7 Reasons Why You Won't be Getting a Raise this Year and What You Can Do About it

In the grand scheme of things a big raise won't make much difference in your life, but we'll all keep chasing it anyway. Maybe it's the big number, maybe it's the increased value that society places on us when we make a lot of money, or maybe we all just want more stuff. Whatever it is, everyone's gunning for that big raise. Unfortunately, most of us won't be getting anything more than the standard 3 to 6% Cost of Living Adjustment anytime soon. Here are a few reasons you won't be getting a raise this year, and some ideas for how you can fight back.

You Don't deserve it
Of course you want a big raise, but maybe you just don't deserve one. Did you go above and beyond? Did you schmooze with all the big shots at your office? Did you find a unique way to make a good name for yourself in your company?

Take a good look at what you did this year and honestly ask yourself if you deserve a raise. I didn't deserve one my first year out of school and I didn't get one. But I was fine with it because I worked my ass off in other areas. Work wasn't priority number one for me, so giving me a raise probably wasn't priority number one for my old company.

You Deserve it, but you're too young
Maybe you do deserve a raise. You tackled new projects, you started a company social committee, you made as many great contacts as you possibly could and you even asked for a raise, but you still didn't get one. Don't worry, the corporate world is a little behind the times. A couple of years with a company might seem like a lifetime to you, but to the old folks in the corner office, it's just a blip on the radar. Sometimes, you have no chance of getting a raise when you're 24–you're basically chasing your own tail trying to do everything right for little payoff. If you determine that this really is the case, you may want to reevaluate your career and your current company.

You didn't ask for one
This one is pretty obvious. Or so you would think. If you don't ask for a raise, you're not going to get one. As nice as it would be, there is no one sitting around watching out for you or your career. No one will tell the boss to give you an extra ten grand, you have to ask. Create a list ofeverything you accomplished this year, talk about the numbers you hit, the deliverables you produced and milestones you surpassed. When review time comes around, bring the list to your boss and tell him you want a raise.

If that doesn't work, put your resume online, get a couple job offers, and bring the offers back to your boss. He won't be so quick to brush off your request if he knows you have somewhere else to go.

You worked too hard
Working hard is not equal to working smart. Working hard is burying your head in a stack of papers and spending day after day pounding away on your keyboard. Working hard is coming to work an hour early and leaving an hour late, every day.

You can do these things. You can work really hard and still not get a raise because you got so lost in making sure your "work" was done that you forgot to do the right kind of work.

You didn't do the right kind of work
The right kind of work may not always feel like work and it definitely won't feel like the most "productive" thing you can do, but it pays off in the end. The right kind of work is putting aside your daily to-do list for an hour and strategizing with the boss after lunch instead. It's blowing off a night with your friends or significant other to go to the quarterly get-together and network with company big shots. And it's syncing your schedule with your boss's, so you come in when he's in and leave after he's gone.

Doing the right kind of work makes you a visible and valued asset, and it puts you in the position where you can ask your boss for a raise because you have invested time and energy into forming a solid relationship with her.

You got comfortable
It's easy to get comfortable at your job. When you do a certain job long enough, you learn the ins and outs. And more importantly you learn the shortcuts. What once took you half a day, now takes an hour.

When you get to that point, it's very easy to get comfortable. But the people who make the real money and get the big raises, don't settle for comfortable. Overachievers don't feel comfortable feeling comfortable. You can only learn and grow when you challenge yourself, and you can only get a big raise after you learn and grow into the new position and higher salary you're chasing. If you're comfortable being comfortable, don't bank on that big raise.

Your boss sucks (and you didn't do anything about it)
To get a big raise you have to make people like and respect you, but you also have to produce great work. But it's nearly impossible to produce great work if your supervisor doesn't provide you with great direction.

Let's face it, a lot of bosses just aren't good. It's not necessarily their fault that they were promoted to manager without the skills to manage well. We're all stuck in a system that often promotes based on "experience" rather than competence or managerial skills.

So, if your boss sucks, do something about it. Find the person in the office who is best at playing office politics. Take a look around at who can usually be found sitting at their desk, and who can be found hanging out just talking with others. The person who's chatting the day away probably has the most influence outside of his direct reports, so he's the guy to talk to.

What you're after here is a mentor, someone who actually wants to help you grow. After you find the right one and develop a solid relationship, tell him why you deserve a raise and why you'd rather not go to your boss with the request. He can help you find all the reasons why you should, and shouldn't, get that raise–and help you make real progress in your career.

If all else fails, there is always one final way to get a raise. Find a new job! If you're young and you have the skills that employers are looking for, there's a good chance you can get a significant raise by going to another company.

