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    8 tips on how to get a raise or promotion in IT
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    • 8 tips on how to get a raise or promotion in IT

    8 tips on how to get a raise or promotion in IT

    Every programmer dreams of a dynamic career development, but not for everyone such development means the same thing. Some want to be first of all good specialists in a given technology, others expect more and more responsibility, the ability to make important decisions. This often involves a raise and a promotion at the same time.

    It is worth considering ways to develop your career-because who does not go forward, he goes back. Continuing at one point in your career is also exhausting in the long run, and eventually there comes a time when we are ready for change. Much depends on experience, skills, but also on the programming language.

    Programmers who specialize in the most sought-after technologies by the employer will most easily get a raise or promotion-companies will be very eager to keep them with them.


    1. Select promotion

    Money or promotion-what do you choose? However, many people will bet on money, as Francis Underwood commented from the cult series “House of Cards”:

    Such a waste of talent. He chose money, not power. In this town, almost everyone makes that mistake.

    However, the most important thing actually appears in the rest of his statement:

    Power is an old stone building that will last for centuries.

    Similarly, the power of promotion can be seen (a higher position is more power). It’s true that promotion often comes with a raise, but it doesn’t always have to be that way. An example would be to compare a small company with a large corporation. In the former, you often earn less in a higher position than in a lower position in a corporation.

    When designing your career, you need to look far ahead. What will look better on your CV: Manager or senior or mid-level? Of course-the first option. In the second you will not even write that you were, admittedly, in the same position, but with a higher salary.

    By accepting the promotion, you give your career more momentum and open up new opportunities in the future. And with a higher position, more money will come sooner or later. Many professionals choose the path of expertise, wanting to focus on coding. However, they do not stand still.


    2. Take the initiative

    Whether you decide to get a promotion or a raise (or maybe you can combine the two), you can’t afford to be passive.. A software developer often thinks that it is enough to come to work, reliably perform his duties, and one sunny day his work will be appreciated and he will receive the coveted promotion or raise. Sometimes it happens, but rarely.

    Sooner or later, someone else will appear in the environment, who may not be so solid, but at the same time more successful. Someone who will pay more attention to himself-and it is he who will be promoted. That’s why you can’t wait for something to change in your career.. Then you’ll just be helpless. It’s about you taking the lead.

    You must actively support your promotion or raise. Let others wait passively, and you-act. Make it clear to your supervisor that you’re not interested in staying at one point in your career. Let him know you’re an ambitious man.


    3. Bet on knowledge

    An important support for future promotion is the expansion of one’s own knowledge. The Stack Overflow study shows that programmers like to learn and appreciate learning. As many as 91.1% of them complete their education independently, 46.6% use training organized by employers, and 44.1% enroll in online courses (see our training tab).

    More knowledge in your field will make you a specialist. Do not be afraid to invest money to earn them even more in the future. Investing in your own development is not only the satisfaction of gaining knowledge and the opportunity to use it in practice, but also an important argument in a conversation with the boss about promotion or increase. That way, you’ll become a more valuable employee.


    4. Learn to talk about promotion

    People are willing to do a lot for a promotion or a raise. The report of the analytical company EY even shows that 9% of Poles are ready to give false information to their supervisor in order to achieve their professional goals.

    Fortunately, you do not have to resort to such unethical actions. It’s worth learning how to talk about promotion. If you want something, ask for it. It also goes into take-over strategy. Finally, the moment comes when you need to clearly and clearly ask your supervisor for a raise or promotion-without any hints or omissions.

    If you’re panicky about the subject, you have a problem and you need to break through. Talk about promotion using specifics, substantive arguments, not emotion or pleading tirades. You can start with what we wrote in the previous paragraph. Name new skills, recall achievements and additional tasks in which you participated. It is not worth arguing that a colleague in the same position at the next desk earns more. Better show what the company will gain by investing in you. How are you able to help her?

    A poorly reasoned request for a raise can end up like this:


    5. Build your brand as an expert

    Your task will be much easier when you build your own brand as a software developer. It’s also a good way to find a new, definitely better job. Although programmers do not have a major problem with changing employers, but those more well-known, with a well-established position, have a chance to get more attractive offers in prestigious companies.

    What matters is how you present yourself online. Take care of the proper construction of your social media profiles, create your image, share interesting ideas and solutions with the developer community (for example, through blogs, posts on internet forums, actively using portals such as Stack Overflow or GitHub, etc.).).

    Participate in the IT community beyond the internet by participating in conferences, workshops and meetings. In this way, the supervisor will know that you are appreciated outside the company and have the position of an expert in the IT environment. Can he afford to lose such an employee?


    6. Don’t blackmail me.

    Putting your boss against the wall and blackmailing him with a change of job is one of the five most common mistakes that skips the chance of getting a raise. No one likes to be under pressure, and especially the boss in a confrontation with his employee. This could get ugly.

    Even if you have a strong position in the company, you are a key link in the team and you actually get a raise, it may turn out to be a temporary situation-the supervisor will immediately react negatively to you and start looking for your successor. As a result, your position in the company, instead of strengthening, will weaken and sooner or later you will have to change jobs.

    The supervisor won’t want to work with someone he’s lost confidence in.. Therefore, give up the idea of a little blackmail in favor of what we wrote about in point 4 (substantive arguments).

    Blackmail is not the best strategy


    7. Give a specific amount

    The lack of preparation of the employee to talk with the employer about the increase is another reason for the failure in wage negotiations. No wonder, it’s hard to talk about specifics with someone who doesn’t know the specifics.. You can’t just walk into a meeting with your boss and say you want to make more money. Right after that, you’ll have to figure out exactly how much your “more” is. Therefore, before you negotiate, do research, ask your friends how much they earn in a particular position.

    You can also use information from various salary reports, which is not lacking on the internet. You can also simply look at the job offers on the market-IT employers are increasingly showing their forks.

    However, be sure to specify a rate that, on the one hand, will be adequate to what the market offers and to the employer’s financial capabilities, and on the other – will be possible to reduce during negotiations, but still acceptable.


    8. Find another employer

    The solution that should be considered as a last resort-change of employer. This is not uncommon in the IT industry. In Poland, Software developers change jobs on average every 2 years, and in the United States, for example, every 18 months. If you’ve done everything we’ve written about and still haven’t received a raise or promotion, you have two choices: grit your teeth and try again in a while or find a new employer. It’s up to you to decide.

    If you think that you will not achieve anything new in your existing company, look for new opportunities. However, do not do this under the influence of impulse or nervousness. Cool off, think again.

    Here again we will offer something from us-that’s what we are for. Check the list of IT employers-you can select them by technology or location and simply observe, getting inbox alerts with new job offers from a particular employer.

    It is important to look for a new employer calmly – but with calm you can not overdo it.

    This is fine


    Summary

    A raise or promotion can be a new stage in your professional career. If you think you’re staying in the same place too long, take action. Getting to the next level of your career is a natural process, so do not be afraid to take this step.

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