We recently consulted with Sarah, a young woman who was promoted up from an assistant to a junior level employee. She loved her job, her boss and the company but found out that she was making at least 10K less than other people at her level both internally and externally and was rightfully mad about it. The company had promoted her but only with the tiniest of salary bumps attached.

Her boss had always been supportive of her and was known throughout the industry as a nice woman in a notoriously tough business so Sarah went to her for help. Our friend spent a week crafting an email to her boss about the salary issue. The reply was a short and disappointing I ASKED AND THEY SAID NO. When Sarah went back with a list of reasons why she should be paid more her boss again took a week and called her in for a meeting. Sarah was told that she was respected within the organization and appreciated but that they just couldn’t pay her more because it wasn’t the time for raises in the fiscal cycle. Her boss recommended crafting a more thought out reason for the raise that she would then pass along to the publisher of the magazine.

Our advice: We are sure that Sarah’s boss is a nice woman, but sometimes people are more concerned with being nice than fighting for what they believe. So even if the editor loves Sarah and her work, if she experienced any pushback then she might just drop the issue to maintain her status within the organization. Additionally, if the company is pushing back on a raise because it isn’t the right time then start preparing for your review now. Keep track of your accomplishments, start doing your salary research and get ready to fight for the money you believe you­­­ deserve. If you have a solid case for a raise and you don’t get it when it supposedly is the right time, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth staying for less money that you want.