outdoor type work while we work in finance so he’s not exactly an experienced hire I’ve been managing slash training him since he hired on or since he was hired on
Doesn’t mean he’s inexperienced right he could be self-taught self-educated while he’s working in Parks and Recreation or game and Wildlife whatever it is they were doing previously they could have been refining their knowledge and finance so it enable which enabled them to even apply for this position right I mean you’ve got to
Have some basic understanding of Finance to get a finance job in most instances unless I mean you’re hiring committee or you’re hiring manager at your firm is just no good at their own job and can’t vet candidates appropriately so they continue as we were talking on a work trip I
Found out he makes around 80k this is obviously very frustrating since he has less experience less time with the company and less responsibilities than me at this point damn damn so our hypothetical client is getting paid 70k to not only do their job but train someone else to do theirs right
And this new hire is making 80k off rip which tells me one of two things right either average wages have gone up and so they were hired without giving everybody else this adjusted cost of living right because that’s typically what dictates or informs starting wages a starting salary or or
This candidate this new hire negotiated did not take the first offer they were shown which is where our hypothetical client dropped the ball and now they’re beginning to experience regret or they’re already experiencing it they’re in the throes of regret and so they’re frustrated they ask what’s the best course of
Action here I’m trying to give my employer the benefit of the doubt but I’m struggling to figure out why oh you’re struggling to figure out I’m struggling to figure out why they wouldn’t bump my pay as well dog it’s because you never asked and they never considered you when hiring this new cat
Why the [ __ ] would they consider what you’re getting paid when they’re trying to figure out what to offer this new cat no let’s let’s not offer the new cat 80k because Alex makes a measly 70k nah Alex knows no better and we’re banking on the fact that they won’t really talk
To each other when we say competitive salaries it’s because people are competing for these salaries so they’re gonna Bank on the fact that you weren’t necessarily sharing that information if anything they’re trying to cultivate and this is increasingly almost impossible to do though I’ve done it increasingly difficult Cutthroat environment Cut
Throat slash collaborative environment which requires instilling leadership qualities in your employees while at the same time while at the same time training them to be supportive of one another that’s cultivating a a team spirit that’s quintessential to team building which again your managers do few and far in between so
They continue they write I’m trying to give my employer the benefit of the doubt but I’m struggling to figure out why they wouldn’t bump my pay as well if they had good intentions if they had if they had good intentions they would have either a paid you fairly
From the from the from the beginning from when you were given your offer right from the when they made you an offer and two they would have negotiated in good faith if if you chose to negotiate when they made you your offer and because you didn’t I mean you’ve necessarily waived that oh
Now you now you’ve got buyer’s remorse because you’ve sold your own self short yeah that’s that’s beautiful beautiful planning now I don’t want to rip too hard on this uh hypothetical client because because let me remind you from the beginning they they must be some kind of K through
Bachelor’s right K through 16. if they had no other work experience they’ve only got two years interning for this Fortune 500 company and one year working full time for them we don’t really know their age we don’t know their background but it tells me it tells me that they don’t have much
Experience at all maybe in corporate maybe working maybe in life in order for them to open up negotiations or to approach work from a perspective of a consummate professional that takes time to develop and that’s really all what we’re all striving to attain is to develop a spirit of consummate professionalism
So they’re young I get it maybe this this won’t be their lifelong career but they’re gonna pull a good stint and that’s if their stint didn’t end here at the end of the third year because of a mistake and yes it was their mistake a mistake they made at the beginning
Of their tenure at this Fortune 500 company now they’re looking back and maybe thinking or realizing they [ __ ] up but it might just been a bump on the head and they didn’t learn [ __ ] because they’re over here thinking that I don’t I don’t know why my pay didn’t get
Bumped up if new cats if new hires are making 80k making 10 grand more than I am currently why wouldn’t my pay go up 10K or I would imagine they’re thinking even more now right because they’re training this eighty thousand dollar cat and they’re only making 70. so
In their mind they might think they’re entitled to something like 90 or 95 or 100 or 110 one fit who the [ __ ] knows what they think they’re entitled to but they obviously can’t justify it or they would have done it in this in this body of contextual facts they’re trying to give
Us but not it’s it’s the sense of entitlement with no justification that uh that really drives this point home believing that the company is going to act Fair sure they’re being treated fairly and I think fair enough is you not having negotiated and asserting your professional worth your professional value and negotiating
Even taking on this duty of training a new hire did you consider reopening what your title would be and which would be compensated if you’re taking on this this Duty these obligations to treat to to treat and train your subordinate I doubt it High key doubt that so
What’s the best course of action here they’re saying I’m trying to give my employer the benefit of Doubt already seen that they say I’m not in love with my job I’m not in love with my job well homie laughs and if you’re not in love with the job
Then you don’t own [ __ ] if any I’m not I’m not going to say you should be demanding of your job but if you don’t have love for the job if you’re not doing your job for the love of the game I mean you should be doing your job for
The love of your professional development of your compensation of your money’s worth of your family if you have kids to feed do it for legacy right and if you ain’t doing that you’re there because you love the company or you love the abuse one of the two
They write I’m not in love with my job and have considered leaving before I found out about this my wife oh you see they are married my wife also works and we could get by on her salary for a few months if needed sounds like a [ __ ] move but if you’re
