What reasons did you give for a promotion/ title change/ pay rise?

In the PowerPoint, I added everything I had done leading up to this point. It included the number of clicks on articles I had written, the comments they had generated, the ways I supported the team and all the things I had picked up while my manager was pregnant. At some point, I was even training interns.

Did you have a contingency plan if your request wasn’t met?

I was also looking for other roles, but I didn’t find anything. I was freelancing a bit on the side but not properly. When they offered a lower pay rise than I had hoped for, I asked to drop to four days a week so I would have one day to pursue freelance projects and work on my personal brand.

What was the scariest part of the process?

I feel it’s quite hard – we’re not really taught how to discuss pay rises. I’m not super-outspoken, and I’m a bit of a people pleaser, so, it was really hard to do. Preparing the presentation helped me a lot because it was more formal and I felt more organised.

Would you do anything differently this time?

I think I would maybe do it earlier.

Fani is a freelance writer based in Athens, Greece.

Know Your Worth: “I made a PowerPoint presentation that was like a work of art to get a pay rise”