October 9, 2024 • 35 mins
Unlock the secrets to leveraging your career for maximum financial gain with Money Matters! I'm thrilled to be joined by Yolanda Whitmore, a seasoned expert in career advancement strategies, as we explore the art of negotiating a raise. Get ready to master the skills needed to confidently present your case based on performance, understand the timing, and avoid common pitfalls like ultimatums. This episode promises to equip you with actionable insights that can help transform your financial trajectory.
Curious about your role in career development? We tackle the often-debated topic of who holds the reins of career progression—employees or employers. Dive into a lively discussion on self-improvement, from taking on additional duties in a contact center to pursuing further education. With insights from my personal experiences at Neighbors, learn how mentorship, training programs, and organizational support can propel your career forward, ensuring you're always one step ahead in a competitive job market.
Finally, we emphasize the importance of maintaining an up-to-date professional presence, from your resume to your LinkedIn profile. Discover how these tools can open doors to unexpected opportunities and how networking plays a crucial role in career growth. The evolution of job titles and their impact on career development is also on the agenda, offering practical advice on how to position yourself for success. Tune in for an episode packed with strategies and real-world advice to navigate the ever-changing landscape of professional growth.
Have an idea for a show or a question for Kim? Send us a text message
Welcome to Money Matters, the podcast that focuses on how to use the money you have, make the money you need and save the money you want – brought to you by Neighbors Federal Credit Union.
The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to another edition of Money Matters.
I am so excited today to haveYolanda Whitmore join me back
again so that we can continueour conversation on, basically,
how are we going to use ourcareers, our income, to better
our financial situations.
So on our previous episode,that's what we talked about
salaries versus benefits.
I take a job that's maybepaying me a little bit less, but
(00:22):
I have better benefits thatwork with my lifestyle.
But now we want to refocus andtalk about, now that you have
that job, how can you leverageyour career?
How can you maximize yourincome potential?
How do we even know what yourincome potential is, your net
worth?
So guess what?
Yolanda has come back today tohelp us answer some of those
questions.
(00:42):
Thank you for having me.
I think after our last episode,we got into such a deep
conversation about what we'regoing to talk about today and
that was so compelling that Iwas like, yes, we have to come
back and talk about it Becausenow for those individuals that
have a job, you may say thatepisode wasn't helpful for me
because I have a job already.
So now we're going to talkabout if you have that job, if
you're in the career that youwant to be.
(01:04):
How do you leverage that?
How do you go to the next leveland you may say this is a
personal finance podcast.
What does that have to do withanything?
Every day we're talking toindividuals that are in
situations that they need moreincome, and so sometimes it's
easier said than done.
Does that mean that you need totake a part-time job, change
(01:24):
careers?
Maybe not, but hopefully whatwe discussed today will give you
some insight in what you can dowhere you are, to maybe get to
that next level.
How do you ask for a raise andI'm going to start right there
with your loan at HR.
How do you do that?
If I want more money, do I justgo up to my boss and say look,
(01:47):
slide this little sheet of paperover and say can we add a zero
to that?
Absolutely, that's all you haveto do.
Can I expect to get an answer?
Can I expect to have a jobafter that sheet of paper slid
over to that side?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Absolutely.
This is what I'm saying.
First and foremost, if you arein a place where you feel that
you should be receiving a raise,I have a couple of things that
I say to a person before youchoose to slide that piece of
paper across the table to yourmanager how long have you been
in that position?
(02:21):
There are some people thatwould be in a position for three
months and feel that they havemastered and say, oh, it's time
for me to get a raise, so it'stime for me to push that paper
over, just like you did.
I need a raise, but you didn'texplain the reason why you would
need a raise.
But what I suggest to people,first and foremost, be in your
(02:42):
position and become comfortablein your position within six
months.
If that's comfortable andyou're like if I accepted a
position, I accepted that salaryyou should not be asking for a
raise in three weeks because youfelt okay with that salary in
the beginning.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
But inflation has hit in those three weeks.
Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Understandable in that aspect.
But one thing I always tellpeople don't put your personal
to ask for a raise, for instance, like you just say, oh, it's
inflation, oh, I got to pay mybills, oh, I got to pay my car
now.
Oh, I got stuff going on, so Ineed a raise.
It should be about yourperformance, what you're
actually doing at work, or ifcertain things change within
(03:21):
work, where you may have hadsomeone that was in a department
and they are actually no longerin the department and it's been
several months.
You've been taking up that role.
You've been doing those dutiesand your duties at an
exceptional level.
They see that I can do bothjobs and I'm comfortable.
I'm not stressed out, I'm notburnt out, I'm okay with doing
(03:41):
both of those jobs.
I think it's about time now.
I've been at this company alittle bit over a year and a
half.
I think it's time and I'mcomfortable and I have the
information and they see thatI'm doing both jobs and doing
both jobs well.
I can bring my job descriptionto the table with my letter and
state hey, these are the dutiesthat I've been doing.
As you stated, I've been doingthese things at an exceptional
(04:04):
level as well, I have picked upthese additional duties as well
and I continue to do those.
What I am suggesting andrequesting is may I or can I get
a raise or possibly blend thesepositions together where I can
actually get an increase?
That's a way that you canactually come to the table.
I just tell people do not cometo the table just saying I need
(04:25):
a raise, or, oh, I'm coming tothe table, I want a raise.
If not, because we can flipthat conversation as well.
Oh, they got me doing all thiswork because we need another
person, another body there.
But you're frustrated.
You have an attitude with doingthis extra work as well, as
you're not doing it to theability that you could do.
It is very subpar.
(04:46):
But the economy at this pointthere's not anybody applying for
this position.
So what you do is push thatpaper over and say, oh, I need a
raise, if not, I'm going toquit.
So it can be reversed.
But that's not what you want todo, because sometimes you would
be rather surprised.
Some organizations will be like, okay, that's your choice.
So you could put yourself in acatch-22 where you threaten a
(05:08):
company, so you never know.
So that's why I say anytime youwant to actually go to the
table because it's a negotiationat that point where you're
requesting a raise.
So when you do that, you wantto do that as professional as
possible.
Bring your information, bringthe reasons why you feel that
you are qualified for that raise.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
And, in keeping with that, if I look at my salary and
say, ok, I want to raise, I'vebeen working hard, how do I, as
the employee, determine what theappropriate amount to ask for?
How can I find out what myworth is in terms of the company
to say, okay, I want a 10%, Iwant a 5%, I want a 15% raise?
How can I measure that so thatI can present it to my employer
(05:53):
and feel confident that it is areasonable amount?
So how can I really come to thetable?
I'm confident in saying I'vedone a great job, I have
excellent service, etc.
But how can I be confident inthat number I put on that sheet
of paper and slide over isreasonable?
Speaker 2 (06:11):
OK, what you want to know.
First and foremost, you saidthat you've done your research.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
If your salary is in that range, my research in terms
of what I'm making sure I'vedone, dotted all my I's and
crossed out my T's for my rolein anything extra.
So if I'm completely in thedark about what I should expect
beyond, how do I do thatresearch?
Where should I do that research?
Speaker 2 (06:34):
The way I tell people .
First, you can go to BLS, whichis the Bureau of Labor
Statisticsgov.
That gives you a plethora ofinformation compared to where
you can find information onbenchmarking within your
positions.
Also, look locally If you areat an organization for instance,
we're at a credit union All thecredit unions are financial
(06:55):
institutions in and around thesurrounding area and verify what
those salaries actually are inthose positions.
Usually you can find thatinformation on job descriptions,
job postings, or you can pullthat up sometimes and get that
information directly off theinternet and you would verify.
Usually, hey, I see down thestreet they're paying $5,000
more for a similar position.
(07:16):
And when I tell people that youget that information or you can
get that data, sometimes whenyou bring it to us, we can go
into as far as I would be morebasic, as far as, like a teller.
We know a teller here is ateller the same usually in
majority other organizations.
