What do you do if your salary is no longer sustaining you?
This is a question most salary earners have often asked themselves, especially in the current economic downturn. The inflation in Nigeria is constant, the economy is not stable. You can go to the market today and buy something at one price and return in a few days and it’s a higher price. But your salary remains the same.
If the prices of your needs are increasing and your salary is not increasing to match the cost, then you will agree with me that there is a problem. So what is the solution to this problem?
There are several options you can exercise depending on what is most feasible for you.
Be your company’s fixer
Every company at its core has a single most important problem. If you’re the staff who is the go-to guy for solving that problem, it makes you the fixer. It also makes you indispensable and makes it easy for you to negotiate a higher salary for yourself.
Do your research
Now you know what you earn. Compare your salary with what others in your field are earning. Go ahead to find out what the benchmark is if your salary meets it. If you earn lower, you can use this to negotiate a higher salary for yourself by preparing great visuals showing what you bring to the table, your valuable input and progress, and how the company has benefited from you. Visuals are best for this because people are more likely to respond to visuals than to conversations.
Master a new skill
If you want to earn more, a good way is to master a new skill. It has to be a skill that you can actively use in your job description and produce better results. It could be a new certification or training. Apply these skills in your daily tasks and call the attention of your direct supervisor to them.
Ask for more responsibilities
A great way to get a salary increase is getting more responsibilities. This would be a good incentive for your job to pay you more as no one expects you to do more jobs for the same pay. Getting a new skill or certification can help you to be qualified to carry on more responsibilities.
Change your location
Geographical location also affects inflation, so where do you reside? Where do you purchase your needs? It is possible that all of these have a high effect on the area you are based. For instance, a person living in Lagos and earning a salary of N200,000 would still be managing and living on average whereas a person staying in Port Harcourt earning the same salary would live better. This is because the standard of living is not the same. Accommodation, feeding and necessaries in Lagos are all more expensive than in Port Harcourt.
Get a side hustle
You can also consider doing something else on the side. It could be utilizing a skill you have by working remotely or working in the same capacity for another firm. Or it could be starting a business where you buy and sell goods or also offer skills in exchange for money. You can either put someone in charge of it while you work or run it on flexible hours.
Consider a career change
Another option is to transit. Most people these days are transiting to tech by acquiring the required skills and applying to jobs based on those skills. You can also look into other career opportunities that you think you can handle and most importantly that pay more than your current salary.
Dedicate your time to finding a new job
A poor salary is more than enough reason to start looking for a new job. Most people work to earn, and if you’re not earning enough, it is good to explore other options. So, apply to jobs, get certified attend interviews and do everything you can to improve your chances of getting another job. So long as it’s a job you can handle and it pays more than your current job, go for it.
