My dad is a pretty smart guy. He often takes time to teach me lessons which I don't believe he thinks I listen to. For most parents, this is understandable, but he has many valuable lessons which I have notes of throughout my journals. One of them is a quote which my wife hears me say often, "Just do what you need to do." From a personal perspective this is useful advice, but you need to be careful when applying it to your profession. In other words, learn what you need to do and do it better.
Recently, one of the lessons that my dad taught me was the principle of being successful at work. We often think that raises will come with time where you'll end up with what my wife almost got: a seven cent raise and little responsibility. Sometimes you find yourself in a position where you just have to live with it. Luckily, this wasn't the case, but here's how you might be able to prevent it.
In general, getting a raise in most careers is to compensate employees for the increased cost of living which comes each year due to inflation. The raises are small and generally don't provide extra benefit, just making you able to do the same things that you could before, assuming those things aren't luxurious. Most bosses don't like to give raises because costs increase as inflation grows, but you need money too. This reduces their profit and the ability for them to either expand or innovate.
So what warrants a raise? Make yourself necessary. This doesn't mean that you should start a commotion and make it necessary to keep you quiet. That's the line for replacement. Generally, I think the jobs that most people fill are easy to fill. The trick is to show that you are able to increase profits and keep that system working. It also works to show initiative, but you shouldn't get frustrated if it seems like people are ignoring your efforts if it's part of your job description already. In the grand scheme of things, it will be noticed.
What I have adopted in any job that I have gotten is the principle of knowing what your immediate superior does and anyone who is under you does. This will allow you to control your environment and be aware of everything that is taking place. This also allows you to take some of the pressure off of your boss and he will most likely thank you for this. In a good working environment, this attitude is rewarded.
Something that you should avoid is becoming too important. But why? It does seem counter-intuitive. Here's a circumstance which could happen, being too important in the position that you are in that they can't afford to promote you. This could be inevitable for a small company, but isn't unheard of for larger companies. The trick to avoid is while you are learning the duties of your boss, find a nice worker who you can teach to do your job. This way when promotions come around, you can take your boss's job and fill your old job with the other guy.
This method is also useful for people who are trying to ensure the security and flow of business. If you are too dependent on one person and he either quits or gets hit by a bus, your company isn't crippled.
On the part of the individual, you may want to consider this as you grow in your life. We should be making constant progress and not be stagnant in the career that we have. Even if you are comfortable in your career, being a valuable asset will show the company that you are worth keeping around. In keeping this goal and maintaining a good insight with the job that I am working and being able to take some of the heat off of both of my bosses I have been able to reap the benefits of more responsibility and maintain good work relations. In other words, this has been a good week for both me and my wife as we were able to increase our salaries.
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