So it's easier to leverage tosay, oh, this organization is
(07:39):
paying their tellers $15 an hour.
However, I'm only getting paid$13 an hour here.
But I can see, hey, I've doneeverything that a teller can do.
I'm actually stepping up,helping the assistant branch
manager or things like that.
What you're going to see isthat at that point you're
bringing that information andthat attention up that maybe
(08:00):
that organization did not noticethat, hey, these organizations
now are paying those, ourmajority of their tellers, at
$15 an hour.
That's just an example that I'musing so that can actually
bring the attention and is hey,at this point we may be lowball
or not paying our employees orwhat they're worth.
At that point the organizationitself can take a look where a
(08:21):
raise doesn't even have to beinvolved.
They can make adjustmentsthemselves across the board.
If there's something that is ina position that is completely
out of the norm and you're wayskewed, I tell people as well.
Even though it's the same jobtitle, it doesn't mean your
duties are the same.
Sometimes you may get a no, andeven if you get a no or a
(08:44):
decline for that salary thatyou're requesting, ask the
questions why?
Because you will be surprisedsometimes of why the answer was
a no or not at this time.
It could be the fact that theorganization right now have a
freeze on actually any type ofraises or promotions, because we
can be going, or anorganization can be going
(09:05):
through some type of financialstrain and it could be at the
point we cannot, as anorganization right now, give
increases to our employees rightnow.
So sometimes there's always awhy, sometimes even behind the
no or the no not right now.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
You said, okay, they see what you're doing, they
recognize your work, but is thatalways the case?
What if they're not?
What can you do as an employeeto make sure if you're going
above and beyond to make sureyour supervisors recognize that,
so that if you are going to askfor that raise, if you are
going to ask for something inaddition, that it is recognized?
(09:42):
I know that some companiesoffer an annual review.
How important is an annualreview, or even a
self-assessment in terms of that?
And then, beyond thatself-assessment, is it okay to
toot your own horn?
What can you do so that, if youwant to ask for a raise, or if
you want to just show them that,hey, maybe you don't have to
(10:02):
ask for it, you want to put itout there so that they're going
to come to you and say, look,we've seen you do this, we've
seen you do all of these extratasks.
How can you make sure that yoursuperiors or your supervisors
are aware of what you're doing?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Okay, I'll try to answer all 15 questions.
First and foremost, on thisaspect, I tell everyone, even
the people that I do mentor,keep a brag book, that brag book
.
There's nothing wrong with it.
Anything that you do out of thenorm, out of the ordinary,
write it in that brag book.
So when it's that time, if youare at an organization that
(10:38):
actually does annual performancereviews, do that
self-evaluation on yourself orgive that information to your
manager, because sometimes youhave to understand managers may
manage several or more employeesand they're not probably
remembering what you did at amoment.
And when you bring that back totheir memory because you know
(10:58):
what you have, wrote all thosememories down in that brag book.
So when it's time for thatreview, oh, I'm going to let you
know everything I did thesepast 12 months, just to refresh
your memory.
Managers appreciate that.
And when they're like, wow,this person did do all of these
things and I'm sorry I did notrecall, yeah, he did work on the
committee.
Yes, he did work extra hoursand when accounting needed help,
(11:21):
they wanted some backup ifpossible when he used to work in
the accounting department.
So those type of things put inyour brag book.
Put anything work-related, evennon-work-related, that can be
volunteer-focused.
For instance, if you volunteerto work for the Cancer Society
on the weekends and things likethat and you know that your
(11:41):
organization isvolunteer-focused, make sure you
actually add those things,because, keep in mind, some
personal things that you dooutside of work can also help
you inside within your job.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
All right.
So I want to bring it back inand narrow it down.
Are there any key, maybe two orthree things that you would say
if you're going to go in andask for a raise that you should
be prepared to present, and ifyou are declined, are there two
or three key things that youwant to know before you walk out
the door?
In terms of why is it just theno, an updated?
Speaker 2 (12:15):
resume.
Okay, bring your updated resumeand your current job
description, because at thatpoint you're giving your manager
an opportunity to be like okay,these are the job duties that I
have.
However, on my current resume,these are the previous companies
and organizations that I workedfor, so they know what your
(12:36):
history is as well.
You're just refreshing them atthat point, but you're letting
them know I've been at thiscompany X amount of months or
years.
These duties now have evolved.
This is what is stated on myjob description.
That's when you bring out yourbrag book with you and you let
them know.
But these are some of thethings that have been added to
my duties, so you're gonna letthem know I that have been added
(12:57):
to my duties, so you're goingto let them know I'm doing this,
I'm doing this and I'm doingthis.
And also be comfortable, letthem know this has been removed
or because I have started this,I have improved this in
efficiencies you want to letthem know all the things that
you've done to improve theposition that you're currently
in.
Now, keep in mind, I let peopleknow as well.
(13:19):
But if it's a plethora of peoplelike if you are in a contact
center, for instance, and it's40 contact center people taking
calls and y'all have all thesame duties.
However, to ask for a raise andeverybody's doing the same thing
at the same level, sometimes itmay be a little different and
you will have to find a way toactually, I guess, stand out.
Sometimes it may be a littledifferent and it'll be.
You will have to find a way toactually, I guess, stand out to
(13:41):
me when you bring thatinformation and you are standing
out because you're doing overand beyond, taking on extra
duties and things like that itcan be more of.
Maybe I need a job change,maybe I don't need to be in the
same position as all these other38, 39 other contact center
(14:03):
reps.
You can actually pivot andchange that conversation as well
of yes, I'm asking for a raise,but I understand that these
raises may not happen becauseit's a group of us or whatever.
I'm asking for a raise, butalso I'm asking for a position
change or a position titlechange.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
You must be reading my mind, because that's
literally what I wanted to talkabout next, in terms of you've
been on a job, you've beencomfortable, you've been in this
position and you may realizethat at that position you've
reached the ceiling.
So when is it appropriate tostart looking at other positions
?
I know that there are someemployees that will apply for
(14:36):
everything.
Everything that comes up is I'mgoing to apply.
Tell me your feelings aboutthat internally.
Is that a good look?
Does that say that you'reambitious?
Or how do you think that'sperceived in the corporate world
if you have an employee thatevery time there's a position
available, they're applying?
And then what is yourrecommendation in terms of
(14:58):
giving thought to the positionsthat might be available?
Speaker 2 (15:02):
I think that person is still trying to find
themselves.
Okay, I don't tell anyone notto apply for something because
they may feel like I thoughtthis was a good fit for me but
maybe it's not.
Some people may have to goaround the world three times
before they find out.
Hey, this is my home.
I don't say that it's looked atany way, whether negative or
positive.
That's just me personally.
(15:22):
That's the way I take it,especially when I feel if they
are seasoned in their positionand we do use performance
reviews here.
So if you are exceeding oroutstanding at that type of
level in your position thatyou're currently in, I can see
sometimes where you may feelstagnant or at a plateau and
(15:43):
you're looking for somethingdifferent.
If there's a position that doescome up that you feel that you
are qualified for and you domeet those qualifications,
absolutely apply.
If you are in a position andyou are still learning that
position or learning thoseduties, do I feel comfortable
for you to apply for a positionand you are still learning that
position, are learning thoseduties?
Do I feel comfortable for youto apply for a position that you
(16:04):
pretty much may not bequalified for?
I can't stop you.
All I can do is tell you orgive you the phone call and say
unfortunately you did not meetthe qualifications.
And do we do that a good bit oftimes for a lot of what?
Yeah, as long as you meet thequalifications, you're eligible
to apply for those positions,and it depends on what you do in
that interview at that point.
(16:25):
But I strongly suggest thatwhen you do apply, first and
foremost, especially for aninternal position, make sure
your resume is updated.
I think that's more so our petpeeve than you applying for $50
million.
Anytime a position opens, it'sbecause you've been in a
position for three years, you'vebeen employed with us for those
(16:47):
entire three years and when youapply for that position, that's
the resume that we're receiving.
