Speaker 1: A Hey, Hey, va fam, it's Mandra here with your
Speaker 1: first b a Q and A of twenty twenty three
Speaker 1: were I am sad to not have my bestie Tiff
Speaker 1: here in the booth with me, but she will be
Speaker 1: back next week. She is living her best life in
Speaker 1: Kenya right now, so you know we stand her, we
Speaker 1: support her, but we're a little bit jealous. That's all right.
Speaker 1: I hope you guys had a wonderful holiday. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: jump right into some questions because when I tell you,
Speaker 1: I thought, oh, everyone's gonna be taking vacation, and you
Speaker 1: know the baqa email is not going to be popping off.
Speaker 1: Y'all have so many career questions, and y'all know, as
Speaker 1: your resident career expert, I cannot wait to jump into these. So,
Speaker 1: without further ado, it's time for the ba qa. Dang.
Speaker 1: I thought I wasn't gonna sing it, but I'm doing it.
Speaker 1: Why it's time for the va qa. The va qa.
Speaker 1: It's so awkward singing by yourself. Oh I'm hoping that
Speaker 1: y'all are singing in the car ba qa A all right.
Speaker 1: Our first question comes from a listener who'd like to
Speaker 1: be I love this bringing the heat choosing violence A
Speaker 1: listener who would like her pseudonym to be waging war.
Speaker 1: All right, Hey, Mandy and Tiffany, I love the show.
Speaker 1: I have a career question. I'm one year into a
Speaker 1: new job in a new field. During the negotiations for
Speaker 1: this role, I secured a twenty percent increase from my
Speaker 1: previous job. During my performance evaluation this year, however, I
Speaker 1: found out I'm making the twentieth percentile for this role
Speaker 1: and job title with my company. My review was very
Speaker 1: good and the annual bonus was about ten percent, but
Speaker 1: I can't shake the thought that I'm being underpaid. I'm
Speaker 1: a black woman in stem My manager views the range
Speaker 1: as an opportunity to grow, with lots of room for raises.
Speaker 1: How do you view a salary range? Does a twentieth
Speaker 1: percentile mean I'm being underpaid? I was very underpaid in
Speaker 1: my last role. I thought I was finally closing the
Speaker 1: wage gap, but I'm no longer sure. I have a
Speaker 1: PhD and manage the product safety of a multi billion
Speaker 1: dollar iconic company. I frequently work long hours and go
Speaker 1: beyond my core duties because I'm so new and i'd
Speaker 1: like to get up to speed. Am I overthinking the
Speaker 1: meaning of a salary scale. All right, waging War, I
Speaker 1: am really happy that you sent this question. Is you
Speaker 1: know the first thing that came to mind for me
Speaker 1: is why would they tell you in your performance review
Speaker 1: that you're in the And here's the thing we're missing
Speaker 1: a keyword here. Did they say you were in the
Speaker 1: top twentieth percentile or the bottom twentieth percentile? As a mama,
Speaker 1: every time I go the doctor with my toddler, they're like, oh,
Speaker 1: he's in the ninety ninth percentile for height or you know,
Speaker 1: sixtieth percentile for weight. It's a way of sort of
Speaker 1: measuring where you stand among your peers. But they're missing
Speaker 1: that like top or bottom. If you're in the top
Speaker 1: twentieth percentile, that means that you're making more moneyed a
Speaker 1: eighty percent of your peers with that job title or
Speaker 1: similar job titles. So that's good. And I'm wondering if
Speaker 1: they wanted to bring that up in an interview, I mean, sorry,
Speaker 1: in your annual review, I feel like they probably meant
Speaker 1: you're in the top twentieth Like why else would they
Speaker 1: want you to know, like you're in the body, you're
Speaker 1: in the bottom twentieth percentile for this role. I don't know.
Speaker 1: It's hard because I don't I can't follow up with you,
Speaker 1: but I'll play it both ways. So let's say it
Speaker 1: was a misunderstanding and maybe you just need to have
Speaker 1: a regroup conversation with your manager and say, hey, ever
Speaker 1: since my annual review, and by the way, thank you
Speaker 1: for the wonderful feedback. I am loving the job and
Speaker 1: loving getting to learn, but something was confusing to me
Speaker 1: and I wanted to get some clarification. When you said
Speaker 1: I'm in the twentieth percentile for salary for this role,
Speaker 1: did you mean the top twentieth percentile or the bottom
Speaker 1: twentieth percentile. If I'm in the bottom twentieth percentile, I
Speaker 1: find that pretty upsetting, and I find it concerning. Maybe
Speaker 1: use the word concerning instead of upsetting. I find it
Speaker 1: concerning because of the value I'm bringing to the role,
Speaker 1: and I don't want to feel like I'm being underpaid.
