“I Wanted More Responsibility, Now I Want More Money. Help!”

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Help Wanted

Episode: "I Wanted More Responsibility, Now I Want More Money. Help!"
Hosts: Jason Feifer (Entrepreneur editor in chief), Nicole Lapin (Money expert, author)
Date: June 16, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Jason Feifer and Nicole Lapin take on a listener's dilemma common to many professionals: after years in the same workplace, having recently been given more responsibilities, how do you successfully advocate for a new title or higher pay? The listener, using the pseudonym “Mary,” works in a medical clinic and now finds herself with more tasks but the same compensation and job title. The hosts provide guidance on clarifying goals, researching industry benchmarks, understanding leverage, and making a compelling case for advancement.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Mary’s Situation: Years of Service, More Work, No Raise

• Mary has worked in the same position at a medical clinic for over 10 years.
• Receives only cost-of-living salary increases ($45k–$47k); never asked directly for a raise or promotion.

  Mary: "I've recently been given more responsibilities and this is fabulous. I love it and I want to continue to grow... However, I feel it should require a bigger title and bigger pay." (04:01)

• Despite asking for more responsibility for years ("teach me something!"), promotions or raises were never offered.
• Mary wants clarity on how to ask for a bigger role—and corresponding pay.

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2. Determining Leverage & Employer Dynamics

• The hosts prompt Mary to consider her value and replaceability within the organization:
  • Would her bosses easily replace her, or would her departure cause substantial inconvenience?
  • Nicole and Jason stress the need to understand the company’s willingness to accommodate requests for promotion/raise versus their willingness to replace employees.
  • Notable Quote:

    Jason: "That's important to know... we're all replaceable. But how complicated is it and how much pain are they willing to tolerate?" (07:40)

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3. The Power—and Pitfall—of Never Asking

• Mary admits she has never asked for a real raise or promotion despite new duties.
  • Nicole: "You've never asked for a bump in base comp?" (09:02)
  • Mary: "Never."
• The hosts point out she’s received exactly what she asked for: more work, not more pay.
  • Jason: "You have now gotten exactly what you asked for." (09:57)

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4. Clarifying the Ask: How Much, and for What?

• Mary initially floats the idea of a $50,000 raise, admitting it’s likely unrealistic.
  • Nicole: "Are you just throwing those numbers out of—you know where?" (12:25)
  • The need to base requests on data and benchmarks is emphasized.
• Mary’s role has changed in complexity, not in hours or base function, which impacts salary negotiation framing.
  • Nicole: "So you're not working more, you're just doing different things with the same amount of hours." (13:01)
• Actionable Advice:
  • Pinpoint your desired salary increase or target position/title.
  • Back requests with market data for similar roles in your area or industry.

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5. Understanding Industry Standards & Within-Company Pathways

• Jason and Nicole urge Mary to research titles and pay rates for similar roles (like Administrator, Coordinator, Supervisor).
  • Nicole: "Can we look up what administrators or coordinators or supervisors make in your industry?" (20:32)
• Challenge: In static environments where titles are rarely updated, promotion may be systemically difficult.
  • Jason: "There is just no way... your bosses are going to give you another title but keep you in the same role, because it will just piss off all of those other people that you work with." (22:07)

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6. Options: Stay and Advocate, or Leverage a Move

• Hosts suggest that often, actual advancement may require looking externally:
  • Mary’s expanded skills (with new computer systems) could boost her value elsewhere.
  • A competing clinic pays less, but perhaps advancement is possible with more experience.
  • Nicole: "One of the surest fire ways to get a raise is... to get leverage and to get another offer." (22:35)
• Situational Awareness:
  • Jason: "I was always mindful of what it is that I was doing and knew and what it is that I needed to know how to do in order to get to the next level." (23:35)

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7. Doing the Work: The Need for a Clear Plan and Data

• The conversation turns to building a concrete plan:
  • Research job titles, descriptions, and salaries at the clinic and in the region.
  • Objectively assess whether Mary’s current and desired skills match next-tier positions.
• Nicole: "You can ask for whatever you want. In fact, you can ask for $50,000. If you can really back that up, you can ask for whatever it is. But you got to show your work and it has to make sense." (24:58)
• The burden is on Mary to bring this information to her employer.