It's not telling us that youeven work here at no not in
three years, which is supposedto be looking over my shoulder,
exactly.
So first and foremost, even ifyou're applying internally for a
position, update the resumes,your resumes.
You should be literallyhonestly updating or just
looking at it at least once ortwice a year, because duties
(17:10):
change in jobs.
So that's one thing I say.
Make sure your resume is up todate in that aspect.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Well, look, we're going to pivot, because that's
why I asked him, because I knowI won't remember, but I want to
pivot.
And this is still in this samearea career development and this
is a great debate question thatyou and I discussed in a
similar meeting, and it's careerdevelopment who should, who is
the responsibility of more?
Is it the employee or theemployer?
Speaker 2 (17:41):
responsibility of more.
Is it the employee or theemployer?
Just to let you know, I thinkwhen I stepped on the side, it's
more of the employee'sresponsibility for
self-development.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
And I was on the other side, but I'll let you go
first.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Okay.
And the reason why I statedthat is that, if just me
personally, I feel that if youdo not take stake in your own
career development and putyourself out there and let your
managers know, hey, I'm takingextra classes, I've signed up,
I'm getting my master's, I'mgetting my doctorate, I'm taking
certifications, I'm doing thesethings and I'm choosing to do
(18:09):
these things on my own, itdoesn't have to be your manager
or your organization'sresponsibility to say, hey, it's
your responsibility or it'stheir responsibility for your
career development.
And I think we're missing thatmajor word that was in the
difference of who's moreresponsible.
That's the more word.
(18:30):
I'm not saying that employersare not responsible for their
employees' growth, but, however,they're not the one that is
majority that responsibility isfor.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
And so I was on the other side, and one of the
reasons that I was on that otherside is the fear of not knowing
what you don't know.
And so I think that, as anemployer, you have to present
those opportunities.
Yes, it's the employee'sinitiative.
They need to have themotivation to take advantage of
them.
But if you don't know XYZexists, how can you take
(19:02):
advantage of it?
If you don't know that thiscompany allows for
cross-training, offers theseopportunities, how will you know
, especially if you're in anentry-level position in any
corporation?
If you don't know what exists,how can you take advantage of it
?
So, yes, I may be developing mycareer outside, like you said,
furthering my education, butwithin that corporation, I do
(19:23):
think that the organization hasthat responsibility to not only,
not just, provide thoseopportunities but to make sure
employees are aware of it, whichI can say, neighbors, is
definitely doing a great job,because this all came about
through our Sink MentorshipProgram.
I posed that question to.
Because this all came aboutthrough our Sink Mentorship
Program.
I posed that question to aboutwouldn't you agree about?
80% of the room was on theemployee side, and so I pivoted
(19:44):
and I asked the question.
I said now raise your hand.
How many of you have been in amentorship program before
Neighbors?
And there were only maybe abouttwo hands up, and so I felt
that those two individuals, yes,that on their own initiative
they were developing their owncareer, whereas I felt the rest
of them, the reason that you arenow involved in this program,
(20:05):
is because your employee ieneighbor shout out was offering
that particular opportunity.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
And absolutely I did believe in that, and that's when
I say again, shout out toneighbors, we actually do
amazing in self-development aswell as employee and employer
developments.
As far as I've been here almost18 years, and from my previous
organization even though it wasa multi-billion dollar
organization they did notbelieve in self-development as
(20:33):
employees, you had to developyourself.
They wasn't paying for you togo to conferences, they were not
paying for any type ofmentorship programs, anything of
that nature.
It did not matter what positionyou were in, whether you were
on the C-suite levels or not.
So that was one of the thingsthat was completely different
here at Neighbors.
That's one of the things thatwe do foster.
(20:54):
We believe in actually trainingour employees.
We believe in actually and I'llgive the example of training.
Our trainings are extensive,they run, whereas other
organizations then that was oneof the benefits People say, oh,
my goodness, y'all do a trainingthat long.
Yes, we do.
Where some people say I trainedin just three days, yeah, it's
(21:14):
just the fact we want to makesure we give people a foundation
and we want our employees togrow.
And that's one of the thingswhy we do believe we're
promoting from within, becausewe feel that when we have our
employees here, we don't want tonot have them grow, we don't
want them to not mature, wedon't want them to not learn
anything else.
(21:34):
We want them to actually growand grow within their
organizations.
When they ask certain questionsabout hey, I want to know more
about this, that's what we say.
Your manager is there and yourmanager is supposed to be there,
like you stated, and you madethe comment as far as if you
don't know, if you're very green, how would I know about?
It's okay for me to have theseopportunities to go out and to
(21:55):
actually learn and to further myeducation or just further my
knowledge.
And one of the things also justto plug out there is that we do
tuition reimbursement.
So there's a lot of companiesand organizations that do that
as well.
But that's just one of thethings as we support.
We support people to actuallyfurther their education and
that's why we do have that typeof program put in place.
(22:16):
But again, it is still theemployee's responsibility if
they want to actually growwithin the organization, if you
want to be a leader or if youwant to move up within the
organization, sometimes you haveto be the person to take
initiative and when that managersee you as that person that's
taking initiative, they would belike, okay, they've came to me,
(22:37):
they told me that they wereinterested in these
certifications.
They're in the IT department.
They should know about certaincertifications.
Whether you're green or not,you know about something in
those positions, whether it bein my department, where they're
talking about certaincertifications pertaining to
human resources, and they cometo me and say, hey, I feel this
would be a benefit for me tolearn as well, as I can bring
(22:59):
that information and myknowledge, become more
knowledgeable in this department, and that will, in turn, help
the organization.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Right, excuse me.
We've shared a lot ofinformation in terms of what can
you do within the company.
Obviously, all of this isfocused because we want to look
at how can we increase ourincomes to keep up with
inflation, to make sure we canretire, to make sure we can take
care of our families.
But of course, we don't live ina perfect world and sometimes
things just may not work out atthat organization and you may
(23:27):
have to start looking at othercompanies, other organizations,
to maybe get the income that youneed.
So let's kind of circle backand talk about resumes.
How important are resumes andwhat are the tools that you
think are vitally crucial today?
Because resumes almost feel alittle antiquated when you have
tools like LinkedIn.
Keep them updated.
Is that really going to help meget a job a little bit more?
(23:51):
And then I want to talk alittle bit about those tools
like LinkedIn and how importanta role they can play in helping
you with your career path.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Resumes are not antiquated by any means.
That is still what a persongets to know about you, first
and foremost, before they evenhear your voice across the phone
, things of that nature.
So one thing I do suggest isalways, when you're actually
looking at your resume, makesure it's up to date.
If you're applying forpositions, whether internal,
(24:21):
within your job, if youcurrently have a job or if
you're actually seeking, makesure that resume is up to date.
Make sure you review it, makesure things on your resume is
actually antiquated.
You don't want to be sayingthat you're proficient in
Microsoft 98 or whatever.
It's been 20 years people.
So you just want to make sureyou're up to date with the
(24:44):
technology, because people willbe surprised oh, nobody uses
this anymore, things like that.
So you want to make sure thatinformation you are updating, or
if you actually have any typeof new certifications, or if you
have actually finished yourdegree and it wasn't on your
resume before, make sure you addthose informations.
Or if you join any type oforganizations, make sure you add
(25:07):
that information as well.
So I always say make sure youupdate your resume.
You'll be rather surprised whatyou'll look back and be like oh
, last year I actually completedthis certification.
It's not on my resume.
I may need to add it to myresume.
Just why I say look at it everysix months to a year, because
at that point you won't forgetthat I need to add this to my
(25:27):
resume.
And when an opportunity arisesbecause we're going to speak on
LinkedIn, like you just statedto me, linkedin is more so of a
networking opportunity as wellas to put yourself out there.
If there's hedge huntersprobably looking, they're going
to look at LinkedIn when they'relooking for somebody or for a
certain position.
That's one of the possibilitiesof places that they do go look.
