A simple trick from my old boss in Austin made salary talks way less scary

Last month, I had to ask for a raise and remembered advice my manager gave me three years ago at a tech startup there. He said to write down every single win, even small stuff like fixing a client's problem in one day, and put a dollar amount next to it if you can. I went into the meeting with a list of 12 specific things I'd done that saved or made the company money, including a project that brought in about $15k. Has anyone else tried making a 'brag sheet' like this before asking for more pay?

2 comments

2 Comments

kellymurphy1mo ago

Absolutely, that's the only way to do it. My old boss called it an "accomplishment log" and it saved me during my last review. I even included how I streamlined a file-naming system that saved our team a few hours a week. Turning your work into clear numbers makes the whole talk way less personal and more about facts.

parker_foster531mo ago

Love the idea of an accomplishment log, but my boss would probably ask why I was keeping a diary on company time. Quantifying everything sounds great until you have to put a number on "prevented Todd from accidentally replying all to the entire company again." Some wins are just too beautiful for spreadsheets.