Think of yourself as a business rather than an employee
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How often do you think employees submit to changes made by a company based on job duties, benefits, and growth within the organization?
All. Alone. Day.
The problem is not the change itself, but the fact that the restructuring was not discussed with the worker before he was hired.
Sometimes the changes are beneficial, but in other scenarios the decisions made could conflict with individual needs or values. The overarching problem is that many employees are “at will,” meaning the terms of the relationship can be changed or terminated at the whim of either party. Although the number of times employers change conditions is significantly higher than employees. Why is that? Because you let them.
Interview for a job
You submitted 150 applications, you were finally called back and then you breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe not all of your submissions were going to a company’s SPAM folder after all? The first conversation is often with a recruiter or a human resources representative and it is the first opportunity to avoid being victimized. This means indicating what you need, what you are not open to, and not asking the hard questions.
Businesses provide services and products for a price and consumers (B2C) or other businesses (B2B) pay for it. The company sets the price and the customer pays the price or not.
Employees also render a service, and if the employee sets the price, then an employer will pay the price or not (i.e. your salary, bonuses, benefits and other demands).
There’s no rule that says you can’t quote your price. It saves you time and recruiters will love you for it. Worried that you won’t indulge yourself by setting a price that might be on the lower end of your budget? Aim high!
Here’s what happens next: you quote a price, they say it’s too high, give their budget, and you decide if you can work with it or not. Do you know what it looks like? Business.
Related: 5 Salary Negotiation Rules
Grow within the company
The only problem with growing within an organization if you are an “at-will” employee versus a union, government employee, etc. or if you get more pay or opportunities based on your seniority, your growth sometimes depends on variables outside of your control.
You could be working overtime for 3 years just to be in the exact same job. It’s because a company runs one and you rely on them instead of your own.
A company:
- Modifies their prices (indicate what you need).
- Changes their business structure (say how you will operate when they do).
- Changes their hours of operation (set some for yourself as you are not a machine).
- Change their direction for the business (do the exact same thing for yourself even if it means offering your services to another prospect).
Related: The Great Resignation Is Quickly Becoming The Great Revolt: 5 Actions Leaders Should Take Now
Career goals outside the company
Typically, companies have KPIs (i.e. goals and informs how your role will help achieve them). They do this to give you goals and ask you to create them. It’s very easy to become obsessed with these, as very often your ability to perform against them dictates part of your pay and progress.
The only concern with using this model for your entire career is that it’s from a bottom line perspective. If you have your own KPIs. and use similar quantitative metrics to gauge where you are and where you’re trying to be, your career could be further optimized.
remaining marketable
It’s easy to be complacent in a role because you’ve been doing it for several years, but if you needed to go back to the market for another job either voluntarily or in lieu of a layoff, you don’t want to. never be at the mercy of another company because of desperation for a job. The best position to be in is to understand the demands of the market, so you can understand how to become a top service provider.
Related: 10 Job Skills That Will Help You Land a 6-Figure Salary