Are You Ready or Just Rolling the Dice?
Right now, the economy has everyone a little skittish. Businesses are reevaluating growth targets, hiring, and expansion plans. Winning new business is challenging.
As a result the job market is a little soft. Employees are on edge. A less than thriving job market means changing jobs to advance or increase income might take a bit longer now.
This is when advocating for your value becomes even more important.
Knowing how to best position your skills and achievements and negotiate the optimal outcome with what's right in front of you is paramount! This week, I’m focusing on one of the most underused opportunities employees have to advance:
Your performance review.
No matter your seniority level, if you’re walking into that meeting with your fingers crossed and hoping it goes well, you’ve already missed important moments to influence the outcome. You need to walk into the meeting knowing exactly how it will go, what the best possible outcome is, and what you'll do to get it. A performance review is the time to discuss your goals, advocate for greater compensation, expanded responsibilities, a promotion—or whatever advancement means to you.
Hoping your good work and your aspiration speaks for itself isn't a strategy.
You need to know how you're going to articulate your achievements and say where you want to go in your career. You need to know what you want and why you’ve earned it. And if you haven’t earned it yet, you need a roadmap that tells you exactly what it will take to get there.
It’s not a confrontation. It’s a conversation.
Conversations are a two way street. They talk. You talk. They ask questions. You ask questions. It's a regular human interaction. Thinking this way helps alleviate nervousness and makes it easier to talk straight and simply. If you don't have a date for this conversation--your review on the calendar, get one! You deserve to have a meaningful discussion about your role and your potential within the organization. And, you need to be prepared for that discussion. Here’s how to start.
Get the lay of the land.
Take inventory. What have you accomplished? How has your role changed since you started in it, or since your last review? What responsibilities have been added? Where have you made a measurable difference?
Determine what you want next.
It sounds straightforward, but this is often where an outside perspective becomes necessary. We're not always the best judges of our own contributions. You may need help to identify what's “above and beyond” from what's "part of the job," to demonstrate your impact and readiness for your next step.
Consider how you're perceived.
Relationships, visibility, reputation and organizational dynamics matter more than you may think. Who really sees your value? Who influences the decision? Where do you have leverage—and where might you need to tread carefully? Reveiw all the dynamics without emotion.
Check your assumptions.
Assumptions are often hidden from our view. They can be invisible attitudes, being certain of things that may not be true, and much more. Assumptions limit possibilities. This is another area where objectivity is necessary to recognize where the opportunites are for you.
Are you underestimating your leverage—or overestimating it? How will you know?
Internal advancements are influenced by timing, budgets, review cycles, leadership priorities and market conditions. Your goal is to advance as far as you can in both pay and position based on demonstrated abilities and the realities surrounding the business. Know what's realistic and where you have strengths in relation to those realities.
Get to the point.
Knowing your value and articulating it effectively are two very different things. What will you actually say? How will you discuss your accomplishments without sounding defensive, entitled, or pompous? Prepare so you can deliver it naturally—even when you're nervous.
Expect some pushback.
A strong case doesn't guarantee an immediate "yes." You may hear that there's no budget. You may be asked to wait. You may get part of what you want. You may encounter an objection you never expected.
Work through likely scenarios beforehand. Consider your responses while you're calm—not while your heart is pounding and your mouth is dry! The goal is to maintain your composure and keep the conversation moving toward your objective.
Know where you stand when it's over.
A positive conversation isn't necessarily a final agreement. It may not be finished in one meeting. Before you leave, understand what's been decided, what still needs approval, what happens next, and when you'll revisit anything left unresolved.
If the outcome falls short? You may benefit from strategic guidance to plan another route forward, see another element to negotiate, or obtain more information before deciding your next move.
Your performance review isn’t one and done. It starts the conversation. Make sure it finishes with forward momentum!
Stay in the conversation. Stay visible.
I'm here to help.
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