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8. Realism and Reflection: Acknowledging the System

• Hosts empathize with Mary’s situation: her employer doesn’t prioritize career development, so initiative must come from her.
  • Jason: "You are in an environment that does not prioritize career advancement. But that's not to say that they don't value people who do good work..." (26:16)
  • Nicole: "Sometimes it's just this conversation. This is like, you know, career rehab... to remind you, hey, Mary, we're on your team." (27:04)
• There is more “good” (job stability, benefits, skills gained) than Mary may have realized.

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Memorable Quotes

• Jason Feifer: "That's important to know... we're all replaceable. But how complicated is it and how much pain are they willing to tolerate?" (07:40)
• Nicole Lapin: "If somebody came to me and asked for half of their salary as a raise, I would have a heart attack." (11:33)
• Jason Feifer: "The one thing over all these years that you have articulated that you want, you now have, and nothing else has been defined." (13:09)
• Nicole Lapin: "You can ask for whatever you want... But you got to show your work and it has to make sense." (24:58)
• Jason Feifer: "You are in an environment that does not prioritize career advancement. But that's not to say that they don't value people who do good work..." (26:16)
• Nicole Lapin: "It's easy to get into a rut of, like, it feels like shit. Life sucks, work sucks. Everything sucks. Until you just pause for a moment and... really assess the good, bad, and the ugly." (27:04)

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Action Steps for Listeners in Similar Situations

1. Clarify Your Goals:

   • Decide what you actually want: title, compensation, or both.

2. Do Research:

   • Find out what those titles or roles pay at your organization and others via job boards.

3. Assess Your Fit:

   • Honestly compare your skills and experience to the requirements for higher roles.

4. Build a Data-Driven Case:

   • Come prepared with rationale, not just feelings or unsupported demands.

5. Consider Leverage:

   • Sometimes, a competitive job offer is the best way to get a raise or promotion.

6. Be Prepared to Do the Legwork:

   • Especially in workplaces lacking structured advancement, you must drive your own progress.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:47] Mary introduces her situation.
• [04:46] Details on Mary’s job responsibilities and compensation.
• [07:31] Assessing leverage and replaceability.
• [09:17] Confirmation Mary has never asked for a raise.
• [10:12] Discussion about expectations vs. results.
• [12:25] Importance of rationalizing your ask.
• [13:06] Clarifying responsibilities: same hours, more complex work.
• [15:54] Defining new skills versus new titles.
• [20:32] Researching job titles and pay.
• [22:07] Environmental limitations to internal promotions.
• [22:35] Leverage and using outside offers.
• [23:35] The value of “situational awareness.”
• [24:58] Data-driven negotiation strategy.
• [26:16] The reality of unstructured workplaces.
• [27:04] Importance of gratitude and objectivity.

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Conclusion

By the end of the call, Mary has a clearer plan: define what role and salary she wants, benchmark it with industry data, assess her own qualifications, and then present a fact-based case to her employer—and consider external opportunities for leverage. The hosts reinforce the need for clarity, preparation, and initiative, especially in organizations that don’t automatically support professional growth.

For anyone feeling “stuck” after taking on more at work: get specific about your goals, support your case with facts, and be ready to do the work to get what you deserve.

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Transcript

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[Jason Pfeiffer]

This is Help Wanted, the show that tackles all the big work questions you cannot ask anyone else. I'm Jason Pfeiffer, editor in chief of

[Nicole Lapin]

Entrepreneur magazine, and I'm New York Times

bestselling author and money expert Nicole Lapin.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

The helpline is open.

[Nicole Lapin]

Working at the same company for years and years can be great. You're on the sunny side of the learning curve. You know the team super well. There is a sense of stability, right, that comes with really setting roots in a company. But being at one company for a long time can also be not so great. You can get stuck, you can get overlooked, or you can feel like you've settled into a routine that doesn't really serve your own growth. The latter is the situation today's listener, Mary, has found herself in. Now, this listener wanted to stay anonymous. Mary is not her actual name. We're just calling her Mary because we had to call her something. So in today's episode, Jason and I connect with Mary and help her get herself unstuck. Here's that conversation.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Mary, whose name is not Mary, but we're going to call you Mary for this recording. Welcome to Help Wanted.

