What do you do if your employer undervalues your network administration skills during a raise negotiation?

Leveraging Your Worth: Negotiating as a Network Administrator If your employer undervalues your network administration skills during a raise negotiation, present concrete evidence of your contributions. Highlight successful projects, cost savings, or efficiency improvements attributable to your expertise. Emphasize the critical role of network stability and security in business operations. Showcase industry certifications or training to underscore your proficiency. Advocate for fair compensation based on market rates and your invaluable contributions to the organization. If necessary, be prepared to explore opportunities elsewhere that recognize and reward your skills appropriately.

If my network administration skills were undervalued during a raise negotiation, I would take a strategic approach. First, I’d prepare a detailed list of my contributions and how they’ve positively impacted the company. Then, I’d request a meeting to present this information, ensuring to communicate my commitment to the company’s growth. I’d also express my willingness to take on more responsibilities that align with my skill set. If the outcome isn’t favorable, I’d seek feedback and set clear performance goals for the next review.

Point to specific tasks you've accomplished, especially those members of the network specific team were unable or unwilling to accomplish. If you've been activating and recording network features, with enough details that JoJo the Monkey Boy can understand it and handle it when you're off shift, you should be able to point to the work. If you've instead been doing what I see so often, turning your network configurations into a silo with high walls and no one but you permitted to add or remove even a single grain from that silo, your opinion of your work may indeed not agree with your supervisor.

Researching current market rates for network administration roles similar to yours is essential. Explore salary data based on factors like experience, certifications, network size, and geographical region. This information serves as a benchmark to evaluate the competitiveness of your compensation. If you find that your pay is below market rates, you have a compelling case to present to your employer during negotiations for a raise.

Researching market rates on your own is a good resource and step to take to INFORM your perspective but should not be the only source. There are several factors that influence these rates so also take the time to look into those and understand them. Research the business you operate in and the business industry, these also play large factors. Network with recruiters and have discussions with them about this topic. It will help you grow your breadth and depth of knowledge and will help make you a stronger negotiator - key factor is knowledge.

Documenting your achievements is crucial to showcasing your value as a network administrator. Compile a comprehensive list of successful projects, instances of exceeding expectations, and any accolades or recognition received. Highlight solutions implemented that have saved the company money or improved efficiency. Concrete examples of your positive impact on the network and organization serve as compelling evidence of your worth during negotiations for a raise.

Document your accomplishments! Do not rely on your manager/leadership to do this for you. So track them. Be sure to include any steps you took to make that accomplishment, this would include courses, videos, certifications, tasks, etc. Be consistent in your tracking. As you present these accomplishments, presentation can help as it can showcase your level of detail, care and professionalism. take care to give special highlight to any accomplishment you made that had a larger impact to the business, these would be ones that were impactful beyond you and/or your team but also other teams/departments and the business as a whole - dollar signs are important!

When advocating for your raise, effective and confident communication is paramount. Clearly articulate your accomplishments and the value you bring to the company, emphasizing the evolution of your network administration skills and their benefits. Highlight any additional responsibilities you've taken on or skills you've acquired through training or certifications. A well-prepared dialogue, devoid of downplaying your role, enhances your ability to present your case persuasively and secure the raise you deserve.

Include the cost of each troubleshooting, project, and issue you handled throughout the year, if it were outsourced and billed individually, which can be demonstrated through emails and trouble tickets. Highlight the company productivity you maintained, which is difficult to quantify but essential to the company. Along with presenting these numbers highlight your achievements, emphasize the significant value you bring to the company, by keeping productivity going, as well as what the outsourced cost would be for each of the trouble tickets you handled. Use the math to justify your request for a raise.

If met with resistance to your initial raise request, consider employing negotiation tactics. Explore non-monetary benefits like extra vacation days or remote work options if a salary increase isn't feasible. Discuss alternative compensation packages, such as bonuses or stock options. Remember, negotiation involves finding a mutually beneficial compromise that acknowledges your value to the organization.

In the event that a raise isn't immediately granted, it's essential to adopt a proactive approach for the future. Request clarity on the specific goals and metrics that would merit a raise down the line, and propose regular check-ins to review your progress. This demonstrates your dedication to personal and professional development while also ensuring that your employer acknowledges and rewards your contributions accordingly in the future. By planning ahead and establishing clear expectations, you safeguard against the undervaluation of your skills and efforts in subsequent evaluations.

During the first decade of my career, I tripled my salary by simply finding new employers every couple of years. While there is a skill to negotiating, in the long run IT is not an income generating department. If it is run well, there are little savings to be gotten by making things better, and if it's run well for a long time, people tend to take it - and you - for granted. A good employer understands this tendency and keeps an eye on market rate for salary, a poor one flies by the seat of their pants and assumes you will be too afraid to jump ship if they skimp on paying you. And unfortunately, there's many more poor employers out there than good ones. If you aren't willing to look elsewhere, you cannot effectively negotiate.

Tip: I know is not relevant to do is comparisons with colleagues who earn more or who have obtained a positive response. I think you should go with a great attitude and energy that conveys that you do deserve that increase in your salary. Remember that your non-verbal language shows a lot about you and greatly influences others, sometimes without them realizing it. So it would be one of the tips that would add, a very positive attitude, nothing about praising the boss too much, but you can praise your company and make it known that you enjoy what you do and that you would like to continue in the position, which is not a condition the increase but it would be a great reward for you, for all your achievements and efforts put into the company.