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“I deserve more than this.”

Ever had this thought in regards to your career and job search?

You’re not alone. Here’s how you can make sure you put yourself in a position to negotiate for better.

A MESSAGE FROM ENTRYLEVEL

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Start a wins document

What are you proud of this week?

Write it down, and answer that question every week.

Screenshot proof of the work you’re proud of, and the feedback you got.

This can be as simple as a friend complimenting you on how well you organized a get-together.

At the end of every quarter, compile all your wins and pick the best ones. Now you have a document you can use to negotiate your salary, a raise, a promotion, and more.

Document your learnings

Write down what you do, whether it’s:

• What you’re learning

• The steps you took to complete a project

• Your workflow for a specific ask

Ever since I started doing this, I’ve found it super helpful. Sometimes others ask me for help and I’ll point them to existing documentation, which saves everyone time. And as we know, time is money.

If you’re looking to change jobs, it’s easier to create a resume and portfolio if you have good documentation of your previous projects.

Take feedback well

“I put a lot of time and effort into my work. I can’t believe they gave me such harsh feedback.”

I got this email recently from a student. They felt demotivated after receiving negative feedback, which is understandable because it feels invalidating.

Here’s what I told them.

In the workplace, your work might not always get the recognition it deserves. Speaking up about it can be helpful, but it's also important to remember that you did your best, and what matters is the amazing things you learned.

Keeping a "wins" document while you work can be super helpful for these times. Whenever you feel demoralized, you can just refer back to that document. You can also use it to negotiate raises and promotions.

Additionally, despite the negative experience, I hope you learned some things from it - like for example, there will always be people who don't appreciate your work. I had to learn this as well, and just had to shake it off and not let it stop me from pursuing what I want.

In the end, those negative experiences actually made me better, because I learned to be happy with my own hard work rather than just relying on other people's evaluations (even though compliments are always nice).

Plus, having a growth mindset (and always trying to improve yourself based on feedback) is one of the fastest ways reach your goals.

Summary to grow your career

Positioning yourself as a valuable addition to the team can help you negotiate for better. And you can do that by:

• Keeping a wins document

• Documenting your learnings

• Taking feedback well