As long as the concept of a job has existed, the definition around what you can do to earn a living has been defined by others using a process that has been the same for decades. Your options are limited by the parameters of a job description: a definition that consists of a job title, a list of tasks to be performed and the skills, experience and personality traits needed to perform those tasks successfully.
There is a salary range for that job description. It is a number based on the skills and experience required balanced against the budget the firm has to fill the position. The budget may or may not reflect the realities of the marketplace or the value of the contribution the employee will actually make to the company.
It is reasonably common to see new employees hired at the low end of a salary range so they will have a chance “to grow” within the company. However, raises have been small in recent years, even nonexistent, because there is a perception that we have little or no inflation. I guess those that have created that perception do not purchase gas, food, healthcare, appliances, cars or homes.
There are unwritten rules around salary increases when you change positions by moving to a new firm. “How much are you making now?” you are asked. That is factored in to what you will be offered because no company wants to pay you more than they have to in order to bring you on board, no matter what the job is worth. If you are making $70,000 as an example and the range for the job you apply for is $85,000 – $100,000, you will probably be offered $75,000, $80,000 if you are lucky, because someone, somewhere decided it wasn’t healthy to get too large a salary bump at one time. Again, someone else deciding what your talent is worth based on outdated thinking. You probably won’t notice because you are thrilled to get a long overdue increase.
Your career and your earning power in a traditional job is limited by someone elses definition of what you are worth. We accept that as fact and we live with it. We need to earn a living and our options are to start our own business or take a job working for someone else. Starting your own business isn’t for everyone, although more and more people are taking this option, some with success, most not. But there is something you can do to increase your odds of staying gainfully employed at a salary that is based on the value you bring to the firm you work for rather than a somewhat arbitrary number decided by someone else.
To increase your earning power, you need to develop the ability to take a new view of yourself, understand the value you bring and how to communicate it to a prospective employer in a compelling way that will impact their thinking. It requires that you begin to think of yourself and your skills differently and be able to help your prospective employer think differently too. It is our acceptance, even dependence on these old paradigms and unwritten rules that is keeping us limited. The paradigms around “the job” have been around longer than you have. The thinking has to change but company thinking won’t change until we do.
If you are interested in talking more about your career limitations, I would love to have a conversation with you. Fill out the Contact form on our website to schedule a conversation.