[Mary (Listener)]

Hi. Thanks for having me.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

So, Mary, you had reached out with a question to me. Why don't you tell me what that is?

[Mary (Listener)]

I have been in my position for over 10 years. There are several people in my department and we all do the same position. I've recently been given more responsibilities and this is fabulous. I love it and I want to continue to grow in within the department. However, I feel it should require a bigger title and bigger pay. So I'd like to ask for that because it's not the same as what everybody else in my partner is doing.

[Nicole Lapin]

And a few clarifying questions because we're keeping you anonymous. I think it would be helpful to let us know specifically what your position is, what the roles you had signed up for, if you had a contract, and then what are some of the roles that you're taking on and if you feel comfortable, what your current salary is and what you would like.

[Mary (Listener)]

It's in a clinic setting, medical clinic, and it's assisting patients and providers and it's everything from first front door, they come in and then they leave and computers and insurance and everything.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Now we understand what you do. You've got a lot of responsibilities and you've been doing this for a while. Is this the first time that someone has asked you to do more but has not given you anything in Return, whether that's a salary increase or a role increase.

[Mary (Listener)]

Yeah, absolutely. And they know that I've wanted this for years. I continually ask, teach me something. Give me something. Do I want more? They know that I want to do more within our department. I've asked for more opportunity. So they've given me Now. Now after so many years, they started giving me more opportunities.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

So you spent years, years, saying, I would like more. And what was the response to that?

[Mary (Listener)]

They say, okay, okay, okay, we're gonna, we're gonna teach you this. And then it never happened. And so even this new responsibility, it was gonna be one day a week. Now it's two days a week. Eventually they say, nope, it's going to be four days a week. But I want something paid title.

[Nicole Lapin]

And can. Can you give us a sense of directionally what your salary is and if it's changed over the years?

[Mary (Listener)]

It's. I think it's 47. Yeah, 45. 47 a year.

[Nicole Lapin]

And have you ever gotten a bump in base salary?

[Mary (Listener)]

No, it's basic cost of living. We have a 401. They don't have a pension any longer.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

And do you. If the response that you have been getting as you have been looking to advance is the same response that others get when they look to advance, or are other people getting treated differently? Like, are you in a system that simply doesn't work, or does it not work for you?

[Mary (Listener)]

I don't think other people are asking to advance.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

I want you to imagine a scenario here. And that scenario is that you get off of this call and you walk over to your bosses and you say, thank you for your time. I am out of here. And I'm not suggesting that you do that right now, but I just want to game it out. What would they do? Would they either a say thank you for your time and best of luck with your next opportunities and they would not care at all because you are very easily replaced? Or would they say, ah, crap, like, we don't actually know how to replace you. You've been around for so long. We don't have a lot of turnover here. We got to figure out how to make this work. What kind of situation do you think you're in?

[Mary (Listener)]

I think a little bit of both. They would be like, oh, crap, we really need to know how we're going to replace that. But then I think everybody's replaceable. I think a little bit of both.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Yeah, well, everybody is replaceable. Let's be clear. But the question that is worth asking is like, are you easily Replaceable, because in some cases, whoever's above you just does not want to have to deal with the burden of replacing you. At which point getting you more of what you want is simply the easier thing to do. And it's important to know what kind of leverage you have as you're trying to figure out what kind of moves you can make. So that's important to know that, yeah, sure, you're replaceable, we're all replaceable. But how complicated is it and how much pain are they willing to tolerate? That's something to have some kind of sense of. And maybe if you don't know it, you could go talk to the last person who walked out the door and ask them what happened? Did somebody make an offer? Was there more money on the table suddenly? Because I'll tell you what, the first time I ever quit a job, I discovered that my boss and I didn't expect this, but my bosses, they called me into a room and they just started throwing things at me. And that's the first time after years of being there that I realized how valuable I actually was. And frankly, I still left.

