This is how I raised my salary by 56.5%

I sip my morning coffee in London, staring out of the window - with just one thought in my mind:

“Where am I going? And how long would I stay like this more?”

I am sharing a hostel room with a Jesus-haired-guy, few drunk tourists, and a couple of homeless people.

And I’m on the verge of giving up.

“Okay, enough Igor. You NEED to ask for the raise so that you can live where you want to… or at least with drunkards.”

I pack my laptop in a rush.

And head towards one of the most fanciest streets in London (Bank Street) -that’s where I work.

… as a Salesforce Developer for over a year now.

Although, they treat me as an intern.

(I absolutely hate it from the core of my heart)

They pay me €16/hour.

(Students get paid €10/hour and full-time developers get paid €35/hour).

I message Daniel, a Team Lead from Cuba with 10 years of developer experience.

No greetings. No formality. Nothing.

Directly:

“Hey Daniel, I want to match my salary to what normal developers are earning”.

“Hi Igor. I appreciate you reaching out. But I think 16 / hour is a good salary for your level as a Junior”.

Fuck.

Can you imagine something more painful than getting such a no when asking for a raise?

“I totally understand Daniel. But I think I am not a Junior anymore. Could we create a plan for how I get rid of the Junior title?”

We met virtually, created a plan, and listed 5 steps I needed to take to go from Junior to Middle Salesforce Developer.

I knocked out the plan in 2 months.

And got a raise to €25/hour (+ 56.5%).

It was so much money for me that nothing else mattered.

I was the happiest person I knew on the planet.

And smiled as I have been blessed.

Turns out - Daniel saw me as an “intern” when I was ready doing work for brands that you probably know

Hence, I had to work hard (strategically) to prove my skills.

(And then fight for a raise)

I had to prove to him that I had the skills

I had to fight for a salary increase

And just within a couple of months, I was making €2700/month working < 20 hours a week using the same framework.

Not bad for a 22-year-old student without any degree.

So here is the lesson:

→ Be transparent with your goals with employers
→ Scream about your achievements and wins
→ Demand a fair pay and fight for it

You will win. There is no doubt. I believe in you.

And that’s why I created my mentoring program

It has those 5 steps that you need to do fast-track your progress in Salesforce

… or you might get stuck with €16/hour as I was

Sometimes, it’s not all what you need to do - but also what you don’t need to do :)

Reply “DEV” if you want to make 56% more in 56 days and I’ll drop in all the details for 1:1 mentoring :)

Igor