Dear Annie:I've been at my current job for about four years, during which I've survived several rounds of company-wide layoffs, made it through a huge, disruptive merger, and reported to five different bosses. I manage multiple brands for a wide range of products, and my knowledge of our operations and our customers is immense. My responsibilities have increased steadily since I started, and I'm involved in major decisions at both the strategic and tactical levels. In addition, I've built strong relationships with everyone here and I know my boss likes my work.
All good, right? But here's the problem. Strangely, I just found out that a colleague of mine, who has the same title and duties I have but who was hired just last year, is making $14,000 a year more than I am. This is hard to swallow, not only because I've been here longer, but because I was the one who trained this person. I understand we're in a down economy and so on, but this just doesn't seem fair. How can I convince my boss that I deserve more money, without giving away my direct knowledge of what my coworker is making? —Seething Quietly
Dear S.Q.:Over the past couple of years, so many companies have frozen salaries for existing employees, but not for new hires (even if they never announced they were doing this), that your situation is doubtless more common than you think.
For one thing, extra dough -- recruiters call it an "open-market premium" -- often goes to job candidates wooed from outside. What's more, it's rare even for people in the same job to be exactly alike in every way. Your colleague may have credentials or experience you don't have, which could account for some of the discrepancy in pay.
But in practical terms, your coworker's compensation doesn't matter. What will make or break your chances of getting a substantial raise is how persuasive you can be in explaining why you are worth more than you're paid now.
Your timing is good. This time of year, as department heads firm up their budgets for 2012, is the right moment to negotiate a pay hike. This is especially true if your company is hiring, and even more so if you happen to work in a thriving industry.
"A lot depends on what you do and what business you do it in," says Katie Bardaro, lead research analyst at PayScale.com, a site that tracks compensation trends. "If you're in high tech, health care, energy, or any engineering field, the odds that you can get a real raise -- as opposed to just a token cost-of-living adjustment -- are actually pretty high now. If you're in a struggling industry like manufacturing or construction, the likelihood is less."
