10 Completely Sincere Reasons As To Why I Deserve A Raise

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These were written in no particular order as a venting mechanism for the author.

1. I live paycheck to paycheck every week. So do countless other people. I sort of consider it a rite of passage and a necessary stepping stone for a young professional, but after 3 years, I’m #overit. I doubt you’d feel comfortable knowing your child was expected to put in 40+ hours of work and live in New York on just over minimum wage/week. Which, with all taxes taken out because she can’t afford to pay anything in April, actually leaves her with far less than that.

2. I have been a full-time employee for over one year, at which point — unless the employee royally fucks up or generally sucks — there is normally an automatic [albeit slight] pay-increase out of good faith/company loyalty/longevity/whatever, but mostly due to the inevitable increase in the cost of living. Indeed, my rent has gone up since last year. The Mexican joint lunch special has increased from $7 to $10. Yet here I am.

3. I’m really good at my job. Our total profits up to this point in 2014 are higher than all of 2013 put together. Several clients have written me post-service saying how easy I made everything and let’s do this again. In short, I’m making you more money.

4. I can’t prepare for my future. I’m currently on my parents’ health insurance and only recently became eligible to put money into my 401k. Which means that I’m taking home slightly more than the legal weekly minimum without taking anything out for insurance or retirement. So when I turn 26 and Obamacare’s like, k baiii, I will be expected to live on less than minimum wage if I want to have [government-mandated] healthcare and plan ahead.

5. The principle of the matter. My friends are freelance dancers/nannies — one of whom does not have a college degree — and make more money than me. This is not at all a commentary on their qualifications or merit, but rather one on the importance we place on education and having a “good, steady job”.

6. I have great ideas about outreach and expanding our department. I categorize each of our clients into genres so we can then blast them with specific promotions. Through this database I notice purchasing trends and can thus develop outreach timelines that will produce the maximum return.

7. People love me. This is incredibly narcissistic but it’s true — despite an underlying sense of sarcasm and that fact that my favorite emoticon is: -________-, I am, at heart, a people person. I can talk to anyone, I understand what kind of communication makes people comfortable, I have an engaging and welcoming demeanor at conferences, i.e: in a department in which your main goal is customer service, keyword: customer, subtext: a person, I am invaluable.

8. I’m hungry. Literally, probably yes (see: #1), but also figuratively. I’m single. I don’t have kids or ailing parents. I want to travel everywhere and see everything. I can easily pick up and go across the country for work. I will reach out to that random person with amazing sales or admin experience and seek their advice on how to better do my job. I want to learn. I want to grow. I want to try that new sales tactic and show face at this cocktail party. I am not stagnant and will not let my work be either.

9. I am smart and talented with a Bachelor’s degree with honors from an Ivy League university. I should be compensated accordingly.

10. I LOVE MY JOB. When speaking about my work and what I can do for a client I ooze with genuine enthusiasm. I eat up every aspect of our industry, and do things that could be considered work activities for fun. I just want to continue doing it so please help me be able to afford to do so.

featured image – Shutterstock