I say keep that up to date aswell, because when organizations
(25:52):
may be looking for a certainposition or a certain
professional position, they cango to LinkedIn and be like, hey,
we're looking for XYZ, and theypull up and they see people
that's in the local area whereyou're located, your experience.
So, as often as you update that, update your LinkedIn, get that
information and as well I saythat to pivot to the piece of
(26:12):
networking when you're actuallyusing that type of tool or any
type of social outlet toactually update or put your
information out there, that's away to connect, and that's a way
to connect with other people aswell.
Some people may use that to seehey, this person is an expert in
marketing and has been anexpert in marketing for over 20
years.
We have this situation that'sgoing on.
(26:34):
I wonder if I can just reachout to them and see if they'll
be able to help me and to assistme on a certain question or
concern.
But you, because you at thattime, you now met a person and
you have that type ofcamaraderie.
You never know in the futurethat person may think about you
when somebody is asking about,hey, do you know anybody
pertaining to marketing that maybe looking for a job or an
opportunity?
And the first thing theyremember, like bub, hey, on
(26:56):
LinkedIn I sent out thisquestion.
I asked and they respondedthat's the opportunity to
network.
When you put yourself out thereon LinkedIn, you're not just
putting out your resume, you'regiving yourself to be a person,
to actually network with others.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
As well and I can definitely testify that it works
not personally, because myLinkedIn page is probably needs
to be dusted off, but I'll bringmy son into this.
He's used LinkedIn and he's hadan internship with companies
like Formula One, dukeUniversity and now he's living
his best life over at Disney,working for ESPN.
And all of this has beenthrough him, leveraging and
(27:29):
networking through LinkedIn.
So definitely platforms likeLinkedIn are really good.
What other tools out there doyou think are really useful if
you're trying to stay, maybe, inyour career, even going to a
different career, but to getthat exposure to find, for you,
to find those opportunities orfor those opportunities to come
and find you?
I tell people personally.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
If you're in professional positions such as
human resources, internal audit,talent development, marketing,
there are local organizationsthat specifically cater to those
groups.
Make sure you are part of thoseorganizations and those groups.
There could be localorganizations or local chapters
that actually give you anopportunity to mingle with
(28:12):
people within your type ofposition that you are currently
looking for.
Put yourself in those places.
Put yourself in those spaces.
If that's not one of the bestthings that you can do, because
at that point I'm putting myselfout there I want as many people
to know me and know my face andknow my name so if any
opportunity comes up, my name ison the tip of their tongue.
(28:34):
So I tell people all the timeput yourself out there to
network.
I know some people feel like,oh, once I got a job, that's
fine, but that's not always it.
You can be in a job for adecade or even longer still.
Network because you never knowwhat can happen or what
blessings can lie ahead becauseof networking.
So that's why I always say youwant to put yourself out there,
(28:55):
and some ways to do that isjoining other organizations or
certain groups that actually canassist with your growth and
development.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
So I want to spend a minute and let's talk about
leveraging titles.
You mentioned talentdevelopment and so maybe our
listeners that may not know.
Let's talk about what isactually talent development
department in terms of neighbors.
That's our training department.
So how important are titles,not just for departments, but
even in your profession, interms of, if I were updating my
(29:26):
resume, what would be moreappropriate that I am the VP of
the training department or theVP of talent development?
What is going to be receivedbetter in your opinion?
Speaker 2 (29:38):
It depends on what the organization, more so, has
transitioned over to talentdevelopment.
Years ago, the early 2000s, itwas training.
Everybody is your trainingdepartment, so things actually
tend to evolve and sometimesthat means that job titles do
evolve.
It means that I'm saying thatthis needs to change because,
(30:00):
yes, we're the trainingdepartment, but what is our main
focus?
Our job is to develop talent,so we feel that speaks more to
us.
So at this point we see that weare the talent development
department.
A lot of people can understandbecause that's what we do.
We grow talent and we developit.
We're not just training peopleand sending them off, we're
going to develop those people aswell.
(30:22):
Job titles begin to evolvedepending on what those duties
are at the time.
Sometimes you have to take astep back.
Just on the flip side, with jobtitles.
I can use an example here.
We had to hire for some seniormember advocates and it was
rather interesting the resumesthat were coming in.
Yes, I'm very comfortable withworking senior citizens.
(30:42):
I'm willing to help the elderly.
I'm more than happy to assistthem with any type of needs that
they may have.
And wait a minute, while we'redoing this, did our applicant,
did this mix up with a nursinghome or a nursing facility.
It was like no, it says seniormember advocate.
And what does that mean forneighbors?
What that means?
It's pretty much ourrepresentatives, our financial
(31:02):
service offices.
For the most part they arepretty much in the financial
field, assisting our membersthat come in with any type of
financial needs or concerns.
So we were like I think it'stime for a title change because
at that point, if it's going toconfuse our candidates that are
applying for it, just imaginehow that confused our members as
(31:24):
well.
So sometimes a job title can bea miss and not a hit for you.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
So you have to look at it both ways, and so we had
member advocates and seniormember advocates, which we were
not referring to, the seasonedindividuals.
So, how important though, is it, if I have a resume, that I
want to convey that I was notjust at the base level of a
member advocate, I was at asenior level.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
It should be posted on your resume.
You can say that you are asenior member because that is
currently your job title.
So you would put that on yourresume and I think some people,
when you're doing your resume,some people would automatically
be like okay, if I've been in anorganization for five or six
years but I've held severaltitles or several positions and
there are different duties underthere, Put those previous jobs
(32:12):
that you had within thatorganization because you can be
short changing yourself in otherareas.
If you're especially lookingfor positions internally or
externally, because you have tokeep in mind the person that you
are actually sitting acrossfrom in that interview may not
be aware of those previousduties that you do, even though
you were in other positions.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
I think I want to end with what advice would you give
somebody that wants to ask fora raise?
Because I think, secretly, weall would like a little bit more
than what we have, no matterwhat our position is, no matter
what our income is.
But I could see that someindividuals might be intimidated
about approaching theirsupervisor about a raise.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I would say, first and foremost if you're
intimidated, that feels thatyou're not confident enough that
you're ready for that raise.
That's how I honestly feel.
Number two, make sure you'regoing in for the raise for the
right reason, not for personalreasons.
Make sure it's based onprofessional, of course, like
you stated about inflation andthings of that nature,
(33:11):
everybody's going through that.
That's not just one person, notone individual person's concern
at this point.
So are you to say, oh, I'm aboutto get evicted, so I need a
raise?
No, please do not make itpersonal.
Always make it professional,pertaining to the reason why
you're going or requesting araise or a salary increase,
pertaining to the reason whyyou're going or requesting a
raise or a salary increase.
And so, to sum it up, do yourresearch.
(33:34):
Don't go ask for a raise andyou're getting paid $3,000 more
above average compared toeverybody else within an
organization or a company.
If you're at least over apercentage, a midpoint, it's a
lot that you want to make sure,as you stated, do your research,
please do research prior toasking for a raise and make sure
(33:56):
you bring in the information asfar as what I have provided to
receive this raise.
Also, make sure you are at anexceeds or outstanding level in
your position as well.
I don't feel comfortable.
I would feel comfortable orashamed to ask for a raise, and
(34:17):
I know that my work is verysubpar.
You will be surprised thatcertain people will come and ask
for a raise.
Their performance is verysubpar.
Make sure that you are comingin with that positive attitude,
with the experience of sayinghey, I've been in this position
XYZ, I have done blah blah blah,I have assisted with blah blah
(34:38):
blah, I have stepped in blahblah blah, and I've done this on
a continuous basis.
People have come to me as theperson with the expertise in
this area.
I feel that at this point, Ishould be eligible for a raise.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Yolanda, it has been great having you here again.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
A lot of good information.
Speaker 1 (34:59):
I'm telling you this is really good.
This is a conversation that cango on and on, because I'd
almost love to ask that nextquestion of is it who you know
or what you know?
But we'll save that for anothertime because I have to go ahead
.
