STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

lynnie · Chanel

job review/pay negotiations..

janey831 · Kate Spade

RE: unhappy w/my pay

Kitty · Hermes

How are they getting away without providing you with any benefits?

lynnie · Chanel

Kitty wrote:

How are they getting away without providing you with any benefits?

I'm the only employee. i was under the impression that they didn't have to provide them.

kenzie · Chanel

janey831 wrote:

I think it's odd that you have been there a year with no annual review or merit increase. I have no clue on how things work in the fashion industry, but they should definitely be rewarding you with some sort of bonus or an increase in your wages.

.

I have been at my job for over a year, received a promotion and never got a raise for it. And I won't get one until March. And it probably won't be a promotion raise, it will probably be the standard, crapass cost of living raise.

However, just so that they know that I know what I'm worth, I drew up a proposal complete with my job description (for all five of the different jobs I do there-- seriously), key accomplishments and ways my responsibilities have increase dramatically since starting, average salaries for all five of the different jobs I function as and then asked for a raise in a range that corresponded with all of those things.

I haven't given it to my boss yet, but I plan to do so in the next few weeks. I know it's not going to do me any good and I have a better chance of looking out my window and seeing pigs fly by, but at least I know I've done everything I can do. And then, I'll just pull my overworked, underpaid, completely stressed out self up by the bootstraps and deal with my lousy salary until June(ish) when I move away for grad school and a better paying job (location pending).

Sorry if that wasn't much help.

kittenheels · Coach

I like the idea previous posters had about creating a list of all the tasks that you perform and the job titles that apply to your job (since it seems your job involves several jobs in one).

That way, you can ask for a review and explain the different tasks you are performing. It seems your bosses might not have realized (or don't want to realize) the level of responsibility that you have. Good luck!

atlgirl · Gucci

I'm with Kenzie on this - the best way to stack the odds in your favor is to put on paper what you bring to the company. Your achievements during the past year, any added responsibilities or tasks you've been assigned (or better yet, offered to take on).

What is technically your title? If you can nail that down, then you can start comparing it to what others are paid. If you are severely underpaid in NYC you may have a good chance for at least asking for a cost of living raise, since you're in one of the priciest (if not *the* priciest) cities in the country.

Good luck!

Suasoria · Chanel

There are a lot of advantages to working for a small biz. Compensation and benefits are not usually two of them. In some regards you're lucky you're not working under the table. (I assume you aren't.)

It depends on the state, but a business has no obligation to provide benefits as long as they have less than X employees. (In Cali I think it's 30, but I wouldn't swear to it.)

Obviously the advantages are some you've already noticed - getting to have a hand in all aspects of the company, having lots of authority and freedom, creativity, etc. You're not pigeonholed in one division or job role like you might be in a large corporate environment, and the experiences you're having are incredibly valuable to you professionally. (I know; big whoop.)

Small biz owners are notoriously stingy. Even if you found an accurate title for yourself and checked it out on salary.com, you wouldn't be getting the same pay scale since you aren't working for a large company. Small biz titles don't matter much, so just pick something that sounds good to you - like "administrative (or operations) manager" or "business administrator" or whatever. If you were to move to a big company in the same industry, they'd take you down at least a peg or two anyway until you got adjusted to corporate life.

SBs tend not to like paying higher payroll taxes, so in addition to or even instead of working out a moderate annual pay increase, think about things they could do for you that are not considered a pay raise, such as:

- They could pay for your individual health insurance plan. Research who would cover you and how much that would cost. If you brought in the monthly bill and they paid it directly, there's no payroll tax hit to them. Howver, they probably have insurance, and it may save them money to add a third person to their plan - so that's worth researching too.

- They could cover your cell phone bill and your car payment/bus pass similarly. Or your home electiric, gas, cable, newspaper, and internet, if you do any work from home for them. Or a cash stipend for childcare if you require that. Just paying a couple of bills for you could easily add up to $500 or more a month that is technically a raise to you, and to them is just another business expense and write-off.

- They can create some kind of commission or profit-sharing structure based on how well they seem to be doing, and how responsible for it you seem to be, based on the growth of the company since you've been there. The benefit to them of you having an "ownership stake" is that you're just as invested in their success as they are, so you'll be a very happy and conscientious employee. However, if this interests you, I would try to get this in your bank/pocket, not in the form of a SEP IRA (like a 401K for small businesses). You want to be able to use this money, not just look at it through a window.

Long story short, knowing what I do about these kinds of work environments, think of every possible financial advantage you can get that ISN'T strictly a pay raise. Your employers will be much more likely to accept a "deal" from you if it includes some of these ideas. It's clear they cannot do without you, so that's a major plus for you.

Hope this helps instead of creates more confusion!

lynnie · Chanel

thanks, i'll probably edit out my original post. Yes, i would PREFER some sort of profit sharing...we'll see. That is also something that someone could be stingy with. Paying my subway card and some of my expenses is a good idea, but i'd also like at least some sort of raise. I have a review next week- any more experiences and advice is very appreciated.

sephorablue · Marc Jacobs

RE: job review/pay negotiations..

Suasoria · Chanel

I completely understand if the dollars on your check mean more to you than other potential benefits and compensation. Just promise yourself you'll read the tea leaves if you sense you aren't going to be provided with what you want, on the terms you want it. If that's the case, you may want to re-think the wisdom of working for a small business and start hunting for new opportunities within larger companies.

At some point - and this goes for everyone - we have to be willing to put on our 'big-girl panties' and face reality. We've all probably been in the comfortable pigeonhole, but it does get old.