Page 83 - Benjamin Franklin\'s The Way to Wealth: A 52 brilliant ideas interpretation - PDFDrive.com

37 DON’T SELL YOURSELF SHORT—GET THAT

RISE

Though a religious man, Franklin was clear that if you want to prosper you shouldn’t
be asking for divine help all the time. ‘God helps them that help themselves,’ he insists,
and oddly enough so do employers. If you don’t take steps to get what you want then
nobody else will do it for you.

DEFINING IDEA…
Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this—
no dog exchanges bones with another.
~ ADAM SMITH, 18TH CENTURY ECONOMIST

Whilst there are many reasons why we seek employment (the challenge, the
fulfilment, the kudos), and many things we appreciate (the environment, the
social company, the free coffee), the heart of the employer/employee
relationship is still the salary cheque. For all the challenge—and no matter
how good the office banter and free drinks—there is little doubt that the
size of that monthly figure is what makes most of us turn up on Monday
mornings. So are you sure that you’re being paid your worth? And what
can you do about it if you’re not?

Unless you’re in a heavily-unionised or public-sector job with fixed pay
levels the chances are that you and your colleagues remain firmly in the
dark about each other’s salaries—and the company is more than happy for
it to stay that way.

To get an idea of what you should be paid you may have to look outside
your own company. The first place to start is job adverts, but these can be
misleading due to different packages of bonuses, compensation for stress or
weighting for living in a more expensive part of the country.

Do your research carefully before walking into the boss’s office—the fact
that you know of another person in the company who earns more for the
same job is not enough. Instead, see if you can point to a general industry
standard of reward which you don’t seem to be getting. Inflation is