"My Annual Review doesn't Get Me the Raise and Promotion I Want. WHY?" - 01/25/19 Edition
Stephen Says Column
Dear Stephen:
It was time for my annual performance review, and this year I was pitching for a raise or even a promotion. My written reviews have all been “satisfactory” to “good”— even a few “excellents.” Yet when I talk to my boss one-on-one, the vibe is not great. Here is my background: I’m a “double Ivy” (and proud to say it!), and I excel at meeting targets and goals. I’m told my social skills could improve a bit, but why should that matter if I am getting the job done?
I work for a furniture manufacturer, and I get along with my colleagues, but most people in the industry just have undergraduate degrees, let alone an MBA, and I wonder if there is some resentment about my education.
Anyway, what is your advice for getting the raise I deserve or, more importantly, the promotion I want and have worked for. You’re the workplace guru, so tell me how to do it!
Double Ivy may be Poison Ivy
Dear Ivy:
Managers hire, promote and even give raises to people they like. In clear terms, people that “they want to spend time with.” This is true no matter high-minded they are about fairness and the work you do for the company. Executives hire and promote people who solve problems for them, who make their job easier and who make them look good. And it doesn’t hurt to do a little “brown nosing,” to use an old expression.
If a boss does not like you personally, especially in a furniture company, you are just not going to get ahead. Our tightknit industry doesn’t need any brain surgeons nor anyone that acts like one. We just need competency in the areas where it really matters. In your case, although you say you get along with your colleagues, I worry about the way you said it, and I’ll bet your boss worries about it, too. The last thing a boss needs is divisiveness in the ranks.
I can recommend a book I wrote that would help you get ahead at work, a HarperCollins best-seller titled “Bulletproof Your Job.” The premise of my formula or “Viscusi Method” is that the chemistry you have with your boss is often more important than how capable you are at your job. I hope the book helps. You sound like you need some introspection and honest self-evaluation before it’s too late.
Stephen
You can send your workplace questions to Stephen at: StephenSays@bellow.press
Questions selected to be answered, will appear in this column. Please use the Subject: Stephen Says for all emails. Stephen Viscusi is a bestselling author, television personality, and CEO of The Viscusi Group, global executive recruiters located in New York. Follow Stephen on Twitter @stephenviscusi, Like Stephen on Facebook and follow him on LinkedIn.
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