Today we continue our lessons in being a boss babe (or boss bro). It took me a really long time to develop confidence in who I am in my career. From years of really bad environments I let myself become unsure of who I was at work and what I brought to the table. Because of that, I lost out on a lot of opportunities to get what I deserve at the office.
Career confidence is knowing your value, your strengths and weaknesses, and what you deserve to be paid and where you rank in an organization. It's a highly critical life skill and without it, you're not going to get your dues.
Sure, you could naively believe if you work hard you wont have to say anything, those raises and promotions will just show up at your door via the tooth fairy. Grow up Peter Pan, unless you're asking for the maximum you deserve, you're getting the minimum to keep you happy.
The truth is, those who take time to know their best and worst attributes and who are able to have open conversations wit their superiors are the ones who get the most in a career.
Here's how:
Be Brutally Aware
You should be painfully aware of your best and worst skills. Going into a review should never bring surprises. You should know your faults and areas of improvement before it's even brought up to you. But do not always dwell on these faults, you need to pat yourself on the back for your strengths and celebrate that you have them. And you should be with a company that recognizes these great strengths as well.
Be Prepared
You should always have examples of where you've done things well and where you've messed up or can improve. Have solutions prepared, have questions prepared for your supervisor on how to best contribute to the team, and take notes. After every project you should be getting feedback from colleagues in order to show you're committed to improvement and growth. The best business people are extremely self aware, business is business - take the emotions out of it.
Be Willing to Have the Conversation
You need to be the one to set a meeting to have the conversation about what you deserve. Whether you're asking for a raise or a promotion, you need to be comfortable initiating the talk. And you need to practice what you're going to discuss and how you're going to present yourself. Have notes and examples ready. Come in completely overprepared and most of all, end this meeting truly listening.
Be Willing to Accept the Consequences
If you get what you're asking for, awesome. Get out there and show your appreciation by being really good at your job. If you don't get what you want, be clear on why and then decide how to react to that. If the feedback seems unreasonable, consider moving jobs. If the feedback makes sense, ask for next steps regarding how to get what you want.
Having conversations around money and titles is never comfortable or easy. But if you settle and do not fight for your value, you won't ever get it. Work hard, be painfully aware, and never ever forget to take your career confidence everywhere you go.