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1. Data points. Data points. Data points. Go through and document, line by line, what you have done this year. Translate each line item into approximate value c

1. Data points. Data points. Data points. Go through and document, line by line, what you have done this year. Translate each line item into approximate value created for the company, whether in dollars or resources freed up. Chances are your manager will need to get any bump or promotion cleared with the powers above him, so make it easy by providing as much data as possible. 2. Make a sort of mental script that goes over the data points from item 1 and why all those make you worth what you are seeking. Practice it. Not only will it help you articulate your ideas more clearly, it will also help calm you down a bit. Salary discussions and negotiations can be intimidating. 3. Have a vision for what you can continue to add to the company, after you have received the raise/promotion you are seeking. Is there a specific project you can lead, team members you can mentor, etc. Demonstrate that you have a vision for yourself in the future at the company, to go with (hopefully) a strong list of achievements that have already added value.

maerF0x0 8y ago
> Translate each line item into approximate value created for the company, How you do value things in the following cases 1) are opinion (eg Fixed a bug, or 300) or 2) things that have no direct value (wrote a microservice that supports a microservice that alerts users if a microservice is neither micro or servicing) or 3) You delivered exactly what was asked of you, FeatureX say, but FeatureX was poorly researched/designed and received no traction? Nonetheless I will try to do as you've suggested, I see a lot of value in being able to deliver what you're pointing at.
- kadabra9 8y ago
  You don't necessarily need to quantify the value for every item in this case, or in some cases for quantifying achievements I'd look for other measurements outside of a $ impact or estimate of time saved. For example, for something like fixing bugs, if its difficult to peg it to a financial or resource benefit, measure how quickly you closed your issues, point out that all of your fixes had no further issues, etc. If you delivered FeatureX but FeautureX received no traction, use this as a starting point to have a discussion about your expanded role in the company. Perhaps after you've received the promotion/raise you could take a more active role in the design/research phase, and have some ideas available offhand.
- misterbwong 8y ago
  Try to value the results of your work, not the work itself. 1. If you fixed a bug, what problem did it solve? Was it costing the company money or time? Your customers? Be a partner to the business, not a code-monkey. 2. Fixing a line of code has no value (gasp!) in a vacuum. What happens if that microservice uptime alert doesn't go out? How did your work prevent THAT from happening? 3. You delivered exactly what you asked for. Full stop. You executed (well, presumably) and worked with the business to build to address an opportunity. Not all opportunities pan out but all opportunities go to waste if not acted upon.
eindiran 8y ago
Adding to 1, I find that it is very helpful to have kept track of the things you did for the company as they happen as it is very easy to forget even important things along the way. I have a script that grabs my commits that week and throws them into a templated document. Each week I edit that document by grouping the commits in a logical way, adding things that wouldn't necessarily be captured in my commits, and then cleaning it up to make a reasonable and concise report of what I did that week. Then, at the end of the year, when it is time to discuss adjusting your compensation, gathering all of the data points is as simple as condensing your weekly reports into a single document.
slg 8y ago
This is the logical approach, but it is the wrong one in my opinion. Your salary is not dictated by the value you provide the company. Your salary is dictated by what each of your and your employer's next best options are. You are better off talking about market rates for someone of your skill set rather than value to the company. If you talk about the value you provide, talk about it in relation to your peers. Value is irrelevant in a vacuum. Someone generating millions of dollars in value might not deserve a raise if they are in the bottom 10th percentile among their peers.

maerF0x0 8y ago

> Translate each line item into approximate value created for the company, How you do value things in the following cases 1) are opinion (eg Fixed a bug, or 300) or 2) things that have no direct value (wrote a microservice that supports a microservice that alerts users if a microservice is neither micro or servicing) or 3) You delivered exactly what was asked of you, FeatureX say, but FeatureX was poorly researched/designed and received no traction? Nonetheless I will try to do as you've suggested, I see a lot of value in being able to deliver what you're pointing at.

kadabra9 8y ago
You don't necessarily need to quantify the value for every item in this case, or in some cases for quantifying achievements I'd look for other measurements outside of a $ impact or estimate of time saved. For example, for something like fixing bugs, if its difficult to peg it to a financial or resource benefit, measure how quickly you closed your issues, point out that all of your fixes had no further issues, etc. If you delivered FeatureX but FeautureX received no traction, use this as a starting point to have a discussion about your expanded role in the company. Perhaps after you've received the promotion/raise you could take a more active role in the design/research phase, and have some ideas available offhand.
misterbwong 8y ago
Try to value the results of your work, not the work itself. 1. If you fixed a bug, what problem did it solve? Was it costing the company money or time? Your customers? Be a partner to the business, not a code-monkey. 2. Fixing a line of code has no value (gasp!) in a vacuum. What happens if that microservice uptime alert doesn't go out? How did your work prevent THAT from happening? 3. You delivered exactly what you asked for. Full stop. You executed (well, presumably) and worked with the business to build to address an opportunity. Not all opportunities pan out but all opportunities go to waste if not acted upon.

eindiran 8y ago

Adding to 1, I find that it is very helpful to have kept track of the things you did for the company as they happen as it is very easy to forget even important things along the way. I have a script that grabs my commits that week and throws them into a templated document. Each week I edit that document by grouping the commits in a logical way, adding things that wouldn't necessarily be captured in my commits, and then cleaning it up to make a reasonable and concise report of what I did that week. Then, at the end of the year, when it is time to discuss adjusting your compensation, gathering all of the data points is as simple as condensing your weekly reports into a single document.

slg 8y ago

This is the logical approach, but it is the wrong one in my opinion. Your salary is not dictated by the value you provide the company. Your salary is dictated by what each of your and your employer's next best options are. You are better off talking about market rates for someone of your skill set rather than value to the company. If you talk about the value you provide, talk about it in relation to your peers. Value is irrelevant in a vacuum. Someone generating millions of dollars in value might not deserve a raise if they are in the bottom 10th percentile among their peers.