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Beach Bum
Jan 13, 2010
So, an update. You're all going to be very disappointed in me, I'm sure. There's some pros and some cons.

I did not sell the bike. However, that kinda saved my rear end. I was tinkering with the Fit, chasing down a noise, and it turned out both of my strut mount bearings had failed. Local auto parts stores could not get the mount kits. I had the car up on stands for 6 days waiting on Rockauto. With the bike, I was able to get to work and whatnot without adding any additional stress to me or my family/coworkers.
I did not cash out the Publix stock.
I spent $1500 or so getting my A/C repaired. It's Florida, it's summer, and sometimes I have to work at night and sleep in the daytime.

However...



This is where we're at. We were at -2206.81. We are now at -1882.64, and that's with $1500 thrown at the house. I filled up one of my empty file cabinets in the office with snacks, and have been eating the poo poo out of Nature Valley bars and hard-boiled eggs instead of hitting up Jimmy Johns or Subway or the local bar we call our "satellite office." I have also quit smoking. That was huge, both for my finances and for my health, though I quickly gained and dropped ten pounds and ate myself out of vegetables in a single weekend. I've been doing a shitton of side work as well, total profit of about $400.

Progress. I feel good. I would be at -382.64 for the budget accounts had my evaporator not poo poo the bed.

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Agronox
Feb 4, 2005
Well, for not taking a single piece of advice offered in the thread at least your delta is in the right direction. Good work.

turing_test
Feb 27, 2013

Quitting smoking is huge and awesome! You're going to save so much money and also be so much healthier.

Spokes
Jan 9, 2010

Thanks for a MONSTER of an avatar, Awful Survivor Mods!

Beach Bum posted:

So, an update. You're all going to be very disappointed in me, I'm sure.

+ You quit smoking
+ You're eating out less frequently
+ You had an emergency (A/C and car repair) and it didn't break you
+ Making extra money from additional work is good for both paying down debt and reminding yourself that taking on more debt is a bad idea.
+ Seriously, you quit smoking, that poo poo is expensive and will kill you. It's hard to enjoy being debt free when you're dragging around an oxygen tank.

- Sell You Are Stock Coins
- Probably still sell the bike?
- Post a line-item budget if you want specific suggestions on what else to do.
- There's probably more lucrative job opportunities out there. Keep looking, I know it seems difficult without a lovely $50,000 piece of paper from a college but you have legit hands on experience.


Sounds like you had a good overall month, and you're trending in the right direction. So, joke's on you. Not disappointed. Looking forward to your next check-in!

moana
Jun 18, 2005

one of the more intellectual satire communities on the web
Sell ur shitstocks

Ritznit
Dec 19, 2012

I'm crackers for cheese.

Ultra Carp
You're gonna have so many situations where you'll be glad that you quit smoking. Stuff tastes better, your lungs breathe better, and all that money saved adds up so fast. Congrats dude. Use that feeling of success to keep going.

Weatherman
Jul 30, 2003

WARBLEKLONK
Any updates, OP? Don't zaurg out on us now.

Weatherman
Jul 30, 2003

WARBLEKLONK
So OP you're still posting but not in this thread so can we assume you've given up?

Beach Bum
Jan 13, 2010

Weatherman posted:

So OP you're still posting but not in this thread so can we assume you've given up?

Lol. I'll write an update today. I'm not sorry you find my "posting schedule" unsatisfactory.

Edit: I didn't see your earlier post on the 7th, oops. I've been kinda checked out on the new PoE league :v: (before anyone who may be uninformed blows a gasket it's FtP)

Anywho, since it's apparently a point of contention, do you guys need biweekly check-in's or is monthly sufficient?

Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 11:59 on Jun 15, 2018

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22
Do whatever you want, it's your thread

Beach Bum
Jan 13, 2010

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

Do whatever you want, it's your thread

Fair enough.


So, update.

My auto insurance company dropped me (let's not even go there, please), and I had to find new insurance. For the same reasons I got dropped, I had to front nearly $1200 for a 6-month policy, and that was the lowest quote. I was not given the option to pay monthly. Because I know y'all'll ask anyway, there are no DUI's, but there are tickets and one at-fault, though I've been clean since 09-2016. Why I've been dropped 18 months later without any further fuckups is a bit irritating, but whatever, you gotta own it and deal.