I think we want a separate sideto it too, right?
Yes, we were, because I have togo ahead and make sure I
provide some blueprint buildingblocks for our listeners which,
based off of today's episode,get that brag book together If
(35:21):
you have not been keeping upwith your accomplishments.
make sure that you aredocumenting everything you do
inside and outside the workplace.
So if you're volunteering, ifyou're doing some work, maybe
with a friend or family member,put that information in your
brag book.
You never know how importantthat will be.
If you're not on LinkedIn, ifyou're not using social media to
network and leverage, challengeyourself to get that done, and
(35:43):
that's our Blueprint BuildingBlocks for today.
I'm Kim Chapman with MoneyMatters.
Welcome to another edition of Money Matters.
I am so excited today to haveYolanda Whitmore join me back
again so that we can continueour conversation on, basically,
how are we going to use ourcareers, our income, to better
our financial situations.
So on our previous episode,that's what we talked about
salaries versus benefits.
I take a job that's maybepaying me a little bit less, but
(00:22):
I have better benefits thatwork with my lifestyle.
But now we want to refocus andtalk about, now that you have
that job, how can you leverageyour career?
How can you maximize yourincome potential?
How do we even know what yourincome potential is, your net
worth?
So guess what?
Yolanda has come back today tohelp us answer some of those
questions.
(00:42):
Thank you for having me.
I think after our last episode,we got into such a deep
conversation about what we'regoing to talk about today and
that was so compelling that Iwas like, yes, we have to come
back and talk about it Becausenow for those individuals that
have a job, you may say thatepisode wasn't helpful for me
because I have a job already.
So now we're going to talkabout if you have that job, if
you're in the career that youwant to be.
(01:04):
How do you leverage that?
How do you go to the next leveland you may say this is a
personal finance podcast.
What does that have to do withanything?
Every day we're talking toindividuals that are in
situations that they need moreincome, and so sometimes it's
easier said than done.
Does that mean that you need totake a part-time job, change
(01:24):
careers?
Maybe not, but hopefully whatwe discussed today will give you
some insight in what you can dowhere you are, to maybe get to
that next level.
How do you ask for a raise andI'm going to start right there
with your loan at HR.
How do you do that?
If I want more money, do I justgo up to my boss and say look,
(01:47):
slide this little sheet of paperover and say can we add a zero
to that?
Absolutely, that's all you haveto do.
Can I expect to get an answer?
Can I expect to have a jobafter that sheet of paper slid
over to that side?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Absolutely.
This is what I'm saying.
First and foremost, if you arein a place where you feel that
you should be receiving a raise,I have a couple of things that
I say to a person before youchoose to slide that piece of
paper across the table to yourmanager how long have you been
in that position?
(02:21):
There are some people thatwould be in a position for three
months and feel that they havemastered and say, oh, it's time
for me to get a raise, so it'stime for me to push that paper
over, just like you did.
I need a raise, but you didn'texplain the reason why you would
need a raise.
But what I suggest to people,first and foremost, be in your
(02:42):
position and become comfortablein your position within six
months.
If that's comfortable andyou're like if I accepted a
position, I accepted that salaryyou should not be asking for a
raise in three weeks because youfelt okay with that salary in
the beginning.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
But inflation has hit in those three weeks.
Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Understandable in that aspect.
But one thing I always tellpeople don't put your personal
to ask for a raise, for instance, like you just say, oh, it's
inflation, oh, I got to pay mybills, oh, I got to pay my car
now.
Oh, I got stuff going on, so Ineed a raise.
It should be about yourperformance, what you're
actually doing at work, or ifcertain things change within
(03:21):
work, where you may have hadsomeone that was in a department
and they are actually no longerin the department and it's been
several months.
You've been taking up that role.
You've been doing those dutiesand your duties at an
exceptional level.
They see that I can do bothjobs and I'm comfortable.
I'm not stressed out, I'm notburnt out, I'm okay with doing
(03:41):
both of those jobs.
I think it's about time now.
I've been at this company alittle bit over a year and a
half.
I think it's time and I'mcomfortable and I have the
information and they see thatI'm doing both jobs and doing
both jobs well.
I can bring my job descriptionto the table with my letter and
state hey, these are the dutiesthat I've been doing.
As you stated, I've been doingthese things at an exceptional
(04:04):
level as well, I have picked upthese additional duties as well
and I continue to do those.
What I am suggesting andrequesting is may I or can I get
a raise or possibly blend thesepositions together where I can
actually get an increase?
That's a way that you canactually come to the table.
I just tell people do not cometo the table just saying I need
(04:25):
a raise, or, oh, I'm coming tothe table, I want a raise.
If not, because we can flipthat conversation as well.
Oh, they got me doing all thiswork because we need another
person, another body there.
But you're frustrated.
You have an attitude with doingthis extra work as well, as
you're not doing it to theability that you could do.
It is very subpar.
(04:46):
But the economy at this pointthere's not anybody applying for
this position.
So what you do is push thatpaper over and say, oh, I need a
raise, if not, I'm going toquit.
So it can be reversed.
But that's not what you want todo, because sometimes you would
be rather surprised.
Some organizations will be like, okay, that's your choice.
So you could put yourself in acatch-22 where you threaten a
(05:08):
company, so you never know.
So that's why I say anytime youwant to actually go to the
table because it's a negotiationat that point where you're
requesting a raise.
So when you do that, you wantto do that as professional as
possible.
Bring your information, bringthe reasons why you feel that
you are qualified for that raise.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
And, in keeping with that, if I look at my salary and
say, ok, I want to raise, I'vebeen working hard, how do I, as
the employee, determine what theappropriate amount to ask for?
How can I find out what myworth is in terms of the company
to say, okay, I want a 10%, Iwant a 5%, I want a 15% raise?
How can I measure that so thatI can present it to my employer
(05:53):
and feel confident that it is areasonable amount?
So how can I really come to thetable?
I'm confident in saying I'vedone a great job, I have
excellent service, etc.
But how can I be confident inthat number I put on that sheet
of paper and slide over isreasonable?
Speaker 2 (06:11):
OK, what you want to know.
First and foremost, you saidthat you've done your research.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
If your salary is in that range, my research in terms
of what I'm making sure I'vedone, dotted all my I's and
crossed out my T's for my rolein anything extra.
So if I'm completely in thedark about what I should expect
beyond, how do I do thatresearch?
Where should I do that research?
Speaker 2 (06:34):
The way I tell people .
First, you can go to BLS, whichis the Bureau of Labor
Statisticsgov.
That gives you a plethora ofinformation compared to where
you can find information onbenchmarking within your
positions.
Also, look locally If you areat an organization for instance,
we're at a credit union All thecredit unions are financial
(06:55):
institutions in and around thesurrounding area and verify what
those salaries actually are inthose positions.
Usually you can find thatinformation on job descriptions,
job postings, or you can pullthat up sometimes and get that
information directly off theinternet and you would verify.
Usually, hey, I see down thestreet they're paying $5,000
more for a similar position.
(07:16):
And when I tell people that youget that information or you can
get that data, sometimes whenyou bring it to us, we can go
into as far as I would be morebasic, as far as, like a teller.
We know a teller here is ateller the same usually in
majority other organizations.
So it's easier to leverage tosay, oh, this organization is
(07:39):
paying their tellers $15 an hour.
However, I'm only getting paid$13 an hour here.
But I can see, hey, I've doneeverything that a teller can do.
I'm actually stepping up,helping the assistant branch
manager or things like that.
What you're going to see isthat at that point you're
bringing that information andthat attention up that maybe
(08:00):
that organization did not noticethat, hey, these organizations
now are paying those, ourmajority of their tellers, at
$15 an hour.
That's just an example that I'musing so that can actually
bring the attention and is hey,at this point we may be lowball
or not paying our employees orwhat they're worth.
At that point the organizationitself can take a look where a
(08:21):
raise doesn't even have to beinvolved.
They can make adjustmentsthemselves across the board.
