Sure, we all do. Bonus points for you if you just thought of Sally Struthers.
But, seriously, we do all want to make more money. And since most of us would like to do so legally, I’m grateful for this Yahoo Finance article, Ten Ways to Get the Most Pay Out of Your Job. Those ten ways are:
- 1) LISTEN TO YOUR BOSS
- 2) BET ON YOURSELF
- 3) SEEK FINANCIAL ADVICE
- 4) LEARN ABOUT SPECIAL COMMISSIONS OR AWARDS
- 5) CHANGE YOUR TAX WITHHOLDING
- 6) TAKE THE FREE MONEY
- 7) PAY FOR AS MUCH AS YOU CAN WITH TAX-FREE INCOME
- 8) ASK FOR A PAY RE-EVALUATION
- 9) TURN DOWN BENEFITS THAT COST THE COMPANY
- 10) DON’T FORGET THE SMALL STUFF
Good advice all around. I just have one small objection–on point 2.
[W]hen negotiating with a new employer, you might be able to swap a higher salary for a larger target award amount, Ms. Sejen says. Suppose the employer offers you a $100,000 salary and a target bonus of 10% of salary. You could counteroffer that you’d take a $95,000 salary if your bonus-award target was 20% of it. Your annual target pay then would be $114,000 instead of $110,000. “An employer might be willing to change the pay mix,” Ms. Sejen says.
I’m not telling you not to try it, but unless you are an executive or work for a small company, the answer is going to be no. Why? Because someone has to administer those bonuses. (And that person used to be Evil HR Lady, but thankfully, not any more.) Your bonus will be based on your performance and your grade/salary. Any other mix would be an administrative nightmare.
And remember, it’s all about my needs, so you HR people who make policy but don’t have to carry it out (and you know who you are), stop thinking that this is a good idea. But, you non-HR people, feel free to ask. Just understand that you will no longer be on my list of friends.
Ha! I so totally thought of Sally Struthers. Bonus points for me!
I’m so glad someone got that reference.
Hey, my theory is do NOT piss off HR, they will send crap interviews your way 🙂
We can also delay your raise, mess up your bonus and misplace your carefully written performance appraisals. Be kind to us!
Of course, in a large company, each of those functions is performed by a different department, so you can tick a few people off and still get good candidates!