So here we are. Overall negative for the journey at the moment, but I've got also got $300 in cash in my desk drawer right now from a couple side jobs, and I've not stopped hustlin' on that front. May was a good month for it but my client base is rather small. Anyhow, that $300 is there because I'm wanting to change local banks; CCBG stopped offering free BtB xfers, and they won't issue free bank checks to use for mobile deposit, so I need to hunt down a basic free-checking deal so I can write my own drat checks to move money around without hitting up friends for checks.

I still haven't bought any more cigarettes :toot:

TL;DR CC balance is still trending downward, I just don't have as much liquid as I did in the previous update, due to the aforementioned insurance thing.

Oh and just for fun: Next update will be on 29 June :toxx:

Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 13:33 on Jun 15, 2018

SiGmA_X
May 3, 2004
SiGmA_X
I'm so confused by your bank issue. And insurance.

For the bank, get with a credit union. Screw banks.

For insurance, I thought everyone pays semi annually, it saves a massive amount..

No Butt Stuff
Jun 10, 2004

USAA is a good bank.

I think paying my insurance annually saves me like 150 bucks a year.

Beach Bum
Jan 13, 2010

SiGmA_X posted:

I'm so confused by your bank issue. And insurance.

For the bank, get with a credit union. Screw banks.

For insurance, I thought everyone pays semi annually, it saves a massive amount..

USAA didn't charge any extra for monthly payments. Progressive doesn't afford the same perk to their clientele, so I paid the biannual (not that I had a choice). I should be back with USAA in November, a bunch of my poor driver record goes away after that. At least that's the assurance I got from my rep.

My bank situation is due to the fact USAA has no local branches. If I weren't dealing with cash it wouldn't be a problem, since my salary is deposited with my USAA Checking.

It's highly unlikely I'm going to be switching away from USAA. I'm well adapted to their apps and their interface, and thus it's just more comfortable and convenient for me to continue to utilize them, even with the issues I'm having to deal with due to my side job stuff.

Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Jun 16, 2018

No Butt Stuff
Jun 10, 2004

Open a bank account at a local credit union to deposit your cash and then transfer it to usaa. Or buy money orders and mobile deposit them.

SiGmA_X
May 3, 2004
SiGmA_X

No Butt Stuff posted:

Open a bank account at a local credit union to deposit your cash and then transfer it to usaa. Or buy money orders and mobile deposit them.
This.

I do cash deposits at random CU ATM's, I haven't been to a branch for years. Works the same for my local CU and online only CU, pretty easy!

Moneyball
Jul 11, 2005

It's a problem you think we need to explain ourselves.

Beach Bum posted:



Oh and just for fun: Next update will be on 29 June :toxx:

Where is your update?

Beach Bum
Jan 13, 2010

Moneyball posted:

Where is your update?

:cripes: oh gently caress me running. Just been busy with 7-day weeks at work and getting my classes straight and I whiffed on this. Drop the hammer and I'll re-up and post tomorrow evening.

Beach Bum
Jan 13, 2010
Sunday afternoon after getting home from AutoX I parked the car in the driveway and collapsed after a shower and a whiskey.

Apologies for the tardiness; poo poo's been interesting. TL;DR I've not incurred any additional debt but I didn't make much progress either.



First, I was informed I was getting a lovely 0.5% raise. Yes, half a loving percent. At $37k that's a whole $185 per year. Truly a fair exchange for the work and time I have invested in the Company. Compounded with the poo poo I went through in 2017, I'm not putting up with it anymore. I've been getting readmitted to the local community college so I can work on bettering my education, and sending off resumes to try and find work that doesn't destroy both my psyche, my personal time, and my vehicles. With my experience in operations, logistics, and general management over the last 7 years I'm shooting for at least $40k.

It's been 7-day weeks for at least a month now; yesterday and today are my first days off in awhile (meaning: I can't remember the last day off I had). I've been driving 800-1000 miles a week, which makes for a soaring fuel bill ($382 for August so far, July was only $308), add to that the work schedule means I have to pay someone else to work on my vehicles; an engine oil change, valve adjustment, serpentine belt, filter change, and transmission oil change cost me $400 and that was a friend doing it. Had a bit of a pucker moment on a rainy day and discovered I hadn't kept up my tire rotations so I had to replace a couple tires, there's another $200. It's been a lovely fuckin' few weeks.

I did ditch my former local bank. I'm now with a local credit union on a free Checking/Savings, and holy mother of god they have ATMs that take cash, so when I do some side work I can just drop by the branch on my work commute without having to wait around for normal people to start working. Their online banking is just as nice, and with a checkbook I can draw my local deposits into my USAA account without hassling Dad for a check.

fatal oopsie-daisy
Jul 30, 2007

by R. Guyovich
Stop doing the AutoX poo poo, it's ruining your car and it's an unnecessary cost. Go running or lift buckets of water instead, it's free and will improve your body and is a better hobby overall.