[Nicole Lapin]

Not actually throwing objects at you, to be clear.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Not throwing objects, that's true. Throwing wor and promises of money.

[Mary (Listener)]

Great point. That you're not going to want to train somebody.

[Nicole Lapin]

And just to be clear, you've never asked for a bump in base comp or any other part of your compensation package?

[Mary (Listener)]

No, not since these brand new responsibilities.

[Nicole Lapin]

But. But you did before?

[Mary (Listener)]

No, not at all.

[Nicole Lapin]

So you never have?

[Mary (Listener)]

Never.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

So you've been there for 10 years and you've never asked for a raise?

[Mary (Listener)]

No, because I get, you know, the yearly whatever they normally get, that cost of living, whatever that normally happens. But this is now taking on a whole other job. When my people. In my job title right now, nobody else is doing it but me. It's like taking on a whole other job, which I want to tell them that's another job.

[Nicole Lapin]

So when you wanted to get extra work and asked for it, sort of raised your hand for it. Did you also assume. Assume that if they would take you up on that offer, they would also give you more? Is that how you just played it out in your mind?

[Mary (Listener)]

I did.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

And so in fact, just to put a point on it, after asking for a very long time for more responsibilities but not asking for more money, you have now gotten exactly what you asked for.

[Mary (Listener)]

Yes, but now I need to ask for more money.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Yeah.

[Nicole Lapin]

Let me ask you a question. If you do you have a sense of how much more you would want.

[Mary (Listener)]

So I see it as a part time kind of thing. Maybe even, I don't know if I could put a number I don't want to. I would say another 50,000 a year just for this. But you know, that's reaching.

[Nicole Lapin]

And what if they said no 50,000, no 5,000, no $5. Just don't do extra work. Exactly.

[Mary (Listener)]

If they say no nothing, then why the heck am I going to do all this extra when nobody else is?

[Nicole Lapin]

Well, because you asked to do more things.

[Mary (Listener)]

Yeah, you're right. But then now I want to ask for more, better compensation. Yeah, you're totally right. I've been asking forever. They've never done anything, but they always promise. I asked, but now I want to ask for more compensation.

[Nicole Lapin]

Is there any way to back into a more realistic number? I mean, if somebody, if I had an employee who I was paying $47,000 to and they said they wanted a $50,000 raise, I don't think that would sit well with me.

[Mary (Listener)]

Right.

[Nicole Lapin]

Is there a more realistic number that we can sort of justify and back up that somehow we can get to 25 even?

[Jason Pfeiffer]

It's still pretty big.

[Nicole Lapin]

Still. That's a really big jump. Listen, we, Jason and I are all about everybody making the most money possible. Also want to set you up for success. I also think if somebody came to me and asked for half of their salary as a raise, I would have a heart attack.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

It's a monster raise. It's a monster race. And I'm sure, to be clear, Nicole and I both agree. I am sure you just, you deserve it. You've been working very hard. You are very valuable. But if we're ultimately going to get into the head of the person who you are going to sit down with, which is what we're going to need to do, we're going to need to know what they're seeing and what they're thinking. And definitely doubling or at least 50 percenting your salary is not going to be on the table for them.

[Mary (Listener)]

I understand. I understand what you're saying now. Maybe I should just look at this as a happy bonus, like 2,000, I guess.

[Nicole Lapin]

I'm really curious. Are you just throwing those numbers out of you know where? Like, are we just making up numbers now or is there some rationale behind it? No, we are math nerds. We also love metrics and data around here. I think we can sort of back into something realistic. So you make $25 an hour, correct?

[Mary (Listener)]

26.

[Nicole Lapin]

There's some change in there.

[Mary (Listener)]

26, yeah.

[Nicole Lapin]

Okay, 26. But you're paid as a salary employee, so you've extrapolated. Oh, no, you're paid as an hourly employee.

[Mary (Listener)]

I'm hourly.

[Nicole Lapin]

So you've just added more hours?

[Mary (Listener)]

No.

[Nicole Lapin]

Oh, so you're not working more, you're just doing different things with the same amount of hours.