If there's something that is ina position that is completely
out of the norm and you're wayskewed, I tell people as well.
Even though it's the same jobtitle, it doesn't mean your
duties are the same.
Sometimes you may get a no, andeven if you get a no or a
(08:44):
decline for that salary thatyou're requesting, ask the
questions why?
Because you will be surprisedsometimes of why the answer was
a no or not at this time.
It could be the fact that theorganization right now have a
freeze on actually any type ofraises or promotions, because we
can be going, or anorganization can be going
(09:05):
through some type of financialstrain and it could be at the
point we cannot, as anorganization right now, give
increases to our employees rightnow.
So sometimes there's always awhy, sometimes even behind the
no or the no not right now.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
You said, okay, they see what you're doing, they
recognize your work, but is thatalways the case?
What if they're not?
What can you do as an employeeto make sure if you're going
above and beyond to make sureyour supervisors recognize that,
so that if you are going to askfor that raise, if you are
going to ask for something inaddition, that it is recognized?
(09:42):
I know that some companiesoffer an annual review.
How important is an annualreview, or even a
self-assessment in terms of that?
And then, beyond thatself-assessment, is it okay to
toot your own horn?
What can you do so that, if youwant to ask for a raise, or if
you want to just show them that,hey, maybe you don't have to
(10:02):
ask for it, you want to put itout there so that they're going
to come to you and say, look,we've seen you do this, we've
seen you do all of these extratasks.
How can you make sure that yoursuperiors or your supervisors
are aware of what you're doing?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Okay, I'll try to answer all 15 questions.
First and foremost, on thisaspect, I tell everyone, even
the people that I do mentor,keep a brag book, that brag book
.
There's nothing wrong with it.
Anything that you do out of thenorm, out of the ordinary,
write it in that brag book.
So when it's that time, if youare at an organization that
(10:38):
actually does annual performancereviews, do that
self-evaluation on yourself orgive that information to your
manager, because sometimes youhave to understand managers may
manage several or more employeesand they're not probably
remembering what you did at amoment.
And when you bring that back totheir memory because you know
(10:58):
what you have, wrote all thosememories down in that brag book.
So when it's time for thatreview, oh, I'm going to let you
know everything I did thesepast 12 months, just to refresh
your memory.
Managers appreciate that.
And when they're like, wow,this person did do all of these
things and I'm sorry I did notrecall, yeah, he did work on the
committee.
Yes, he did work extra hoursand when accounting needed help,
(11:21):
they wanted some backup ifpossible when he used to work in
the accounting department.
So those type of things put inyour brag book.
Put anything work-related, evennon-work-related, that can be
volunteer-focused.
For instance, if you volunteerto work for the Cancer Society
on the weekends and things likethat and you know that your
(11:41):
organization isvolunteer-focused, make sure you
actually add those things,because, keep in mind, some
personal things that you dooutside of work can also help
you inside within your job.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
All right.
So I want to bring it back inand narrow it down.
Are there any key, maybe two orthree things that you would say
if you're going to go in andask for a raise that you should
be prepared to present, and ifyou are declined, are there two
or three key things that youwant to know before you walk out
the door?
In terms of why is it just theno, an updated?
Speaker 2 (12:15):
resume.
Okay, bring your updated resumeand your current job
description, because at thatpoint you're giving your manager
an opportunity to be like okay,these are the job duties that I
have.
However, on my current resume,these are the previous companies
and organizations that I workedfor, so they know what your
(12:36):
history is as well.
You're just refreshing them atthat point, but you're letting
them know I've been at thiscompany X amount of months or
years.
These duties now have evolved.
This is what is stated on myjob description.
That's when you bring out yourbrag book with you and you let
them know.
But these are some of thethings that have been added to
my duties, so you're gonna letthem know I that have been added
(12:57):
to my duties, so you're goingto let them know I'm doing this,
I'm doing this and I'm doingthis.
And also be comfortable, letthem know this has been removed
or because I have started this,I have improved this in
efficiencies you want to letthem know all the things that
you've done to improve theposition that you're currently
in.
Now, keep in mind, I let peopleknow as well.
(13:19):
But if it's a plethora of peoplelike if you are in a contact
center, for instance, and it's40 contact center people taking
calls and y'all have all thesame duties.
However, to ask for a raise andeverybody's doing the same thing
at the same level, sometimes itmay be a little different and
you will have to find a way toactually, I guess, stand out.
Sometimes it may be a littledifferent and it'll be.
You will have to find a way toactually, I guess, stand out to
(13:41):
me when you bring thatinformation and you are standing
out because you're doing overand beyond, taking on extra
duties and things like that itcan be more of.
Maybe I need a job change,maybe I don't need to be in the
same position as all these other38, 39 other contact center
(14:03):
reps.
You can actually pivot andchange that conversation as well
of yes, I'm asking for a raise,but I understand that these
raises may not happen becauseit's a group of us or whatever.
I'm asking for a raise, butalso I'm asking for a position
change or a position titlechange.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
You must be reading my mind, because that's
literally what I wanted to talkabout next, in terms of you've
been on a job, you've beencomfortable, you've been in this
position and you may realizethat at that position you've
reached the ceiling.
So when is it appropriate tostart looking at other positions
?
I know that there are someemployees that will apply for
(14:36):
everything.
Everything that comes up is I'mgoing to apply.
Tell me your feelings aboutthat internally.
Is that a good look?
Does that say that you'reambitious?
Or how do you think that'sperceived in the corporate world
if you have an employee thatevery time there's a position
available, they're applying?
And then what is yourrecommendation in terms of
(14:58):
giving thought to the positionsthat might be available?
Speaker 2 (15:02):
I think that person is still trying to find
themselves.
Okay, I don't tell anyone notto apply for something because
they may feel like I thoughtthis was a good fit for me but
maybe it's not.
Some people may have to goaround the world three times
before they find out.
Hey, this is my home.
I don't say that it's looked atany way, whether negative or
positive.
That's just me personally.
(15:22):
That's the way I take it,especially when I feel if they
are seasoned in their positionand we do use performance
reviews here.
So if you are exceeding oroutstanding at that type of
level in your position thatyou're currently in, I can see
sometimes where you may feelstagnant or at a plateau and
(15:43):
you're looking for somethingdifferent.
If there's a position that doescome up that you feel that you
are qualified for and you domeet those qualifications,
absolutely apply.
If you are in a position andyou are still learning that
position or learning thoseduties, do I feel comfortable
for you to apply for a positionand you are still learning that
position, are learning thoseduties?
Do I feel comfortable for youto apply for a position that you
(16:04):
pretty much may not bequalified for?
I can't stop you.
All I can do is tell you orgive you the phone call and say
unfortunately you did not meetthe qualifications.
And do we do that a good bit oftimes for a lot of what?
Yeah, as long as you meet thequalifications, you're eligible
to apply for those positions,and it depends on what you do in
that interview at that point.
(16:25):
But I strongly suggest thatwhen you do apply, first and
foremost, especially for aninternal position, make sure
your resume is updated.
I think that's more so our petpeeve than you applying for $50
million.
Anytime a position opens, it'sbecause you've been in a
position for three years, you'vebeen employed with us for those
(16:47):
entire three years and when youapply for that position, that's
the resume that we're receiving.
It's not telling us that youeven work here at no not in
three years, which is supposedto be looking over my shoulder,
exactly.
So first and foremost, even ifyou're applying internally for a
position, update the resumes,your resumes.
You should be literallyhonestly updating or just
looking at it at least once ortwice a year, because duties
(17:10):
change in jobs.
So that's one thing I say.
Make sure your resume is up todate in that aspect.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Well, look, we're going to pivot, because that's
why I asked him, because I knowI won't remember, but I want to
pivot.
And this is still in this samearea career development and this
is a great debate question thatyou and I discussed in a
similar meeting, and it's careerdevelopment who should, who is
the responsibility of more?
Is it the employee or theemployer?
Speaker 2 (17:41):
responsibility of more.