Also, no booze. Drink water. Tell your work that you're not going to do 7 day work weeks because it's inhumane unless they give you a pay raise.

Beach Bum
Jan 13, 2010

fatal oopsie-daisy posted:

Stop doing the AutoX poo poo, it's ruining your car and it's an unnecessary cost. Go running or lift buckets of water instead, it's free and will improve your body and is a better hobby overall.

Also, no booze. Drink water. Tell your work that you're not going to do 7 day work weeks because it's inhumane unless they give you a pay raise.

1) No, what's ruining my car is driving 1000 miles a week.

2) That was a gift bottle for my birthday, also fuckin' :lol: I've purchased alcohol precisely zero times since this thread was made. That should give you an idea of my consumption rate.

3) Trust me, my direct supervisor is well aware of my gripes and my imminent departure. We have a solid professional and personal relationship. I hope my next supervisor is half as good.

Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 12:02 on Aug 20, 2018

Leng
May 13, 2006

One song / Glory
One song before I go / Glory
One song to leave behind


No other road
No other way
No day but today

Beach Bum posted:

First, I was informed I was getting a lovely 0.5% raise. Yes, half a loving percent. At $37k that's a whole $185 per year. Truly a fair exchange for the work and time I have invested in the Company. Compounded with the poo poo I went through in 2017, I'm not putting up with it anymore. I've been getting readmitted to the local community college so I can work on bettering my education, and sending off resumes to try and find work that doesn't destroy both my psyche, my personal time, and my vehicles. With my experience in operations, logistics, and general management over the last 7 years I'm shooting for at least $40k.

Beach Bum posted:

3) Trust me, my direct supervisor is well aware of my gripes and my imminent departure. We have a solid professional and personal relationship. I hope my next supervisor is half as good.

Wait, you have a good relationship, they are aware of your gripes and imminent departure and yet they STILL didn't offer to come to the table for a real negotiation?

Can we go back a few steps and talk about how that entire conversation around your 0.5% raise went down?

I feel like we are missing some big pieces of the puzzle here. Also, you never answered my questions from before:

Leng posted:

As a circulation manager, I'd've thought you'd have some good transferable skills in business operations so you wouldn't necessarily need to stay in newspapers. What else is available to you in town?

On the education thing - this matters mainly if you are planning to get another job the mass market way (i.e. spamming your CV to as many job listings as possible). It may matter if formal education is critical to the role but this depends on your industry (e.g. I'm in a role that in theory requires a masters or other postgraduate qualification which I don't have, but equivalent experience is also accepted). About getting sniped - is this before/after interview?

Beach Bum
Jan 13, 2010
Nothing missing. My direct supervisor is not the one signing off on my raises. I think Regional VP three levels up from me gets to make that call. The conversation was at my house on the front porch, and quite brief (as I was pissed). His commentary was "It's loving bullshit, it's a loving insult, and I'm not happy about it either." I have already escalated to the director (superior to my superior) and made the same known to him, and that if that's the way things are going to be, I'm out. The VP knows and they're not willing to do what needs to be done to make it right and retain me. That says all I need to hear about the Company and the overall attitude regarding employee advancement, satisfaction, and welfare.

As for your earlier questions, my apologies for overlooking them.

This newspaper I'm with is the only game in town, really. I'm applying for operations and contract manager type stuff. I don't have the breadth of knowledge to really pin down something specific outside of my own industry. If things got really desperate I'd go for any of the dozens of retail manager postings but that's neither playing to my strengths nor something I really want to do. The Department of Management Services has a few of these types of positions, but so far the only callback I got was for a 40k Contract Manager (the lowest base I've applied for). When I asked about the compensation on the phone I got a laughable lowball of 32k, again for a position listed at 40 starting. We'd had a good conversation before that as well :(

Leng
May 13, 2006

One song / Glory
One song before I go / Glory
One song to leave behind


No other road
No other way
No day but today

Beach Bum posted:

Nothing missing. My direct supervisor is not the one signing off on my raises. I think Regional VP three levels up from me gets to make that call. The conversation was at my house on the front porch, and quite brief (as I was pissed). His commentary was "It's loving bullshit, it's a loving insult, and I'm not happy about it either." I have already escalated to the director (superior to my superior) and made the same known to him, and that if that's the way things are going to be, I'm out. The VP knows and they're not willing to do what needs to be done to make it right and retain me. That says all I need to hear about the Company and the overall attitude regarding employee advancement, satisfaction, and welfare.