[Mary (Listener)]

Correct.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Got it. So you've leveled up the kinds of responsibilities that you've done, but within the same number of hours that you've been working before.

[Mary (Listener)]

Yep, exactly.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

And to be at least slightly generous to the people who are making decisions here, because we ultimately have to get into their heads, so we have to be generous in that they are logical people. The thing you have been asking for is this, is to take the amount of time that you have been working and then do somewhat different things with it. And they're doing that. And I guess technically what they're having you do is if you looked at it on a ladder of responsibilities above the things that you've been doing, and so you feel like you deserve more pay for that. But that has never been on the table and it's never been discussed, and you have not stepped back and thought about what amount of money would be satisfying or necessary for you. So we're. We're all pretty blind in a way. Mary, I feel like the very first thing we need to do is figure out what you actually want, because the one thing over all these years that you have articulated that you want, you now have, and nothing else has been defined, so.

[Mary (Listener)]

True. I'm glad that you laid that out. I see it clearer.

[Nicole Lapin]

True. Yeah. If I were in the boss's position, I would be really confused. Let's use that as a starting point. And then that. That puts the onus on you to explain why I shouldn't be confused. And. And the best way to do that is not through, like, feelings like I deserve. Those are. Those are really hard sort of catchphrases that people use. As a boss, my motivation is to make money. Right. So if you're showing me that there is a job that's out in the open market for the skills and the responsibilities that you're doing, and the starting hourly rate is $30 an hour, that's a different conversation. I think clearly saying, clearly backing that up is going to be really important because I think you're going to get a no or you're not going to get what you want to hear if you just sort of pull it out of you know what and say a lot of superlatives around this. So is there a place where the skills that you are now utilizing and the tasks that you're doing is posted in some sort of job listing. You know, I'm trying to figure out how you've leveled up and where that elevation could be. So you started sort of as admin. Right. And so that seems like the right comp. And so what would some of the new, more advanced skills be?

[Mary (Listener)]

It's still a lot of admin, but it's learning additional systems. So I work with two different computer systems as the clinic assistant, but now I'm adding additional systems, computer systems that I'm learning.

[Nicole Lapin]

Are you learning them or are you utilizing them? Because learning them, like, I don't know if I want to pay you more to learn things. Honestly, no.

[Mary (Listener)]

I've learned a new utilizing and learned a new one. So I've already learned a brand new computer system and then I utilize now two, three different forms to put data in.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

So is it fair to say, and we don't know your industry well enough to exactly understand what these systems are or what you do, but is it fair to say that your boss at least could categorize what you are now doing as a version of what you had done before, but with a little more complexity?

[Mary (Listener)]

Yes. Yes.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

So do you think that your boss also might say you wanted to learn and so we've just put you in a position where now you can learn these other systems because that's what you said you wanted to do?

[Mary (Listener)]

Yes.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

So then in that case, I mean, look, we can and should have a conversation about the conversation you can have with your boss about making more money, because that's what you want. And so it's worth talking about that, but it's also worth understanding what kind of leverage you have. And I don't feel like you have a ton. Mary, I'll be honest with you because of what we've now learned about the way that you've asked for this and what you have. But it also makes me wonder if you have more or you're gaining more leverage in your industry because if you're learning these new systems, are you becoming more valuable? And you could apply somewhere else and they might want to pay you more in a way in which you get a nice fresh start over there instead of having this long journey at your current company where you've just been asking for more but never asking for more money. And it might just be simpler going somewhere else. Stick around. Help Wanted. We'll be right back. Welcome back to Help Wanted. Let's get to it before we talk about the conversation that you can have with your boss about money. Are there other options here? Are there other companies? And do you think that what you're learning in this new role, even if it's still something of a learning experience, will boost your resume to the point where you're more valuable somewhere else?

[Mary (Listener)]

I definitely think it would. Including these other corporations that I'm supplying data to. I'm learning their systems, definitely. But there is that fear.

[Nicole Lapin]

I.

[Mary (Listener)]

Not 20 or 30.

[Nicole Lapin]

Is there a competitor to them that or there. Is there somebody that they would consider a competitor?

