Hi all, I’m going to try and keep this short. Essentially I am considered a “junior” in my notoriously underpaid field (24 years old, 1.5 yrs agency experience, 1 yr in-house before that). I make 50k annually.
I currently work at a very small company, less than 20 people, and my job dynamic is very exploitative. I work under one director whose only job is to direct me alone. And she’s gotten to the point where she realizes I’m more than capable of doing it all without much supervision. So I end up doing all the work start to finish, often with zero direction. I manage projects and keep everything on track & organized, I communicate directly with big-name clients. And my director tends to sit back and take credit for it all. On multiple occasions she has asked me to screenshot my time sheet so she can copy it. A ton of my work is displayed proudly on her portfolio – some of which I created entirely while she was out of office. Nuts.
Anyway, all of my current job responsibilities are quite unheard of for a “junior” in my field on average. After some research I concluded that I was producing the quality of work and carrying the responsibilities of a mid – senior level role.
So, I asked for a raise after a year, flagging everything above. My director essentially said I’m too young & “inexperienced” to be making what I asked for (which was a $15-20,000 jump to reflect a mid-level salary). I didn’t think it was going to be shot down so hard; I thought my director would vouch for everything I do for her. What’s worse, I’m under the impression that no one above her at the company knows just how little she contributes to our sector (or maybe they do but just don’t care).
Well, my company’s CEO scheduled a one-on-one, in-person meeting with me to check in. First time he’s ever done this with me. He seems to really care about everyone individually, so I’m wondering how to tactfully go about airing my grievances with my manager. I do not want to lose my job or make them think of me as a liability, but I am truly miserable with my job as it stands. I’d be blunt if I felt it wouldn’t cost me my job security. The meeting is in a week, so I have some time to formulate my thoughts. What do you think?
Note: please don’t only tell me to leave my company. Believe me, I have been consistently job hunting for the past 6 months and it is brutal right now for applicants. I just got rejected from my dream job after 2 rounds of interviews, so feeling very sensitive on that front right now. I know I need to leave and I am trying my hardest to, in the interim I want to see if this is an opportunity to improve where I’m at.