Hmmn. I still think we're missing some big pieces of the puzzle. I don't mean it in the sense that you're hiding something, but in the sense that I'm not sure of the entire context. It costs a LOT to hire an employee to replace someone, so if you are really delivering value to the company, then it's an odd situation for them to voluntarily not want to do something to retain you. That means there's 3 possible reasons: 1) you are not in fact delivering something the company perceives to be of value; 2) you have annoyed somebody somewhere; or 3) the company has a different agenda.

Right now, you're jumping to conclusion #3, and I just want to make sure we can reasonably rule out #1 and #2. So couple more questions:

- Did you have a conversation about what you were expecting to achieve in terms of a raise earlier in the year?
- Was that conversation documented and circulated beyond your direct supervisor?
- Did you set concrete goals and check in on those throughout the year?
- Have you been able to articulate in quantifiable terms (not merely "I work really hard" but "if I hadn't done XYZ, the company would have lost $Y amount of money") that mean something to the Regional VP, a person with whom you have no direct relationship?
- Do you know what the Regional VP's KPIs are and do you have any direct contribution to those?

Beach Bum posted:

This newspaper I'm with is the only game in town, really. I'm applying for operations and contract manager type stuff. I don't have the breadth of knowledge to really pin down something specific outside of my own industry. If things got really desperate I'd go for any of the dozens of retail manager postings but that's neither playing to my strengths nor something I really want to do. The Department of Management Services has a few of these types of positions, but so far the only callback I got was for a 40k Contract Manager (the lowest base I've applied for). When I asked about the compensation on the phone I got a laughable lowball of 32k, again for a position listed at 40 starting. We'd had a good conversation before that as well :(

What do you consider your strengths? And can you describe more specifically how you are approaching your job search?

Also on interviewing - others may have different opinions but I personally never bring up comp unless I'm sure they really want me. Otherwise the conversation that follows is not worth having.

Beach Bum
Jan 13, 2010

Leng posted:

Hmmn. I still think we're missing some big pieces of the puzzle. I don't mean it in the sense that you're hiding something, but in the sense that I'm not sure of the entire context. It costs a LOT to hire an employee to replace someone, so if you are really delivering value to the company, then it's an odd situation for them to voluntarily not want to do something to retain you. That means there's 3 possible reasons: 1) you are not in fact delivering something the company perceives to be of value; 2) you have annoyed somebody somewhere; or 3) the company has a different agenda.

Right now, you're jumping to conclusion #3, and I just want to make sure we can reasonably rule out #1 and #2. So couple more questions:

- Did you have a conversation about what you were expecting to achieve in terms of a raise earlier in the year?
- Was that conversation documented and circulated beyond your direct supervisor?

Good question. The short is answer is "sorta".

Last year we received a 1% raise. Compounded with the absolutely abysmal working conditions we were under that year as a department, there was an outright mutiny. All the salaried staff made it very clearly known that if things did not change for the better, and drat quick, we were all out the door and filing constructive dismissal claims. This didn't go past the former director, and when my direct supervisor eventually kicked it past the director, it became news to the VP and his at-the-time-subordinate (i.e. our former director had not been passing on our "concerns").

This eventually resulted in the:
1) addition of a flat $1000 per annum to all of our salaries (around about 3%)
2) booting of the director and the subsequent elimination of the position, which pissed off both me and my supervisor, as the path of ascension in that regard has been all but set in stone. That's not even addressing that this year he's been de-facto director at our site anyhow, since director-in-fact lives and works at a site three hours away.
3) addition of two part-time assistants for the salaried staff

We collectively made it known that 1% was unacceptable. To get half that the next year is doubly unacceptable.

There was also the occasion two years ago (or something like that), where I applied for a position outside of the VP's area of responsibility, and I was subsequently discouraged from taking the position, because this VP allegedly wanted me for a department manager position (when one should open up, that is; only that was two years ago and still ain't lookin' real bright).

Leng posted:

- Did you set concrete goals and check in on those throughout the year?

This is a solid "Yes." My supervisor and I speak at length each year regarding my evaluation; what my accomplishments have been, what I need to work on, and what knowledge and experience I need to acquire to further my advancement within the Company, and how to go about learning and doing the same.