[Mary (Listener)]

Sure. But the pay is less at the competitor.

[Nicole Lapin]

Even this sort of elevated role. Yeah, that's not great news. Okay. No, we're digging. We're trying to help you. Did you. Have you recently done a search, like, on Indeed or Monster or any of the sort of job sites around this?

[Mary (Listener)]

I have not, but I'm writing that down. I'll have to.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

You know what, it's funny. When Nicole just said, we're trying to help you, it occurred to me that one of the reasons why this conversation has thus far been a lot of just us peppering you with questions, but we haven't actually picked a direction and dug into it, which is typically what happens when Nicole and I talk to someone. I think the answer is because we don't know where to go, because you haven't set the destination yet. So if the thing that you said to us was, I'm making $25 an hour and I really want to get to $30 an hour, then we could say, all right, let's figure out how to do that. You've got these skills. Here's the marketplace. Let's go figure out how to get you five more dollars per hour. Let's talk about the conversation that you can have with your boss to see if you can be on a path to getting five more dollars per hour. But because we haven't actually established what it is that you want want, we don't really know where to go. So it might be worth stepping back and saying ultimately, outside of that, you wanted to learn more things, which you are now doing. What do you want?

[Mary (Listener)]

I want. I do. I wanted to learn new things, to gain more, to get a better position in my department.

[Nicole Lapin]

Yeah, Mission accomplished, sister.

[Mary (Listener)]

Yeah. So now I want a better title. I don't want to be assistant. I want a better title, which will have more respect. I don't want to just be the assistant. I want a better title.

[Nicole Lapin]

Great. What's the better title that you would want?

[Mary (Listener)]

Administrator. Kind of Thing or coordinator supervisor.

[Nicole Lapin]

Okay, great. Now we have a good path. Now we know the destination. Otherwise, it's like jumping in the car without knowing the address. Now we're getting closer to the address. So can we look up what administrators or coordinators or supervisors make in your industry?

[Mary (Listener)]

Okay, I can do that.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

And do you have a sense of what their skills and knowledge base is that you either don't have or aren't currently utilizing? Like, what is the difference between the job that you have and what they have? Because I will tell you something that immediately leapt to mind as soon as you started talking about wanting a different title and maybe even having a different title before you actually have a different job is that when I was at a magazine many years ago, there were, like, six of us who all had the title senior editor, which in magazines is a funny title, because senior doesn't actually mean that senior. It means you're in the middle of the pack. But we were all these senior editors, and I was getting really annoyed because I wanted a different title. But what I came to learn was that because there were all of these senior editors, we were all stuck with that title because our bosses had decided that elevating one of us would upset all the rest of us. And so their position was to just ride it all out with us, all the exact same title. And you know how I got another title is that I left that company and I went somewhere else. That's how I got it. Otherwise, I would have stayed at that exact same role. So you are working with these colleagues. You all have the same title. There is just no. No way, Mary. I am telling you that your bosses are going to give you another title but keep you in the same role, because it will just piss off all of those other people that you work with. So they're not going to do that, but you could maybe move into a completely different role in a different department if you know what it takes to get there.

[Mary (Listener)]

Yes.

[Nicole Lapin]

I mean, one of the surest fire ways to get a raise is what Jason said is to get leverage and to get another offer. The best way to get a better offer, better position, or better comp package at your current position is to get another one and use that as leverage. And so I'm bummed that the potential employer for said leverage would not be higher.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

But Nicole, that was only at a lateral move. Maybe once she's learning more, she can position herself as a higher title somewhere else. I don't know. Can Mary? Can you?

[Mary (Listener)]

Yeah. Fabulous.

[Nicole Lapin]

So what is the at the competitor what does an administrator do and make. What does a supervisor do and make? Coordinator, you know, and first, do you do those things? And second, where is that comp.

[Mary (Listener)]

I have to do a little research, do a little bit more work, and I'm writing all this down. And that makes sense.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Mary, I'm going to give you two words that defined a lot of phases of my career. And those words were situational awareness. I was always mindful of what it is that I was doing and knew and what it is that I needed to know how to do in order to get to the next level. So I was constantly thinking, what are the skills that the people above me have? Because that's going to be the pathway upwards.

