grindin’
Thanks to all for your congratulations and advice!
Now, after a nice three-day weekend (my job gave me the day off on Friday when the big news broke), it’s time to get back to the grind. This is where stuff starts to get interesting. I don’t know what will happen next. But for right now, I’m just going back to work with a few things in mind.
First, there’s a small matter of reimbursement to deal with. I asked my employer for help with a prep course that I took to help prepare me for the exam. Some of the reimbursement was contingent on my passing the exam, which I’ve done. Tomorrow, I go to our accountant to get my company to make good on that reimbursement.
Secondly, my boss suggested a change in title before I flew out the door on Friday, but it was what I’ll call, "light conversation." If we will change my title and responsibilities, then we should discuss my employer’s expectations and my expectations for what those additional responsibilities will be and what compensation will accompany these changes. I’m ashamed to say it, but I didn’t negotiate my salary coming into my current position. I was unemployed and happy to have an offer. I believe that in any further talks with my employer about compensation, I’d better correct that mistake. When I told my honey about my situation, he bought me this: "Perfect Phrases for Negotiating Salary & Job Offers: Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Phrases to Help You Get the Best Salary, Perks, or Promotion," by Matthew J. DeLuca and Nanette F. DeLuca. It’s helpful stuff that I paged through the other night. Also, I’ll put in some calls to some women I’ve met networking to get their advice on my situation. In addition, there’s always payscale.com.
If I’m not quite prepared yet when my boss brings up the subject, I’ll ask for a moment to think about any offers before responding, but with this in mind: I don’t want to leave my company and even if I did, I don’t have anywhere to go if I leave. I like my boss, my work environment, my commute, and my benefits. And I have an emergency fund that won’t get me through a month’s unemployment. I’m staying on, for now. That said, I’m not going to be unprepared if our negotiations don’t end where I want them to. I’m in the midst of updating my resume. I will also be networking more and making more professional contacts.
If anyone has any other suggestions, have at it! I just don’t want to sell myself short. In the meantime… I’ll be grindin’.