Leng posted:

- Have you been able to articulate in quantifiable terms (not merely "I work really hard" but "if I hadn't done XYZ, the company would have lost $Y amount of money") that mean something to the Regional VP, a person with whom you have no direct relationship?
- Do you know what the Regional VP's KPIs are and do you have any direct contribution to those?

Yes. Not so much "company would have lost "$X", but in terms of service levels, contractor retention, staff training, and exceptional contingency development and problem solving, I'm above and beyond, and have been for the last 5 years of my now 7 year tenure as a DM. That's not even addressing the multitude of secondary duties I was finally able to delegate to one of the assistants we got last year. This is all backed up by the performance metrics in my own area of responsibility, as well as direct notification up the chain from my super that "This dude is working way below his level of aptitude and you need to find him something to do because of these things he's doing or he's gonna walk."

KPI's which I affect are pretty simple; service errors and contractor churn, which are things I have kept to a minimum.


Both my super and I are in agreement that the Company is not doing what it needs to do to retain me, but these are excellent points I'm going to bring up next time we get a chance to have a discussion about my retention. Thank you.

Leng posted:

What do you consider your strengths? And can you describe more specifically how you are approaching your job search?

Also on interviewing - others may have different opinions but I personally never bring up comp unless I'm sure they really want me. Otherwise the conversation that follows is not worth having.

Strengths. I've re-written this twice because it keeps sounding like resume corpo-speak.

I'm good at solving labor problems, I can direct staff well and earn respect for my effective decision-making and contingency development. I effectively "train" contractors and ensure that they are aware of what's expected of them and how to best meet those expectations. I handle pressure and deadlines well.

I'm somewhat of a local wizard/power-user regarding our computer systems, though that's not going to impress anyone on this forum since we're mostly a bunch of nerds who grew up with computers. I've trained the entire department on all of them and I'm the go-to guy for systems questions, anyhow. I pick up on that sort of stuff very quickly.

I also take pride in my work ethic. If it's needed, there's not a whole lot I won't do to get the job done, whether it's loading a truck, working the distribution dock, forklift operator, fixing broken equipment, whatever. As much as I bitched about what a lovely year 2017 was both above and to my boss, I did the best I could to make it work with what I had at the time and still met my performance metrics at least 2/3's of the time.


As for the job search; I'm looking at whatever pops up under "general/operations/contractor manager", reading the job description, and firing off a resume if it sounds like a position in which I'd be effective, sufficiently compensated ($40k+ at the moment), and, uh, emotionally satisfied? I want to be happy to go to work and do a good job, or at least be mildly pleased. I usually tailor my resumes to the job description, drawing parallels between what I'm doing now and what the employer is looking for. I'm going to be picky while I can still afford to, as I would like to be able to establish a career path without necessarily having to finish school.

Regarding the compensation inquiry; I probably won't do that again, but I did feel like the caller and I had a very positive conversation about what they were looking for and how I fit well into that requirement. I felt really good about getting the job up until the lowball.

Sorry for the novel, but I appreciate the help. You asked some very pointed and thoughtful questions and I wanted to respond in kind.

Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 16:11 on Aug 21, 2018

22 Eargesplitten
Oct 10, 2010



Leng posted:

Hmmn. I still think we're missing some big pieces of the puzzle. I don't mean it in the sense that you're hiding something, but in the sense that I'm not sure of the entire context. It costs a LOT to hire an employee to replace someone, so if you are really delivering value to the company, then it's an odd situation for them to voluntarily not want to do something to retain you. That means there's 3 possible reasons: 1) you are not in fact delivering something the company perceives to be of value; 2) you have annoyed somebody somewhere; or 3) the company has a different agenda.

Right now, you're jumping to conclusion #3, and I just want to make sure we can reasonably rule out #1 and #2. So couple more questions:

- Did you have a conversation about what you were expecting to achieve in terms of a raise earlier in the year?
- Was that conversation documented and circulated beyond your direct supervisor?
- Did you set concrete goals and check in on those throughout the year?
- Have you been able to articulate in quantifiable terms (not merely "I work really hard" but "if I hadn't done XYZ, the company would have lost $Y amount of money") that mean something to the Regional VP, a person with whom you have no direct relationship?
- Do you know what the Regional VP's KPIs are and do you have any direct contribution to those?


What do you consider your strengths? And can you describe more specifically how you are approaching your job search?

Also on interviewing - others may have different opinions but I personally never bring up comp unless I'm sure they really want me. Otherwise the conversation that follows is not worth having.