The trick is to start laying the groundwork for a potential exit before it's too late. Put your resume on the right sites, start blogging about the field you love to work in, and connect with the right people. When you find yourself in a bad position, you'll have the network in place to jump ship at the right time and start working for the right company, at the right price.

How I Cleared My First Career Roadblock

"Bill. Sit down! Bill. Sit down! OK, don't."

"Susan! Sit down! Sit down!"

This was my lesson in leadership. First hand, in front of a group of 15 experienced managers, executives, artists and actors, my task was to command them to sit down. They weren't allowed to sit until they believed me.

I was at TAI in New York City attending a course called Communicating with Power and Presence. Originally started as a training studio for actors, TAI now uses acting principles to train business people to be more visionary thinkers and more effective leaders.

My goals were a little different. I wanted to learn how to command a room. I needed this skill: I'd become a public speaker. My speeches were about managing, recruiting and retaining Generation Y, so the audiences I presented to were much older than me. It was totally rewarding, but it was also completely intimidating.

I was in an interesting position because my speeches consisted of me standing in front of an experienced audience, and more or less telling them how to do their jobs. The only way for an audience to take me seriously was for me to command their attention and respect, and actually connect with each audience member – not necessarily an easy thing for a 24 year old to do.

So, after listening to Penelope Trunk rave about the course for months, I finally took the plunge and found myself at TAI, learning how to command a room and connect–by standing in front of a room full of people at least ten years older than me and commanding them to sit down.

Nobody sat.

Elise, our instructor and a former actor, told me to follow her lead. She punched the air. She screamed at the top of her lungs. And she stomped her feet.

I laughed and shook my head. But eventually, I followed her lead. I punched, I screamed and I stomped.

Then something clicked.

I pointed at Bill.

"Bill, sit down!"

He sat.

I turned left. "Susan, sit down!"

She sat.

One by one, I went through the entire room, truly connecting with each person and forcefully, but politely asking everyone to sit, until no one was left standing. Then, I gathered myself and said,

"Stand up!"

The entire audience stood.

I thanked them, and returned to my seat.

My heart was beating out of my chest. I felt completely ridiculous. But I also felt powerful. I felt like I had finally come full circle. In many ways, I finally felt like I was an adult.

As the course went on, I learned a lot about myself and a lot about other people. I watched each person go to the front of the room hesitant and nervous, only to sit down 45 minutes later with satisfied grins on their faces.

I learned that anyone can overcome what once seemed impossible. As I watched Bill, a 50 year old man, nearly break down in tears of happiness, joy, or maybe just relief, after slowly reciting his speech and connecting with every person in the room, I learned that anyone, at any age, can overcome what stands in their way.

At this particular point in my career, connecting with an audience was what stood in my way. The Communicating with Power and Presence course was my first step toward developing myself as a public speaker and a leader. As my life and my career go forward there will be other roadblocks and setbacks. But now I know there is always some way to clear these obstacles. The trick is to be proactive about it.

Whether its by taking a course at TAI, finding a mentor, or going on an extended vacation, figure out what's holding you back, and do something about it. Life's too short and there are too many resources at your fingertips to let anything stand in your way.

Blogging About Generation Y: Is it Worth it?

The other day I got an email from a twentysomething who was absolutely fed up with people writing about Generation Y. More specifically, young bloggers who consistently use the words "We" and "Us" as if they have a God-given right to be a spokesman for millions of individuals.

The funny thing is, I could relate. I write about Generation Y all the time and it's hard to do without sounding a little disingenuous.

So why do I do it? Why does anybody do it? Are people like me doing service to Generation Y or are we making things worse for a group of people that has enough to deal with? I'm on both sides of the fence with this one.

We're fortifying Gen-Y stereotypes.

And I'm not just talking about the negative ones either. There are plenty of stereotypes out there that may seem encouraging to some of us, but just don't encompass the entire population.

For instance, I've heard some people argue that all Gen Yers are self-starting entrepreneurs. Not true. There are plenty of us out there who are happy with a structured corporate environment and wouldn't want it any other way.

Look at me for instance, a founder of a startup. But I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a trademark entrepreneur. I owe the more entrepreneurial elements of our company's success to my business partners. And lucky for me, there's a newfound respect for the role of a community manager in the startup space.

We're not traditional experts. So what are we talking about?

On the Internet you don't have to be an expert to be considered an authority and that's perfectly fine with me. But at the same time it's dangerous for anyone who doesn't understand that most bloggers are writing based on opinion, not fact.