[Mary (Listener)]

And.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

And the challenge that we're hearing from you is that you have not really put yourself through that test.

[Mary (Listener)]

It makes sense, and you're right. So maybe it's not even about pay, and pay will come eventually, but I really do need that path.

[Nicole Lapin]

Well, I think you need a little more due diligence, a little bit more research. Look into what those positions entail at your company and at competitors companies, and see if you really match up with the skills and the responsibilities of those titles first. And then I would just kind of pick the one that fits most accurately, because you're armed with data and you're armed with facts, and that is often what people miss when they have these conversations.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Yeah.

[Nicole Lapin]

And so regardless of where you go should, showing your work essentially is very important. So you can ask for whatever you want. In fact, you can ask for $50,000. If you can really back that up, you can ask for whatever it is. But you got to show your work and it has to make sense.

[Mary (Listener)]

Okay.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

And you know, Mary, let's also just acknowledge everything that we're saying is along the theme of you have to do the work. And that's true. You do. Some people are fortunate in that they are in work circumstances where they have people above them who foster the people who work with them and give them a pathway forward. And you clearly have not been granted that you are not in a environment that prioritizes career advancement, and that sucks. That sucks for you, and it sucks for everyone else who would like career advancement. But look, sometimes we're in those circumstances and we take advantage of them, and sometimes we're not. And then we have to figure out how to get out of them. And we have identified which one you're in. You are in an environment that does not prioritize career advancement. But that's not to say that they don't value people who do good work because clearly you've been there a long time. They're very happy for you to do the thing you already doing because you clearly do it well. And in these mystery realms above you, there are people coming and going. There are job openings, and nobody, because they're not thinking about career advancement, nobody is thinking about how to just move you from this space to that space. But that is not to say that if you can't make that case, if you can't, as Nicole said, show your work, that you can't make a claim for yourself as the natural person to step into that next role. But the thing is that clearly your bosses are not going to do that kind of thinking themselves. So it is, in this case, crappy, as it is incumbent upon you to be the one to do it.

[Mary (Listener)]

Okay.

[Nicole Lapin]

And sometimes it's just this conversation. This is like, you know, career rehab, career therapy to remind you, hey, Mary, we're on your team. But just like you asked for this, the competitor pays less. You have awesome benefits. You're learning more things. You know, it's easy to get into a rut of, like, it feels like shit. Life sucks, Work sucks. Everything sucks. Until you just pause for a moment and, like, you know, really assess the good, bad, and the ugly. And I think there's more good than perhaps you realized or you remembered going into this conversation. And for whatever that's worth, you know, it's. It's just a good reminder.

[Mary (Listener)]

Yeah.

[Nicole Lapin]

Yeah, it is.

[Mary (Listener)]

I feel clearer. Thank you for putting things in perspective.

[Nicole Lapin]

I think. Yeah. The paths are really just like figuring out what that title is, figuring out the title you want, figuring out how much that title makes, if it's truly in line with the things that you're doing and then asking for it. And we have episodes on how to ask for it. We've done role playing and things like that. So we can link those in the show notes. We can send that to you, too, to sort of refresh on the blocking and tackling. But, yeah, this piece has to be done first.

[Mary (Listener)]

The thing is, I have to work for it. I have to go do it. My bosses are not going to do it for me.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

They are sure not.

[Mary (Listener)]

I was hoping they would.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Well, Mary, go get it.

[Mary (Listener)]

I'm on it.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Help Wanted is a production of Money News Network. Help Wanted is hosted by me, Jason

[Nicole Lapin]

Pfeiffer, and me, Nicole Lapin. Our executive producer is Morgan Lavoy. Do you want some help? Email our helpline at helpwantedoneynewsnetwork.com for the chance to have some of your questions answered on the show and follow us on Instagramoneynews and TikTokoneyNewsNetwork for exclusive content and to see our beautiful faces. Maybe a little dance?

[Jason Pfeiffer]

Oh, I didn't sign up for that. All right.

[Nicole Lapin]

Well, talk to you soon.

[Jason Pfeiffer]

It.