It felt great. I’m working at a startup as a contract worker. The plan is to be moved into a management position next month on salary, but this month has involved strategy planning and product design. Mostly brainstorming sessions. There was no talk of it being paid, but that it was prep for us to move forward next month.
Obviously this is a red flag, but it’s also inherent to the risk I’m taking on a startup company. Anyway, today after some great contributions on my part, I went ahead and requested compensation for the time spent. They were more than happy to accommodate! They’ll also cover the past two weeks of time spent.
There is no formal agreement I get moved up yet, so I’ll be transferring jobs if it doesn’t work out, but it feels good knowing that my time is being respected.
Advocate for yourselves! Never work for free.