You're Australian, right? In the US raises don't exist 90% of the time. Last year the company-wide average raise at my company was 2%. This was only among people that got raises, a lot of people got nothing. Cost of Living went up about 3.5% that year. In the US the only reliable way to make more is to go somewhere else.

Leng
May 13, 2006

One song / Glory
One song before I go / Glory
One song to leave behind


No other road
No other way
No day but today

Beach Bum posted:

We collectively made it known that 1% was unacceptable. To get half that the next year is doubly unacceptable.

Follow on question: how is your company doing? I used to work in consulting and had clients in the same industry. They were in all sorts of trouble. Unless your company is exceptional, I would not have thought it would be an exception to the industry in general. They may not be able to afford to pay more.

On that note, are you strictly interested in cash remuneration only, or have you considered negotiating other things that would effectively increase your hourly rate but wouldn't put your company more out of pocket? I am talking like negotiating a reduced work week at the same pay, additional paid days off, longer lunch breaks, flexible start/work times, etc.

If you are truly working way below your aptitude and you are efficient, does that mean you have a lot of "dead" time at work? If so, you might want to consider negotiating to work reduced hours with the same responsibilities - if you went down to a 9 day fortnight, that's effectively a 10% pay rise; 20% if you go down to a 4 day week. You could then spend the extra time upskilling and getting those formal credentials you're worried about. It'll also help improve your baseline from a salary negotiation perspective, because you could quote them the rate for the full time equivalent salary.

Beach Bum posted:

There was also the occasion two years ago (or something like that), where I applied for a position outside of the VP's area of responsibility, and I was subsequently discouraged from taking the position, because this VP allegedly wanted me for a department manager position (when one should open up, that is; only that was two years ago and still ain't lookin' real bright).

Erm. It sounds like you may also have some political problems. I'd try and suss this one out and see if you can get to the bottom of it.

Beach Bum posted:

As for the job search; I'm looking at whatever pops up under "general/operations/contractor manager", reading the job description, and firing off a resume if it sounds like a position in which I'd be effective, sufficiently compensated ($40k+ at the moment), and, uh, emotionally satisfied? I want to be happy to go to work and do a good job, or at least be mildly pleased. I usually tailor my resumes to the job description, drawing parallels between what I'm doing now and what the employer is looking for. I'm going to be picky while I can still afford to, as I would like to be able to establish a career path without necessarily having to finish school.

You are using good tactics but in my opinion this is a poor strategy. My suggestion would be to go and stalk some people on LinkedIn with those job titles and buy them coffee/lunch. Figure out if your opinion of what the job is actually matches what the job is. Most of the good jobs are never advertized, they are filled internally or via referrals. Running a job ad process is expensive and time consuming, so most companies won't bother for most roles.


22 Eargesplitten posted:

You're Australian, right? In the US raises don't exist 90% of the time. Last year the company-wide average raise at my company was 2%. This was only among people that got raises, a lot of people got nothing. Cost of Living went up about 3.5% that year. In the US the only reliable way to make more is to go somewhere else.

Also the case in Australia. I would amend your statement to say that the only reliable way to make more is to demonstrate you are worth more. Most people are terrible at doing this, mainly because they make their case from their personal perspective, and not from their employer's perspective.

Tamarillo
Aug 6, 2009

Leng posted:

Also the case in Australia. I would amend your statement to say that the only reliable way to make more is to demonstrate you are worth more. Most people are terrible at doing this, mainly because they make their case from their personal perspective, and not from their employer's perspective.

Also the case in New Zealand - but I would add that at least here at remuneration review time it's often management handing down the raise percentages, and if you were considered worth your salt then that would be reflected in the percentage you got rather than from a counter-negotiation. That's not to say it's not worth trying but in 8 years in HR I rarely saw anyone make a successful bid for a significant increase beyond what was originally allotted because the attitude was very much "we have already evaluated your performance and value to us and assigned your increase accordingly based on the budget we have to work within". Truly outstanding staff members did receive significant increases. This was generally not at their own instigation. For the majority, the best way to get a significant pay jump was to shift jobs.

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Whitlam
Aug 2, 2014

Some goons overreact. Go figure.

Leng posted:

Erm. It sounds like you may also have some political problems. I'd try and suss this one out and see if you can get to the bottom of it.

This jumped out at me too, the VP stuff. If Leng is right (and FWIW, I think Leng is right), your only options are to: 1. Suck it up. 2. Find something better. 3. Outlast the VP and hope the next one likes you more and doesn't listen to the previous VP if they really don't like you and decide to make that and the reasons (valid or not) known.

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