Here’s 3 bullet-proof strategies for BIG salary increases during the cost of living crisis

This week two people on my Creative Career Level UP programme secured BIG salary increases.

 It’s always so rewarding for me to see people learn the skill of negotiating, put it into practice and then reap the rewards through real £££ into their pockets.

Never has this been so important. With inflation running at double digits, yearly increases to salary are not keeping pace with price rises.

So, I wanted to share three bullet-proof strategies, which we use on my Creative Career Level Up programme, to increase salary and get paid what you deserve.

1. Get a job offer from a competitor

Not all job hunting has to be to actually TAKE a new job. More often than not, companies will counter offer if a competitor tries to take their employee. 

Having an offer from a competitor is THE MOST leverage you will ever have in a salary negotiation. Knowing what it costs to recruit and train new employees, don’t be shocked if you get everything you wanted once a competitor makes you an offer. 

I once had a 27% counter offer when resigning from a company. They came back in less than 24 hours with this offer, plus a promotion - something I’d been asking about for 6 months.

Worst case scenario, you can always take the better offer form the competitor! 

(And don’t cry to me about whether it is ethical to job hunt only to use the offer to get a counter offer! There are companies out there who take candidates all the way to the presentation round just to steal their ideas or ghost candidates after weeks of interviews. All is fair in love and job hunting!)

2. Move jobs every 12-18 months

The biggest salary increases you will see are when you change roles. It’s a sad fact, but moving around companies regularly can dramatically increase your earnings, especially if you are early in your career.

Someone on the Creative Career Level Up changed jobs twice in 18 months and went from £26k to £80k in that time. Almost 4 times their salary! 🤯

Loyalty is great. I worked for Nike for 8 years and Apple for 5 years - I’m all about loyalty. But if salary is a big driver for you, changing roles regularly is the best way to do this.

3. Negotiate when you get a job offer 

It sounds obvious but most people NEVER negotiate salary when they are made an offer from a company. NEVER! Especially the ladies. We are really bad at this.

As a Hiring Manager, I never made a job offer to a candidate that didn’t have some room for negotiation. In fact, I was often annoyed that people didn’t negotiate as I felt this was an important business skill to be flexing at this moment.

Recently one of the ladies on the Creative Career Level Up, used our negotiation script to secure a 15% increase on the initial offer. That’s huge! 

Bottom line: if you don’t negotiate when you get a new job offer, you are leaving £££ on the table.