From asking for a promotion to switching industries entirely in search of a higher salary, if you’re planning a big career change at work this year, you’re in good company: According to Bankrate’s Job Seeker Survey, as of July 2024, nearly half (48%) of American workers plan to look for a new job within the next 12 months, and 43% plan to ask for a raise at work.
Many workers may feel that their pay is no longer as high as it used to be and may be seeking a new job or a raise. American workers started the year feeling pessimistic about their finances as inflation remained high. Now, inflation has slowed significantly, but given the current financial situation, many workers find it difficult or impossible to save enough money to live comfortably.
Making a change at work can be nerve-wracking, but it can also be a huge boon for your personal finances. Bankrate writers and editors know firsthand that stepping out of your comfort zone can lead to more retirement savings, increased savings, and even paying off debt.
Bankrate’s six experts have more than 33 years of combined experience writing and editing personal finance content and have guided readers through nearly every step of their financial journey. Their professional careers have made a big difference in personal finance that will come in handy the next time you sit down at the negotiating table.
Natasha Cornelius: practice your salary increase proposal out loud
At my previous company, I found my salary to be quite low, but I was very satisfied with my job, so I didn’t complain much. Eventually, I found myself spending too much on my budget, and it started to affect my life outside of work. So I called my mom, who has been managing people for many years, for advice. She told me to write down all the reasons why I deserved a raise, including how I would have impacted the company specifically. She helped me write a concise bullet list, and we even had a fictitious conversation to get used to saying out loud what I would have to say to my boss, the CEO of the company. I then set up a meeting with my boss.
Even though I had prepared everything with my mother, I was very nervous. He was smiling the whole time I was talking. When I finished my explanation, he asked me, “How much are you asking for?” I told him the amount, and he said he was willing to pay me a little more and was proud of me for speaking up. Since then, I have never been nervous again about asking for a raise when I truly felt that I deserved one.
Lauren nowacki: ask up front what you need to do to get promoted
My career advancement was by asking for and getting a promotion at work. I played the long game. I picked the right time – my mid-year review – and told my boss that I wanted to get promoted by the end of the year review and asked him what I needed to do to get the promotion. For the next 6 months, I did everything my boss told me to do (even added a few extra projects) and recorded everything. I also made a list of opportunities where I could fill in the gaps in my new role. Then, at my end of the year review, I presented everything and asked for the promotion again. I got the promotion, which came with a nearly 10 percent raise. I put all that extra money towards a car savings and was able to buy it all in cash about 5 months earlier than I planned.
RE Holly: Leveraging networks to gain a foothold
I’m a former academic. I spent the first decade of my career pursuing my passion for history: lecturing at universities, working in museums, and publishing books. But for over a decade I was scraping by in four or five part-time jobs and struggling to justify the value of my work to employers.
Changing careers to write about personal finance was a big move for me. I had been working for a while as a volunteer editor for a history blog, one of whose founders had moved from academia to personal finance years earlier. When I decided I was done with academia, I saw a job ad at her company and messaged her about it. Within a year, my income more than doubled, and I had the financial freedom to move into a bigger place with my wife and start a family. Having a steady paycheck and a single job to focus my energies also gave me the confidence to negotiate a raise for the first time in my life.
Ryan flanigan: use the skills you already have to seek out new opportunities
As a stage actor approaching the age limit, I knew I needed to take action to avoid a major drop in income. I was passionate about travel and credit cards, and was an outgoing person, so I looked for new ways to utilize my creativity. I began writing as a freelance writer about my travels and how to maximize compensation to gain experience and credibility. After a year of searching for full-time work, I was offered a job working as a writer for Bankrate.
Retirement plans are not typically available in the performance industry. So before I took this role at Bankrate, I had to get creative and save money. I set a strict savings budget based on my projected income for the next 6 months, or the length of my current contract. My goal was to max out my Roth IRA and invest the surplus in stocks. Now that I have a traditional job, I try to max out my company contributions for my 401(k) and HSA accounts, but I also try to max out my Roth IRA whenever possible. The security of a steady income and a decent retirement plan made a big difference for my family and helped me transition smoothly from one profession to another.
Jonah strickland: consider courses that will give you a good return on your investment
While working a full-time job, I took a course on SEO writing and increased my income as a freelance writer 14x in a year. The investment was scary and I took the plunge and charged it to my credit card, but I recouped it within 3 months and got a big client who I’ve worked with for years. With that client alone, my return on investment was over 3,400 percent. With that extra income, I paid off about $10,000 in student loans and high-interest debt faster and further renovated my house, leading to a significantly higher selling price. I then used my SEO experience to get a job in digital media and doubled my full-time salary. I spent $700 on that course and made six figures. What’s the best thing I learned? If you don’t have a writing sample, make one. Those samples helped me land a lot of clients.
Pippin wilbers: build your resume around skills, not job titles
Before joining Red Ventures (Bankrate’s parent company), I worked in print journalism at a small-town newspaper. My starting salary in 2016 was $24,000 with little to no increase. I realized I would starve in journalism, so I started looking for a new job. I focused on industries where money was more prevalent, where I worked with words. I nearly doubled my salary by switching jobs. My advice to anyone looking for a new job is to focus on skills rather than job titles, whether you’re looking for a job or writing a resume. Many low-paying jobs require the same skills as higher-paying jobs. With a well-crafted resume and carefully selected examples of how you used those skills in previous jobs and how they impacted the business, a savvy recruiter will see you as a gem in the rough.
Conclusion
Sometimes, making a big career move is easier said than done. You might be worried about your financial security and feel it’s safer to stay in your current job than take a risk in a new one. If so, you’re not alone. According to Bankrate, 70% of workers say they’ve felt some anxiety about their job security since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates in March 2022.
But if you’re in a position to do so, you should consider that new opportunity that you have your eye on. Not only would it be great for your career, it could also open up some great financial opportunities.
If your salary increases, be proactive with your funds: consider allocating more money to emergency savings and aggressively paying down debt.