Not I mean if you’re not willing to negotiate uh I don’t know if if you’re trying to have your wife negotiate her status in the household I’m thinking about sitting down with my boss they’re right and asking for a big raise 100 to 110 000 and if they don’t give it
To me walk away yeah that’s really your best course of action at this point but you’ve got to back it up and justify this big raise coming to you now if you’ve been paying attention you listener if you’ve been paying attention I’ve laid out certain bullets
That you can use I like that’s a Pun It’s a play on words I’ve laid out certain bullet points that you could use as supporting arguments that will justify you receiving more money right you’ve got a cost of living the fact that you’re taking on additional duties
Your time with the company all of that you could package it and and I’m sure there are other facts that we just haven’t dug into because we don’t have the hypothetical client in front of us to interview them with more depth but I’m sure you could package this into
This big raise and to justifying it and at least at least get you the opportunity for a review and evaluation and potentially a negotiation the clients that I’ve that I’ve worked with in the past have done exactly that and we could even go through what a mock interview or a mock
Evaluation would look like if necessary but you’ve got to be on your A game if you weren’t on your A game going into this Arrangement right when you were given your agreement when you were given the first offer and you just blindly accepted to it that’s I think one strike against you
But it doesn’t mean you’re out of the running completely right I tell all of my clients until most everyone I associate with everyone I associate with right they they should know what they’re signing and if they’re not reading it then hand it over and we’ll read and
Interpret it for you so that we can outline the points that you could then negotiate either in your favor or to at least be of mutual benefit right don’t don’t get bent over and screwed just because you don’t want to read your agreement or you don’t want to put yourself in an uncomfortable
Situation of negotiating it’s not uncomfortable right it shouldn’t be uncomfortable your your worth is something you should be confident in and not uncomfortable so they write what’s the best way to approach this conversation this conversation about the big raise or this ultimatum apparently because if they’re not given this big
Raise then they’ll just walk away or so they claim it what’s the best way to approach this conversation or is there a better way to go about this since the guy works under me I can see his pay information and could bring this up without throwing him under the bus in any way
Thanks in advance for the advice no I think if hanging up bringing up what somebody else makes right because this other cat getting paid 80k I don’t think constitutes like the average right it’s just the offer they were given or the offer that this person negotiated right
Don’t base what you want to be paid off of what somebody else is getting paid right what someone else eats does not make you [ __ ] what someone else eats doesn’t give you a stomachache right so you shouldn’t feel any type of way about what somebody else makes maybe it was poorly negotiated maybe
They’re in a completely like you you don’t know what the entirety of of what their Arrangement is even right I’m going out here in deep left field in the weeds right it could be that they’re just passing through getting trained they could be on the executive path partnership path
And they’re just getting trained in through the entry level positions then they’re going to move on to somebody else and get trained in that position something that you may not even be privy to they might just be passing through right so no don’t don’t base the fact
That somebody else is getting paid uh more or less in order to argue that you should be getting paid more or less obviously it’s going to be more right but not don’t don’t justify your request or your negotiations around what somebody else has uh has received it should be backed with research of
Your own right independent research not just because you stumbled across a pay stub of theirs you’re like oh well but Alex gets paid eighty thousand dollars a year I should be getting paid 80 000 a year too because of fairness because of equality no it it won’t fly it won’t fly
What else are you contributing to the company that justifies you receiving that money now I think the ultimate the ultimate ultimatum is going to be either you get the raise or you walk away to another company or to the competition but again this requires you reviewing your your current employment agreement
And I low-key want a bank on the fact that if they give you if they gave you a standard offer going in and now they’re they’re mounting on these responsibilities and these duties onto your plate that they haven’t updated any of their paperwork maybe uh your low-key middle manager or like an
Entry-level executive like in the c-suite right you’re gonna be rubbing elbows with bigger corporate cats and if they haven’t updated the agreements with you or sat you down during an evaluation or review you’re not bound to them by any by any extent of the imagination like a non-disclosure or a non-compete
But that depends right from state to state as well as the original agreement that you signed so I’m going off on on a tangent there and that’s more higher level strategy nonetheless nonetheless do not base your argument on the simple fact that Alex makes 80k so I should
Make 100 or 110 because I’m trading out you don’t you don’t [ __ ] know you don’t [ __ ] know what Alex is up to Alex might just be passing through you want to justify your raise with something quantifiable metrics of your own that you were able to track through your position and how
They impact the company’s bottom line or the company’s objectives and goals right because it doesn’t necessarily have to be the company’s bottom line I mean I’ve seen instances where the company really isn’t uh really is as profitable and yet still Executives inside are able to negotiate a pay raise for themselves something significant
More than just a cost of living adjustment it’s possible it can be done if you need help for that that’s what we’re here for you can find us on Instagram DM us I’m going to start the plugs y’all want to navigate away but if you want to find us or refer
Refer others to us your Associates people in your circle friends family we’re on Instagram that’s at corporate Cowboys with a z you can DM us you could find us on patreon that’s the corporate Cowboys podcast there are multiple tiers available to subscribe to and some of them have a question and answer function
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Always welcome and packages parcels P.O box 3372 Rancho Cordova California 95741 you take care of yourselves
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