Speaker 1: So let's give them a chance to clarify. Now. If
Speaker 1: they end up saying, yes, in fact, you are in
Speaker 1: the bottom twentieth percentile for the role, there's a good
Speaker 1: indication that when you were hired for some reason, they
Speaker 1: saw your skills as being you know, maybe on the
Speaker 1: lower end of people with this job title, peers comparables
Speaker 1: and other people with similar roles. It could be because
Speaker 1: of the number of years of experience you had or
Speaker 1: certain training you have. So and I want you to understand,
Speaker 1: Like as a hiring manager myself, when I was managing
Speaker 1: a big team, we did talk about percentiles. So when
Speaker 1: I would have a conversation with our compensation team, for example,
Speaker 1: and I wanted to have them review a couple of
Speaker 1: employees who had similar roles but different levels of experience,
Speaker 1: and I wanted to be sure that they were being
Speaker 1: paid like commensurate with their experience, because when you look
Speaker 1: at their job title, you'd think, oh, they should make
Speaker 1: the exact same. But some many companies consider your experience
Speaker 1: and all of that when you when they determine where
Speaker 1: do you fall in this range. So let's say the
Speaker 1: salary range is seventy five to eighty five thousand dollars.
Speaker 1: The person who has five years of experience may be,
Speaker 1: you know, at eighty three eighty four top of that range,
Speaker 1: and someone who's got a year or two of experience
Speaker 1: may find themselves making seventy seven seventy eight at the
Speaker 1: lower end of that range with room to grow, you know.
Speaker 1: So the fact that your manager mentioned there's opportunity to
Speaker 1: grow with room for raises, you know, that's given me
Speaker 1: the sense that whatever they did to assess your experience
Speaker 1: and where you would fall within that range, they determined
Speaker 1: you have room to grow within this role, and so
Speaker 1: we're going to start you at the lower end of
Speaker 1: this role and give you that room to grow. I
Speaker 1: don't think it's sounds particularly nefarious. This is pretty common,
Speaker 1: and it's how a lot of compensation teams and companies
Speaker 1: sort of view salaries. Now, you may take issue with
Speaker 1: it because you're like, well, shit, I don't want to
Speaker 1: start out at the bottom, Like we don't want to
Speaker 1: start at the bottom all the time. And I don't
Speaker 1: necessarily know how many years of experience you had before
Speaker 1: this role. But I definitely think it's worth, you know,
Speaker 1: having that frank discussion with your manager and if it
Speaker 1: ends up being yes, you're at the lower end of
Speaker 1: this pay range, what can you expect in terms of
Speaker 1: compensation increases in the years ahead, And if it just
Speaker 1: does not feel good to you, I mean it sounds
Speaker 1: like you really like the role and you dig it
Speaker 1: a twenty percent race from your last job, so you
Speaker 1: know you're quitting your way up baby, and I love that.
Speaker 1: But you kind of have to decide for yourself. And
Speaker 1: one of the best ways you can decide am I underpaid?
Speaker 1: You know, other than asking your colleagues with similar experience
Speaker 1: what they're making, is still being open to taking interviews
Speaker 1: with US firms. And it sounds like you're in a
Speaker 1: pretty If you're working for a multi billion dollar iconic company,
Speaker 1: chances are you put that on your LinkedIn page, you're
Speaker 1: probably getting reached, you know, outreach from recruiters. So I
Speaker 1: would take those interviews and find out, with your level
Speaker 1: of experience what the compensation is looking like. And if
Speaker 1: you happen to get to the point where you've either
Speaker 1: got you know, enough data, like a couple of jobs
Speaker 1: have offered you significantly or not offered you even but
Speaker 1: a couple of recruiters have told you the ranges are
Speaker 1: significantly higher than you know what you're making. Now you
Speaker 1: can bring that back to your manager and say, you know,
Speaker 1: I love working here, but I have to be honest.
Speaker 1: Recruiters have been reaching out to me, and it looks
Speaker 1: like I'm underpaid for the market you know, the current
Speaker 1: market rate for my role, and you can bring that
Speaker 1: up in a like really you know, really calm and professional,
Speaker 1: you know way, and keep it conversational. And then if
Speaker 1: you ultimately do get a competing job offer, then of
Speaker 1: course you could bring that to them and say, hey,
Speaker 1: I really like working here, but as we've discussed about
Speaker 1: my compensation, I've had some concerns about being underpaid. I've
Speaker 1: got this other offer on the table. I would love
Speaker 1: to stay here. I really want to stay here, but
Speaker 1: I can't ignore the fact that I don't believe I'm
Speaker 1: being paid, you know, the market rate for my skill set.
