A
male
age
30-35,
anonymous
writes:Hi Aunts,My question is work related. I'm wondering if anyone here with a HR background or has had a similar experience can give me their insight.About 4 months back I joined a new company. I was fresh out of an internship and was quite naive and uninformed at the time.I jumped at the first offer I got and did not even negotiate my salary,I just accepted the offer they had tabled.I think that I am being paid lesser than my peers who joined along with me and work in the same location.I don't know what the right way to go about this is. We have an appraisal meeting coming up and I don't know if I should bring up the issue there or whether I should talk to my colleagues or talk privately with HR. What is the protocol here? How to deal with this professionally? Reply to this Question
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (4 July 2018): don't talk to coworkers. they are not friends. I learned the hard way. we go to the same place to do a job and we get paid for that. be careful. if you have a manager, that is where you have to go and ask. after if don't like what he/she says, then yo go HR. This is between you and management. No between coworkers. Coworkers only gossips, so do not discuss your money with them.
A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (4 July 2018): WiseOwlE has given some good advice. However, I would add to this by saying bear in mind that you are NOT a gay man.I say this because in my first job I also failed to negotiate my salary and it was only sometime later that I realised my boss - who was a total bully - employed me because of this weakness. I did everything that WiseOwlE has recommended, but this horrible boss of mine did absolutely everything to undermine me, because he had sensed my lack of aggression (in a business sense) from the start. For example, our company had a reward scheme for new ideas that could save the company money. I naively saved our company thousands of pounds by researching the way that we bought photocopiers - I did a huge amount of background research finding out where our old photocopiers went to (they were actually sold on, second hand, but we weren't being paid anything to give them away) and I also realised our company could do loads of negotiation because we bought a LOT of photocopiers but we were not even checking on prices - I basically caused a minor revolution in the field of photocopier buying and I did it through a genuine feeling of not wanting to be ripped off. Meanwhile, my horrible boss repackaged all my ideas and, without telling me, had a meeting with the chairman and got the financial reward and the commendation from the chairman. I was so sickened but also the underdog, so I never complained.I was absolutely determined to stick it out for a year, and I did this and went to a better job - 1 year was enough to prove myself to another employer.I would say stick it out for a year and then play your cards right and be absolutely sure to negotiate next time around - set your standards high and let it be known you are being a bit 'picky' about what you want for yourself. As soon as employers know you will accept less, they will always keep you in a position of lesser being.What works for gay men doesn't work for everyone - a lot of people don't want to seem homophobic, so they favour gay men to show how 'open minded' they are. Then there is the gay patriarchy / pink pound where gay men help each other up the ladder. Women do NOT get treated the same way, so be careful and watch your back.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (4 July 2018): Don't discuss matters regarding your salary with your colleagues. They are the people you will be competing with for promotions; and they wag their tongues. Sometimes to the wrong people, on purpose.
I find it odd others are openly disclosing their salaries. I had to figure it out, in my case. It comes as no surprise that women discover they are being paid less than male-employees for doing the exact same jobs! Depending on your company's ethics and ways they do business; be cautious and strategic about how you approach asking for a raise. If you're a new employee, you have no leverage to renegotiate your hiring-salary. Your bad, if you didn't realize it was up for negotiation at the time of hire. You took it as offered, and gave them the upper-hand.
Wait until your evaluation. Make sure it's a very good one. It gives you bargaining-power. Then in a roundabout, but assertive-move; ask about your original compensation-package, discuss future incentives, and what they would expect from you to obtain a salary-increase. If they dance around the issue, or become defensive. Slow your roll!
I'd stick around for about another year; then seek a raise, or go find better employment. Give them your best; so they have no excuses. Outshine their better-paid picks; and someone will notice. That's how it worked for me. I got to know a little bit about everything; and kept learning more and more. I chipped-in where I knew I could be helpful; and demonstrated my talents and abilities beyond my pay-grade, and accepted tasks and assignments outside my job-description.
I know it's good-business to get the best for cheap. I'd be a hypocrite to say otherwise.
I'm gay. I was never out at work; but being a man over 30 and never married, they figured it out. I never denied it. I gave it everything I've got; because they were promoting newer guys, who had wives and kids. They met my significant other (at that time) at my company Christmas party. He was an attorney. Good-looking and fit. The ladies there put two and two together. I noticed thereafter they stopped asking why I wasn't married, and ceased trying to fix me up.
So I formed a strategy. I took the dreaded-assignments, I traveled when they needed me to (even on holidays), I worked extra hours, I furthered my education; and I represented my company to the utmost. They took notice. I went up the ranks.
I could have become discouraged; or I could have left the company. I decided not to. I am now their Director of Operations/Regional-Director for this region. I got a phenomenal raise and other perks with the promotion. Yes, starting out;p I knew they were paying other guys more than they paid me. I speculate due to discrimination. I'm also bi-racial. I could tell they made more; by the cars they drove, the yearly-vacations, and extras that I found hard to afford on my salary. I'm frugal by nature! A couple had stay-at-home wives! So you couldn't say there was an extra-income!
So don't quit too soon. Only if you see shady-dealings and blatant discrimination towards female-employees. Companies that operate like that don't deserve the best employees. Just get some experience under your belt before going elsewhere.
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A
female
reader, Youcannotbeserious  +, writes (4 July 2018):
 I would see how your appraisal goes and, assuming all is good, broach the subject there.
Say something like "I accepted a low starting salary as proving my worth to you was higher up my priority list than a high wage. Now that I have demonstrated that I am an asset to the company, I would be grateful if you could review my salary."
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (4 July 2018): I wouldn’t talk to colleagues if everyone has a different salary. Unless you are super close to them (I was good friends with people at my last job, and somehow people told me their salaries, so I knew almost everyone’s salary, but I think that’s unusual). I’m not in HR but I was close to management at my last job. I knew who applied for salary increases and even helped people get increases. But...grain of salt with my following advice, maybe this company was weird, ha. Four months is a little too soon.... I understand you messed up negotiating when you first started but, at this point, you’re trying to get past probation first and foremost in their eyes. I would wait at least. Couple more months, and then this is what you do: look at the position description and find ways you either do a little more or go above and beyond. Then start documenting what you are doing that’s a little above and beyond or more. It doesn’t have to be that much more. At the same time research what other companies pay for someone similar to you (just get info from the websites etc).After a few months of documenting, take your proof and go speak with your boss or HR (who you speak with is specific to your company. If you have a good relationship with your boss for example, then have them support you for the raise).The. Just be open and honest in your discussions. The experience I’ve had with HR/CFO/CEO/direct boss is they have to justify it because why pay more out of pocket when they get you at a “steal?” It’s best to show them what you’re doing, how you’re doing great. Then they don’t want to lose you either. Unfortunately, at the job I’m telling you about, the CEO/boss would laugh a little if you’re doing just your job but asking for a raise; they wouldn’t give raises unless it was merited-either you’re working very hard and you’re doing great, or you’re going above and beyond, or you found a way to prove someone else is getting more for the same thing. Sorry, this is the best I can tell you without knowing more details about your company.
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