Most Gen-Y bloggers are not experts. I've given speeches on the topic and I still have a hard time calling myself "expert." Maybe it's because I know that my opinions will inevitably change. Or maybe I just know that what I want now, in my twenties, isn't going to be what I want when I'm thirty, or forty.

But, I also think I have a hard time playing the expert because everything we're saying about Generation Y isn't going to be true when we finally become the leaders of this world. Some of it will, but certainly not all of it. Nostradamus couldn't predict things that accurately, either can we.

And still, I see a lot of value in putting our young voices out there for the world to hear. Just because we're not going to get everything right, doesn't mean that we shouldn't be thinking.

It teaches us about the bigger picture.

Generation Y is given a bad rap for being narcissists, but the young people I know who are writing well about their generation are doing it with other people in mind.

Writing about Generation Y is important because it helps us analyze where we're headed as a group of people. It brings up questions about what we can and can't do, what we want and don't want. And that means we're getting a head start on all of the fantastic changes we hope to make in the world.

And maybe some of our expectations sound a bit delusional to disillusioned Gen Xers, but a lot of them aren't as far-fetched as some believe. The import thing is that we're thinking about it, and talking about it, together. And that means we're much more likely to make something happen, learning from each other along the way.

If we don't, somebody else still will.

When I first entered the blogosphere and wrote about Generation Y, there were a lot of haters out there. There still are. And while the media continued to bash us, story after story, nobody from our generation took the time to fight back.

Would it better if we didn't talk back? Is it better to let our antagonists nitpick at all of our flaws and not even mention one of our many amazing qualities?

The obvious answer is no.

8 On-The-Job Rules You Unfortunately Can't Learn in College

College is a great place to learn how to work hard, party hard, and make friends. College also teaches us how to live on our own and why debt sucks. But, college doesn't teach us as much about the business world because business in the real world is more about experience, confidence and the network you build. Here are 8 business rules you didn't learn in college.

1. You don't know how to manage yet.
College cannot teach you how to manage. As nice as it would be, managers learn to be great from experience, and that's it. Everyone is different, every situation is different and the only way to be a great manager is to have experiences in your back pocket that you can fall back on when you're faced with a difficult situation. Over the past few months I've learned this first hand by learning to manage on the fly. It's difficult, much harder than I ever expected, and I have a ton of respect for anyone who is great at it. You can take management courses and read management books, but you'll never learn to be a great manager without doing it.

2. Everything's a negotiation.
Negotiations happen nearly every day in business. It's amazing how many situations I've managed through that when I look back on them, I realize were actually a negotiation. Whether it's Business-to-Customer sales, Business-to-Business sales, salary, equity, ordirect report interactions, most of your conversations in the real world will involve some sort of give and take. College can teach you some basic principles, but you're better off getting practice by trying to buy a used car if you want to learn how to negotiate in the business world.

3. Networking has changed.
Unfortunately, colleges are behind the times. You would think with all the money they charge us, they would be ahead of the curve, but they're not. College professors cannot teach you how to create a "new" type of network. New networks are created online, with lots of loose connections, managed with social networking sites like Linked In and Brazen Careerist. You create your network by establishing expertise in your field and gaining visibility with the right people who share the same interests. College might teach you how to network in person, but the new networking is done online, and it's way more complicated and efficient.

4. You must create your own work.
College provides you with assignments, tests, quizzes and projects. Each of these things is handed down from a higher power (your professor) and you are told what's expected of you to earn a good grade. The business world is a whole different game. You will be handed assignments from a higher power (your boss) but there are also a million things you can do to go above and beyond. And if you want to advance in your company, join another company, or start your own, you need to learn how to create your own work, and that work you create must help the bottom line if you want to be considered successful.

5. Work is never done.
I've learned a lot of things since starting Brazen Careerist, but one of the most important lessons I've learned is that the work is never done. No matter how sure you are that you've done everything you can think of, there will always be something else to do when you wake up in the morning. If you're sitting around at 10 pm and you're bored with nothing to do, grab your computer and do a little work. Sure, you could put it off 'til the morning, but I guarantee that when you walk in the doors to the office, you'll have a full plate, no matter how much work you do the night before.

6. All work is not done sitting in front of a computer.
I often feel like I should be doing more work when my day consists of phone calls, meetings and random discussions around the office. And it's true, there is usually a lot of busy work I didn't get done at the end of a day like this, but when you start moving up that proverbial ladder, work becomes less and less sitting in front of a computer, and more and more talking, managing, and brainstorming. In fact, when you get to the point where work is hardly sitting in front of the computer at all, work starts to become a lot more fun.