Speaker 1: And then you know, let the conversation go from there.
Speaker 1: So I'll leave it there. I hope that that was
Speaker 1: like insightful and helpful for you course, sort of understanding
Speaker 1: the thought process behind how managers and compensation teams sort
Speaker 1: of put employees on that salary range scale. What I
Speaker 1: like about it is it sounds like they have been
Speaker 1: putting thought into this and there's a method to their
Speaker 1: madness for sort of how they're determining where people fall.
Speaker 1: And the last thing I'll say is, as a manager, myself.
Speaker 1: I liked having people who were in a growth role,
Speaker 1: you know, because for me, if you have enough to
Speaker 1: sink your teeth into, you're going to be more likely
Speaker 1: to stick around and feel like you are like learning
Speaker 1: new things. And just like you said, you know, you're
Speaker 1: learning new things and getting up to speed. So I
Speaker 1: would look at it as a growth opportunity and be
Speaker 1: happy that you got that increase. But don't get it twisted.
Speaker 1: Always keep your eyes open to what the market is
Speaker 1: telling you your worth. And the easiest way to do
Speaker 1: that is by staying open to interviews and keeping your
Speaker 1: eyes and ears open to what salary ranges are posted
Speaker 1: for similar roles at other companies. Okay, so it was
Speaker 1: a long answer, But to recap, I think you're because
Speaker 1: you're confused. I would just have like a regroup with
Speaker 1: your manager and just say hey again, thank you so
Speaker 1: much for the great feedback. There was something that was
Speaker 1: said during my review that really threw me for a
Speaker 1: loop or left me a little bit confused. I'd love
Speaker 1: if you could clarify it for me and then ask
Speaker 1: them what they really meant by that whole twentieth percentile thing.
Speaker 1: Is a top as a bottom? And then what sort
Speaker 1: of thought process went into that, and they may be
Speaker 1: able to reassure you that you know you're on the
Speaker 1: right track and all that jazz. But thank you so
Speaker 1: much waging war. I'm thinking now your pseudonym is a
Speaker 1: little more intense than your question was. But I don't
Speaker 1: feel like you have a war to wage here. I
Speaker 1: think that you know, it's just about having that frank
Speaker 1: discussion with your manager, which can be awkward, but believe me,
Speaker 1: just get it cleared up so that you're not, you know,
Speaker 1: agonizing over it and being left to wonder where you stand.
Speaker 1: All right, Okay, let me take a little break and
Speaker 1: I'll be back with another of y'all's juicy career questions.
Speaker 1: Okayba fam, let's go. We have another juicy career question
Speaker 1: from listener Julieta, or maybe Julieta. I want to be
Speaker 1: sure I'm pronouncing it right. And they have a very
Speaker 1: interesting question and one that I am starting to get
Speaker 1: more and more from the women that I coach through
Speaker 1: my career coaching practice. To Lego, Juliette says, I'm currently
Speaker 1: working at a large tech slash media, slash entertainment firm
Speaker 1: and I'm looking for opportunities at other companies where I
Speaker 1: have a better chance for upward mobility. I've been here
Speaker 1: for four years. I have seen amazing positions at companies,
Speaker 1: but I don't respect them, companies like Facebook, Amazon, Tesla.
Speaker 1: So how do I reconcile my need for career advancement
Speaker 1: and my activist heart which bristles at the thought of
Speaker 1: working there? Thank you in advance. Please keep my current
Speaker 1: company name censored. I got you girl, all right, Julieta, Julieta,
Speaker 1: let's talk, so the listen. It's it's tough because at
Speaker 1: the end of the day, a lot of private sector
Speaker 1: companies are just they leave a lot to be desired,
Speaker 1: you know, Like I've got coaching clients who work at
Speaker 1: big banks that have done horrible things, and you know,
Speaker 1: at the end of the day, we got to get paid, right.
Speaker 1: But I do believe that you can find a place
Speaker 1: where you have opportunities for advancement and you are proud
Speaker 1: of the company that you work for and their ethos.
