h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There's an old saying that "you don't get what you deserve, you get what you ask for".
Well that's definitely true.
I work as a contractor and am on a 6 monthly rolling contract. This means that every six months the contract is up for renegotiation, and this negotiation takes place through an agency so there is much grounds for confusion.
Anyhow, last time I was up for renewal and I was concerned that my rate was falling behind a bit - especially as Sterling had grown stronger in respect to the Irish punt in the time that I had been working here.
I said this to my agent and said I would like a rate increase increase from £216 to £250 to cover this. There was much umming and erring and time passed...in fact I was begining to be a bit insulted...but on the day they agreed to the new rate and sent me out a new contract.
On doing my invoice that month I was puzzled that my rate according to my new contract was £320...until I worked it out. When I said about the change in the value of Sterling they must have thought that my rate was in Sterling and done their calculations accordingly. This is probably why the client ummed and erred so much - not many people have the bottle to ask for a 30% pay rise...and the sange froid to hold out for it too

You know, I think that's a true axiom too. I was promoted to a new position in my company. Since the job was a new one, they weren't quite sure what the salary should be. I looked into industry standards for similar jobs. Then I asked for roughly 15% more than I figured the position was worth, assuming it couldn't hurt to ask.

After interviewing the other applicants, it became clear I knew the most about the technical field related to the new job. At one point I got a call back, asking about my salary request. Feeling a little under pressure, I said that developing a new position would be hard work, and I would make sure I was worth the money. Sure enough, I got both the job and a salary close enough to what I requested to make me feel good.

Interestingly, my gumption had a positive effect on my working conditions. My manager treated me with real respect. Noticing the boss's reaction, my co-workers also started out with a great first impression. This then spread to the rest of the corporation.

Employees in other departments started assuming I was a 'person to go to' for various things that weren't really part of the job description. The questions and requests were easy to handle, and I didn't want to be rude. After a while, my boss formally added these little extra tasks to my job description. The new description sounded really professional.

My boss started travelling more just as my work approached a critical juncture, so I sent an email while he was gone telling him how things were going. He responded so well that I soon sent him another one. After a while, I was asked to send weekly emails to a whole list of people. As the positive feedback kept coming, I realized how rare good communication is at my company. Everyone just assumed my job was interesting and important.

After several months, I stopped the emails because they weren't necessary anymore. People still remember, though. Sometimes people ask me how things are going, and they really want to know! This was never the case in the old job.

About a year after taking my new job, my manager was moved to another department. Then my company was prompted to review my salary, along with the salaries of many other positions. So what happened? I got another 20% raise. The judgment was that I had been 'undercompensated' -- or that's what I was told, anyway.

I can't bring myself to feel guilty about my nice salary. I was able to leverage it into a whole new set of responsibilities, and the extra attention really helped my company get on track with a project it had been a little afraid to conquer before. I just wish everyone could be lucky enough to design their own job. I highly recommend it.

Now I'm really fed up with my job!

I just got a pay rise, and I haven't a clue why! The old end of year appraisal thing is next month, and that is when they are supposed to decide on things like that. I am well confused. Not sure if I should ask if this is my end of year rise, incase they hadn't noticed and make it so. Hmm.

No. I would wait the month, and then ask if it is time for your yearly review. Do say review, instead of raise. You want them to think you are honestly interested in what they have to say about your performance. If you are lucky, they will have forgotten about your recent raise by then.

Twenty years ago, at the age of 30, I was in my ideal job. I had a 15 minute journey to work, was paid a reasonable middle-class salary, and had a broad area of responsibility in an interesting type of work. I had an intelligent, fun team working for me, and whilst we had to tackle some difficult tasks, I can honestly say that I and my colleagues were having a ball.

Then the "big boss" noticed we were doing things well. We all got promoted and sent to other posts in the Company. I, like others in my team, succumbed to daft (80% - plus) pay increases, and we split up. When we met, we expressed our shared sadness that whilst the money was good, our jobs were now crap and our lives were less happy.

The moral of the story? You get what you pay for ! Work can be fun. Money is great. Now, pay your money and take your choice !

Pay raises are great - when you get them. I once worked in a company where you only got a raise if you went cap-in-hand to the Chief Engineer - not a situation I was used to. In the 3 years that I worked for that company, I got one raise of about 3%, which meant that in real terms my salary dropped! Shortly before I left the company, one of my colleagues went to ask for a raise. He was given the raise, but told to tell me and another colleague not to bother asking as there wasn't the budget to give us one. I left not long afterwards and, miraculously, sufficient budget had materialised for the Chief Engineer to offer me a £1000 per year raise. As I was moving to a company closer to home for twice that, I told him where to go!

Now I'm a contractor and my rate of pay is variable, but I'm a lot happier as I don't have to worry about raises!

Surprisingly enough Computer Futures (my agents) have forgotten all about this...I just hope to goodness I had the sense to put a copy of the contract to one side ....