7. Everyone looks out for themselves.
Some professors may be tough, but in general they all want you to succeed. Sometimes a curve will create a little competition, but for the most part your peers don't care one way or the other if you fail or succeed. The business world is much different. Everyone is looking out for themselves. If you fail, your peers have a better chance of being promoted. If you started a company, people justify their choice to not take the same type of risk by secretly wishing for you not to succeed. The best bosses are supportive, but when it comes down to it, people look out for themselves. In business, you can't trust everyone; it's all on you to succeed.

8. Straight A's will not make you a CEO, only a great entry level employee.
Students with 4.0 GPA's are recognized and honored at graduation and generally admired in school. But I do not want to work for anyone who got straight A's in school. But I would happily hire anyone who got straight A's. Why? Straight A's means you are great at doing the work you are assigned. You study hard, work hard and were rewarded because of that. But leading a company or starting a company requires much more. It requires social skills, vision, and creating work when there is nothing tangible there. It's no surprise that some of the world's top business leaders were college drop-outs-you've got to be a little nuts to believe you can lead a massive organization or create something from nothing. So be wary if your CEO was a straight A student, he's probably in the wrong position.

Generation Y: Here Are the Real Dues We Need to Pay

When I hear older generations talk about Generation Y having to pay their dues, I get a little sick to my stomach. Not because I'm trying so hard to avoid the whole thing (I am), but because I have more important things to develop before worrying about a fat paycheck and a corner office with a view.

Due paying gets a bad rap because it's consistently associated with cubicles, meaningless work and low-paying jobs with little benefit. But I believe that there are other inevitable obstacles—more important ones—that we need to conquer before deciding where we stand within the working world.

Here are three due-paying opportunities that we all need to think about before fussing over the traditional connotation of "paying your dues."

Discover who your true friends are.

If you're more than a year out of college you've likely figured it out—everyone you considered friends at school is not going to be there forever. In fact, it's quite possible that you'll encounter some mild betrayal before long. It comes with the territory.

I consider myself pretty lucky. But there are times when I'm utterly let down. And because everyone has their own goals, though sometimes fairly hazy goals, you shouldn't dwell on the people in your life that didn't end up being as loyal as you thought they would be.

What I've learned to do is this: whenever somebody lets you down, put your energy into someone who consistently picks you up. Those are the people you want to center your life around. And it's those people who will continue to add meaning in your life as you pay your dues as a twentysomething.

Discover what it's like to be alone.

While I continue to realize that I still have some true friends, there are still days when I can't help but feel lost and alone. And I think that most people feel this way at some point.

Whether you're single, dating or married, we all have to figure out for ourselves where we fit in the world. Sure, you can count on your loved ones for support, but it's you alone who makes the decision about where you fit and what makes you happy.

One thing I've learned since moving to Madison and starting Brazen Careerist is that life can't be measured by your social life alone, and it's certainly not measured by a paycheck or by where you stand in the hierarchy of the working world. The most important measure in life is how you feel about yourself. And some of the biggest revelations will hit you not when you're out partying with friends or working towards a higher salary, but when you're by yourself, alone and kind of unsettled by the things that are still missing in your life.

Sound depressing? Sure. It's seldom a fairy tale experience for any of us. But what you learn through these experiences is what you need to move forward and be more of the person you want to be someday.

Feeling alone is a big part of paying your dues. Don't fear it; try to embrace it and get comfortable.

Discover your fear, and conquer it.

Lately I've been reading Christine Hassler's 20 Something Manifesto. I learn best from listening to other people's experiences and this book is jammed-pack with twenty-something life.

Today I read about fear and I can't stop thinking about what Christine says:

If you have a skill, dream, or desire that you are passionate about pursuing, perhaps the biggest obstacle you will face is your own fear…Fear can keep us in bad situations, and also from pursuing our passions. Fear can often be a stronger motivator than the desire for success, stopping us in our tracks before we even find out what we want.

Lately I've been talking to a few people who seem to have something in mind that they want to do, but aren't sure how to really do it. But I'm starting to believe it's less about the actual drawing out a plan and more about drawing up the courage to make it happen.

Whether it's leaving a new job, starting a new one, moving away from family and friends, or any other daunting scenario I've ever faced, the most difficult part of the transition was mustering up the courage to do it. But once I sucked things up and overcame the fear of failure, everything else was gravy in comparison.

And sure, I still encounter little failures along the way. But they only make me better. A few scars are worth the irritation because you'll look at them later and remember what you did wrong that put them there in the first place.

So before you fret about office politics or the way the working world views Generation Y, think about developing yourself. People are always going to whine about how lazy and self-absorbed young people are, so let's just spend these years paying real dues first–ones that will actually pay off for the rest of our lives.