Is it the employee or theemployer?
Just to let you know, I thinkwhen I stepped on the side, it's
more of the employee'sresponsibility for
self-development.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
And I was on the other side, but I'll let you go
first.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Okay.
And the reason why I statedthat is that, if just me
personally, I feel that if youdo not take stake in your own
career development and putyourself out there and let your
managers know, hey, I'm takingextra classes, I've signed up,
I'm getting my master's, I'mgetting my doctorate, I'm taking
certifications, I'm doing thesethings and I'm choosing to do
(18:09):
these things on my own, itdoesn't have to be your manager
or your organization'sresponsibility to say, hey, it's
your responsibility or it'stheir responsibility for your
career development.
And I think we're missing thatmajor word that was in the
difference of who's moreresponsible.
That's the more word.
(18:30):
I'm not saying that employersare not responsible for their
employees' growth, but, however,they're not the one that is
majority that responsibility isfor.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
And so I was on the other side, and one of the
reasons that I was on that otherside is the fear of not knowing
what you don't know.
And so I think that, as anemployer, you have to present
those opportunities.
Yes, it's the employee'sinitiative.
They need to have themotivation to take advantage of
them.
But if you don't know XYZexists, how can you take
(19:02):
advantage of it?
If you don't know that thiscompany allows for
cross-training, offers theseopportunities, how will you know
, especially if you're in anentry-level position in any
corporation?
If you don't know what exists,how can you take advantage of it
?
So, yes, I may be developing mycareer outside, like you said,
furthering my education, butwithin that corporation, I do
(19:23):
think that the organization hasthat responsibility to not only,
not just, provide thoseopportunities but to make sure
employees are aware of it, whichI can say, neighbors, is
definitely doing a great job,because this all came about
through our Sink MentorshipProgram.
I posed that question to.
Because this all came aboutthrough our Sink Mentorship
Program.
I posed that question to aboutwouldn't you agree about?
80% of the room was on theemployee side, and so I pivoted
(19:44):
and I asked the question.
I said now raise your hand.
How many of you have been in amentorship program before
Neighbors?
And there were only maybe abouttwo hands up, and so I felt
that those two individuals, yes,that on their own initiative
they were developing their owncareer, whereas I felt the rest
of them, the reason that you arenow involved in this program,
(20:05):
is because your employee ieneighbor shout out was offering
that particular opportunity.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
And absolutely I did believe in that, and that's when
I say again, shout out toneighbors, we actually do
amazing in self-development aswell as employee and employer
developments.
As far as I've been here almost18 years, and from my previous
organization even though it wasa multi-billion dollar
organization they did notbelieve in self-development as
(20:33):
employees, you had to developyourself.
They wasn't paying for you togo to conferences, they were not
paying for any type ofmentorship programs, anything of
that nature.
It did not matter what positionyou were in, whether you were
on the C-suite levels or not.
So that was one of the thingsthat was completely different
here at Neighbors.
That's one of the things thatwe do foster.
(20:54):
We believe in actually trainingour employees.
We believe in actually and I'llgive the example of training.
Our trainings are extensive,they run, whereas other
organizations then that was oneof the benefits People say, oh,
my goodness, y'all do a trainingthat long.
Yes, we do.
Where some people say I trainedin just three days, yeah, it's
(21:14):
just the fact we want to makesure we give people a foundation
and we want our employees togrow.
And that's one of the thingswhy we do believe we're
promoting from within, becausewe feel that when we have our
employees here, we don't want tonot have them grow, we don't
want them to not mature, wedon't want them to not learn
anything else.
(21:34):
We want them to actually growand grow within their
organizations.
When they ask certain questionsabout hey, I want to know more
about this, that's what we say.
Your manager is there and yourmanager is supposed to be there,
like you stated, and you madethe comment as far as if you
don't know, if you're very green, how would I know about?
It's okay for me to have theseopportunities to go out and to
(21:55):
actually learn and to further myeducation or just further my
knowledge.
And one of the things also justto plug out there is that we do
tuition reimbursement.
So there's a lot of companiesand organizations that do that
as well.
But that's just one of thethings as we support.
We support people to actuallyfurther their education and
that's why we do have that typeof program put in place.
(22:16):
But again, it is still theemployee's responsibility if
they want to actually growwithin the organization, if you
want to be a leader or if youwant to move up within the
organization, sometimes you haveto be the person to take
initiative and when that managersee you as that person that's
taking initiative, they would belike, okay, they've came to me,
(22:37):
they told me that they wereinterested in these
certifications.
They're in the IT department.
They should know about certaincertifications.
Whether you're green or not,you know about something in
those positions, whether it bein my department, where they're
talking about certaincertifications pertaining to
human resources, and they cometo me and say, hey, I feel this
would be a benefit for me tolearn as well, as I can bring
(22:59):
that information and myknowledge, become more
knowledgeable in this department, and that will, in turn, help
the organization.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Right, excuse me.
We've shared a lot ofinformation in terms of what can
you do within the company.
Obviously, all of this isfocused because we want to look
at how can we increase ourincomes to keep up with
inflation, to make sure we canretire, to make sure we can take
care of our families.
But of course, we don't live ina perfect world and sometimes
things just may not work out atthat organization and you may
(23:27):
have to start looking at othercompanies, other organizations,
to maybe get the income that youneed.
So let's kind of circle backand talk about resumes.
How important are resumes andwhat are the tools that you
think are vitally crucial today?
Because resumes almost feel alittle antiquated when you have
tools like LinkedIn.
Keep them updated.
Is that really going to help meget a job a little bit more?
(23:51):
And then I want to talk alittle bit about those tools
like LinkedIn and how importanta role they can play in helping
you with your career path.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Resumes are not antiquated by any means.
That is still what a persongets to know about you, first
and foremost, before they evenhear your voice across the phone
, things of that nature.
So one thing I do suggest isalways, when you're actually
looking at your resume, makesure it's up to date.
If you're applying forpositions, whether internal,
(24:21):
within your job, if youcurrently have a job or if
you're actually seeking, makesure that resume is up to date.
Make sure you review it, makesure things on your resume is
actually antiquated.
You don't want to be sayingthat you're proficient in
Microsoft 98 or whatever.
It's been 20 years people.
So you just want to make sureyou're up to date with the
(24:44):
technology, because people willbe surprised oh, nobody uses
this anymore, things like that.
So you want to make sure thatinformation you are updating, or
if you actually have any typeof new certifications, or if you
have actually finished yourdegree and it wasn't on your
resume before, make sure you addthose informations.
Or if you join any type oforganizations, make sure you add
(25:07):
that information as well.
So I always say make sure youupdate your resume.
You'll be rather surprised whatyou'll look back and be like oh
, last year I actually completedthis certification.
It's not on my resume.
I may need to add it to myresume.
Just why I say look at it everysix months to a year, because
at that point you won't forgetthat I need to add this to my
(25:27):
resume.
And when an opportunity arisesbecause we're going to speak on
LinkedIn, like you just statedto me, linkedin is more so of a
networking opportunity as wellas to put yourself out there.
If there's hedge huntersprobably looking, they're going
to look at LinkedIn when they'relooking for somebody or for a
certain position.
That's one of the possibilitiesof places that they do go look.
I say keep that up to date aswell, because when organizations
(25:52):
may be looking for a certainposition or a certain
professional position, they cango to LinkedIn and be like, hey,
we're looking for XYZ, and theypull up and they see people
that's in the local area whereyou're located, your experience.
So, as often as you update that, update your LinkedIn, get that
information and as well I saythat to pivot to the piece of
(26:12):
networking when you're actuallyusing that type of tool or any
type of social outlet toactually update or put your
information out there, that's away to connect, and that's a way
to connect with other people aswell.
Some people may use that to seehey, this person is an expert in
marketing and has been anexpert in marketing for over 20
years.
We have this situation that'sgoing on.
(26:34):
I wonder if I can just reachout to them and see if they'll
be able to help me and to assistme on a certain question or
concern.