Speaker 1: It just means that you're going to be a little
Speaker 1: bit pick here. So what I would say is, if
Speaker 1: you do not respect those firms Facebook, Amazon, and Tesla,
Speaker 1: don't apply there, don't apply there. I mean, you've got
Speaker 1: a great brand name. I can see that's going to
Speaker 1: be on your resume all ready, and I think any
Speaker 1: firm would be happy to have you with that experience
Speaker 1: that you've got there. So I would just say, be
Speaker 1: true to your gut. You know you can, and just
Speaker 1: tell yourself this, you can find a role that has
Speaker 1: opportunities for advancement and that also is doing good in
Speaker 1: the world or at least gives you an opportunity to
Speaker 1: make an impact. Now, I would open you up to
Speaker 1: the idea of, for example, a lot of big firms,
Speaker 1: not necessarily just in tech, but a lot of private
Speaker 1: companies or public companies, they have corporate social responsibility teams
Speaker 1: what's the other word for these, like or foundations that
Speaker 1: they that they run like philanthropic endeavors. And you may
Speaker 1: be happy, you know, joining a company that maybe is
Speaker 1: not in your mind like the best, but working for
Speaker 1: a team at that firm who's going to put all
Speaker 1: those billions of dollars to really good use. So, like
Speaker 1: I mean, would you rather make an impact and help
Speaker 1: a company, you know, use their dollars and use their
Speaker 1: technology and their products for good and have a role
Speaker 1: in that. Like maybe that's what you should you know,
Speaker 1: consider as well. And just because you have an activist heart,
Speaker 1: like I know, people think, Okay, I want to you know,
Speaker 1: do something good in the world. I got to go
Speaker 1: work for a nonprofit. Like nonprofits are great, I will say,
Speaker 1: they can be just as toxic as big, you know,
Speaker 1: big bad companies. So don't get it. Don't don't don't
Speaker 1: think that it's you know, going to be all rainbows
Speaker 1: and sunshine in the nonprofit world. But it's not your
Speaker 1: only option, you know. And as you head into your interviews,
Speaker 1: which I hope you have been interviewing different places, keep
Speaker 1: in mind what is important to you about a company's
Speaker 1: you know, work, and what is it about these other
Speaker 1: companies that give you the ick? And what are you
Speaker 1: actually looking for in a new firm. Is it the
Speaker 1: amount of philanthropic work that they do. Is it how
Speaker 1: they treat their employees? Is it the diversity and inclusion efforts?
Speaker 1: Are they actually doing them? Like and ask those questions
Speaker 1: during the interview process so you can start weeding out
Speaker 1: people or weeding out companies that don't meet your expectations.
Speaker 1: The good news is that You've got a sweet job
Speaker 1: right now at a great company. So I would say
Speaker 1: this is the perfect time for you to be out
Speaker 1: there playing the field and seeing what other options are open.
Speaker 1: And you have the opportunity to be picky right because
Speaker 1: you've got a paycheck coming in, So take advantage of that.
Speaker 1: Be picky, be choosy, and find a firm that feels
Speaker 1: good to you and also is going to give you
Speaker 1: the opportunity to make an impact and grow in your
Speaker 1: career because you deserve that just as much. Please, please,
Speaker 1: don't think that you should have to work for somewhere
Speaker 1: because they have a good cause or they do good work,
Speaker 1: and sacrifice your own career advancement, happiness, well being, pay
Speaker 1: all of that for the greater good. No, no, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: we it's not selfish. It's not bad to want to
Speaker 1: have a successful and fruitful and meaningful career and also
Speaker 1: too get to make an impact through the work that
Speaker 1: you're doing. You can have it both ways. Okay, that's
Speaker 1: what we gotta believe, all right, Julieta or Julieta, thank
Speaker 1: you so so much for your question. Hey, y'all, if
Speaker 1: you want to be featured on the ba QA hit
Speaker 1: us up. You can email us directly Brannanmbission Podcast at
Speaker 1: gmail dot com. You can also slide into our dms
Speaker 1: on ig like Miss Julieta here and we are a
Speaker 1: Brown Ambision podcast on ig And don't forget we have
Speaker 1: a website, Brandanmissionpodcast dot com. Submit your questions, check out
Speaker 1: past episodes, Buy some ba swag. Y'all know we got swag.
Speaker 1: Sign up for our weekly newsletter all the good stuff
Speaker 1: at Brannanmission podcast dot com. All right, happy, Happy New Year.
Speaker 1: It's so good to be back with y'all and I
Speaker 1: will see y'all next week. Back with my podcast bestie
Speaker 1: Tiffany in the hot seat. Have a great rest of
Speaker 1: your week. Bye, Hey, ba fam. We could not do
Speaker 1: this show without your support or the support of our
Speaker 1: team behind the scenes. The Brown Ambision Podcast is produced
Speaker 1: by Cumulus Podcast Network. It's edited by the wonderful Imani
Speaker 1: Crosby and produced by Tanya Bustos. Dennis Stimplinsky is our
Speaker 1: in house tech curu, and I am Bandy Woodard Santos
Speaker 1: your co host, and I will see y'all next week.