Written by Nicole M. Palmer

It’s that time of year when you start thinking about the New Year and New Goals! You are tired of staying stagnant. We are creatures by habit to stay in motion. We are meant to move. We can only stay in one spot for so long until we get restless. Whether it’s a title change or a financial change. Most people don’t desire change except when it comes to our Titles and Finances.

You are working in clinical research, and you want to grow in this field but don’t have any guidance. Let’s say you have been working as a Clinical Trial Assistant for the past year and you have learned as much as you can in your current role. You are ready to take on more responsibilities and to learn `more in clinical research.

Follow these 3 tips and you might just get what you wish for.

Let’s Meet

1. Set a 1:1 meeting with your boss before they meet with HR prior to their 4th quarter meeting. Oftentimes, your boss will have to meet with HR to discuss who is up for promotion whether it is financial, or a title change, and they will allocate a certain amount of money for that department for a raise.

If this doesn’t work, start sending your resume out and get those interviews! If you receive a job offer and it pays more, you could let your boss know that you received another job offer. They most likely will come back and match it or may give you a little more than that.

Sometimes, if you just give a subtle hint that recruiters are reaching out to you with TMF opportunities, that is enough to get your boss’s attention to give you a raise and or a title change. If you are an asset to the team, they are going to want to keep you!

Time to Brag

2. Discuss your wins. What do I mean by this? Keep a journal of all of your bragging moments when you did a great job. This way you have it documented and you aren’t scrambling or trying to remember everything that you did by the time it comes for your yearly review. Bosses like numbers, so discuss your metrics and how you met or exceeded timelines. If you saved the company money tell them how. This is your opportunity to prove you are worth what you are asking for. This part should be easy for you as a CTA because you are used to documenting and analyzing TMF metrics.

Freeze Dance

3.  If your company is on a hiring freeze or your boss just put in their notice and you think you qualify for the position, talk to upward management.  Typically, if there is a hiring freeze, now is a good time to ask for a raise because they aren’t going to want to lose you.

If your boss put in their notice and you want to apply for the position. Tell their boss that you are interested in applying for the position. This could save the company time and money in trying to find someone to replace them.

Wishing you all a prosperous New Year. Cheers to getting what you want. This is your year to make things happen. You are your best advocate.

As always, if you have a TMF question, I’m always here to help you.

Warm regards,

Nicole