But you, because you at thattime, you now met a person and
you have that type ofcamaraderie.
You never know in the futurethat person may think about you
when somebody is asking about,hey, do you know anybody
pertaining to marketing that maybe looking for a job or an
opportunity?
And the first thing theyremember, like bub, hey, on
(26:56):
LinkedIn I sent out thisquestion.
I asked and they respondedthat's the opportunity to
network.
When you put yourself out thereon LinkedIn, you're not just
putting out your resume, you'regiving yourself to be a person,
to actually network with others.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
As well and I can definitely testify that it works
not personally, because myLinkedIn page is probably needs
to be dusted off, but I'll bringmy son into this.
He's used LinkedIn and he's hadan internship with companies
like Formula One, dukeUniversity and now he's living
his best life over at Disney,working for ESPN.
And all of this has beenthrough him, leveraging and
(27:29):
networking through LinkedIn.
So definitely platforms likeLinkedIn are really good.
What other tools out there doyou think are really useful if
you're trying to stay, maybe, inyour career, even going to a
different career, but to getthat exposure to find, for you,
to find those opportunities orfor those opportunities to come
and find you?
I tell people personally.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
If you're in professional positions such as
human resources, internal audit,talent development, marketing,
there are local organizationsthat specifically cater to those
groups.
Make sure you are part of thoseorganizations and those groups.
There could be localorganizations or local chapters
that actually give you anopportunity to mingle with
(28:12):
people within your type ofposition that you are currently
looking for.
Put yourself in those places.
Put yourself in those spaces.
If that's not one of the bestthings that you can do, because
at that point I'm putting myselfout there I want as many people
to know me and know my face andknow my name so if any
opportunity comes up, my name ison the tip of their tongue.
(28:34):
So I tell people all the timeput yourself out there to
network.
I know some people feel like,oh, once I got a job, that's
fine, but that's not always it.
You can be in a job for adecade or even longer still.
Network because you never knowwhat can happen or what
blessings can lie ahead becauseof networking.
So that's why I always say youwant to put yourself out there,
(28:55):
and some ways to do that isjoining other organizations or
certain groups that actually canassist with your growth and
development.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
So I want to spend a minute and let's talk about
leveraging titles.
You mentioned talentdevelopment and so maybe our
listeners that may not know.
Let's talk about what isactually talent development
department in terms of neighbors.
That's our training department.
So how important are titles,not just for departments, but
even in your profession, interms of, if I were updating my
(29:26):
resume, what would be moreappropriate that I am the VP of
the training department or theVP of talent development?
What is going to be receivedbetter in your opinion?
Speaker 2 (29:38):
It depends on what the organization, more so, has
transitioned over to talentdevelopment.
Years ago, the early 2000s, itwas training.
Everybody is your trainingdepartment, so things actually
tend to evolve and sometimesthat means that job titles do
evolve.
It means that I'm saying thatthis needs to change because,
(30:00):
yes, we're the trainingdepartment, but what is our main
focus?
Our job is to develop talent,so we feel that speaks more to
us.
So at this point we see that weare the talent development
department.
A lot of people can understandbecause that's what we do.
We grow talent and we developit.
We're not just training peopleand sending them off, we're
going to develop those people aswell.
(30:22):
Job titles begin to evolvedepending on what those duties
are at the time.
Sometimes you have to take astep back.
Just on the flip side, with jobtitles.
I can use an example here.
We had to hire for some seniormember advocates and it was
rather interesting the resumesthat were coming in.
Yes, I'm very comfortable withworking senior citizens.
(30:42):
I'm willing to help the elderly.
I'm more than happy to assistthem with any type of needs that
they may have.
And wait a minute, while we'redoing this, did our applicant,
did this mix up with a nursinghome or a nursing facility.
It was like no, it says seniormember advocate.
And what does that mean forneighbors?
What that means?
It's pretty much ourrepresentatives, our financial
(31:02):
service offices.
For the most part they arepretty much in the financial
field, assisting our membersthat come in with any type of
financial needs or concerns.
So we were like I think it'stime for a title change because
at that point, if it's going toconfuse our candidates that are
applying for it, just imaginehow that confused our members as
(31:24):
well.
So sometimes a job title can bea miss and not a hit for you.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
So you have to look at it both ways, and so we had
member advocates and seniormember advocates, which we were
not referring to, the seasonedindividuals.
So, how important though, is it, if I have a resume, that I
want to convey that I was notjust at the base level of a
member advocate, I was at asenior level.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
It should be posted on your resume.
You can say that you are asenior member because that is
currently your job title.
So you would put that on yourresume and I think some people,
when you're doing your resume,some people would automatically
be like okay, if I've been in anorganization for five or six
years but I've held severaltitles or several positions and
there are different duties underthere, Put those previous jobs
(32:12):
that you had within thatorganization because you can be
short changing yourself in otherareas.
If you're especially lookingfor positions internally or
externally, because you have tokeep in mind the person that you
are actually sitting acrossfrom in that interview may not
be aware of those previousduties that you do, even though
you were in other positions.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
I think I want to end with what advice would you give
somebody that wants to ask fora raise?
Because I think, secretly, weall would like a little bit more
than what we have, no matterwhat our position is, no matter
what our income is.
But I could see that someindividuals might be intimidated
about approaching theirsupervisor about a raise.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
I would say, first and foremost if you're
intimidated, that feels thatyou're not confident enough that
you're ready for that raise.
That's how I honestly feel.
Number two, make sure you'regoing in for the raise for the
right reason, not for personalreasons.
Make sure it's based onprofessional, of course, like
you stated about inflation andthings of that nature,
(33:11):
everybody's going through that.
That's not just one person, notone individual person's concern
at this point.
So are you to say, oh, I'm aboutto get evicted, so I need a
raise?
No, please do not make itpersonal.
Always make it professional,pertaining to the reason why
you're going or requesting araise or a salary increase,
pertaining to the reason whyyou're going or requesting a
raise or a salary increase.
And so, to sum it up, do yourresearch.
(33:34):
Don't go ask for a raise andyou're getting paid $3,000 more
above average compared toeverybody else within an
organization or a company.
If you're at least over apercentage, a midpoint, it's a
lot that you want to make sure,as you stated, do your research,
please do research prior toasking for a raise and make sure
(33:56):
you bring in the information asfar as what I have provided to
receive this raise.
Also, make sure you are at anexceeds or outstanding level in
your position as well.
I don't feel comfortable.
I would feel comfortable orashamed to ask for a raise, and
(34:17):
I know that my work is verysubpar.
You will be surprised thatcertain people will come and ask
for a raise.
Their performance is verysubpar.
Make sure that you are comingin with that positive attitude,
with the experience of sayinghey, I've been in this position
XYZ, I have done blah blah blah,I have assisted with blah blah
(34:38):
blah, I have stepped in blahblah blah, and I've done this on
a continuous basis.
People have come to me as theperson with the expertise in
this area.
I feel that at this point, Ishould be eligible for a raise.
Speaker 1 (34:54):
Yolanda, it has been great having you here again.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
A lot of good information.
Speaker 1 (34:59):
I'm telling you this is really good.
This is a conversation that cango on and on, because I'd
almost love to ask that nextquestion of is it who you know
or what you know?
But we'll save that for anothertime because I have to go ahead
.
I think we want a separate sideto it too, right?
Yes, we were, because I have togo ahead and make sure I
provide some blueprint buildingblocks for our listeners which,
based off of today's episode,get that brag book together If
(35:21):
you have not been keeping upwith your accomplishments.
make sure that you aredocumenting everything you do
inside and outside the workplace.
So if you're volunteering, ifyou're doing some work, maybe
with a friend or family member,put that information in your
brag book.
You never know how importantthat will be.
If you're not on LinkedIn, ifyou're not using social media to
network and leverage, challengeyourself to get that done, and
(35:43):
that's our Blueprint BuildingBlocks for today.
I'm Kim Chapman with MoneyMatters.
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