Make More Money: Get a New Job

Although you would think a reasonable raise shouldn't be too difficult to come by for any valued employee, in reality, no matter how much companies talk about employee retention, oftentimes the only way to get a raise is to move on.

If you find yourself in this position – where the pay and the perks haven't changed much over time, and you find yourself contemplating a move to (you hope) greener pastures - do your homework, and get started today. Recruiters who follow these things closely say there's no real rhyme, reason, or means of timing the job market.


"If they say things are bad, it's not necessarily bad out there. If they say things are good, it's not necessarily good out there," says Susan Rogers of Susan Rogers Executive Recruitment.

"I really don't find there's any correlation," she says about the facts, figures, employment, and hiring numbers reported in the media. Similarly, overtime she says there is also no typical hiring pattern that employers seem to follow each year. In her area of specialty (communications), employers will sometimes gear up in January, at the start of their fiscal year, when there is money in the budget to hire new people, but even that pattern doesn't hold true every time.

Similarly, she says colleagues who recruit for a completely different market (taxes), are rarely busy at the same time she is, and vice versa. "There's no rhyme or reason. We talk about that all the time – it's just all over the map."

"I think the time to start looking is always now. You need to try and keep as many options open as possible. If you're even thinking that maybe you want to start looking a little bit down the road, I think you should start looking now."

When doing this, however, be realistic about your expectations, and pay attention to what your title is really worth in other companies, or in other industries altogether. (In some professions, it's not uncommon for companies to inflate salaries or job titles to draw the talent they think they want or need.)

Although an offer of more money might be great initially, inflated salaries and titles can cause job searchers to make bad choices in the future: "They're not doing the candidate any favours." Even those who are good at their jobs can become short-sighted, and refuse to look at certain other roles, because their new title doesn't appear to be in line with their experience.

"I place people in 'manager' roles who are making $120,000 and I place people in 'director' roles who are making $80,000. It really depends on the company, the responsibilities and the structure," Rogers says. "Pay attention to the responsibilities and the money you're being offered."


Job search, and tips for increasing your salary

If you find yourself in this position, here's our latest list of tips Rogers suggests, to help with your job search efforts:

• Be persistent (when approaching hiring managers and your company contacts), without being annoying.

• Network and use your contacts – do everything you can – to find out who the hiring manager is for each role.

• Try not to take it personally if you still don't hear back, even if you think you're the perfect fit. "It's a shame, and sometimes there's nothing you can do about it," she says, but company screening practices will sometimes mean that your resume is never looked at.

• Approach recruiters who specialize in your area. (Make sure you have the right recruiter too – sending your resume out to every recruiter you can find, whether they place people with your expertise or not, wastes time, and smells of desperation.)

• Tailor your resume accordingly. "If you're not tweaking your resume for every single job you're applying for, you're not putting your best foot forward."

• Keep your cover letters to ONE page. (Longer than that can be a big turn-off for anyone screening resumes, no matter how perfect you might be for the job.)

• Once you land the right job, since it will probably be some time before you get your next huge raise, try to negotiate as much as you can for a higher salary in the beginning.

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Kate McCaffery is a freelance writer, editor and former urbanite, now living somewhere in between the lake, the ski hill and some farmer's cow path. Visit mccaffery.ca/kate2.0/ for more information.