HACKING 101 – How to earn that raise
Understanding the GOOD-HACKS of your job
According to Robert Half’s research, 45% of employees believe they are underpaid at work. However, employers are willing to pay high-performing employees.
If you’re like many people who find working on your job difficult since you believe you work so hard for so little benefit. Keep reading because you will find this blog post intriguing. We have answers for you.
Mary and Jude's story
Here’s a story of two employees and the habits they built that influenced their growth in their profession.
Mary and Jude are creatives at a well-known media and advertising company in Lagos. While Mary and Jude both worked hard on the job, Mary had a smarter approach to working the job.
Mary took responsibility for every task she was given. She would go out of her way to buy effective tools online to make her job faster. She was part of learning groups that helped her to be aware of global and industry trends and she also took online courses to improve her skill set.
On the other hand, Jude worked twice as much but the quality of his work was unsatisfactory and he had no results. His boss would complain and always be dissatisfied. Jude would blame the unavailability of resources at work or any other excuse he could find.
It was only a matter of time before Mary got a raise and was promoted. Jude frowned at this because they had both gotten into the company at the same time and that was known to the management. Contrary to his opinion, the management thought otherwise and emphasised that Mary was promoted not for how long she had worked with them but for how well.
What do you think Mary did differently from Jud
What Jude didn't know
Just like Jude, do you flinch at that one I too sabi staff that seems to be living your dream life? They earn more, they always have smart answers, and they deliver their work with precision.
We’ll be spilling the tea here, but that means you’ll be owing us a few bucks. What Mary did was use the GOOD-HACKS on her job.
Meanwhile, “good hack” is not a word we invented. What’s a good hack then? Look at what your dictionary defines it as: “A creative hack that causes onlookers to say (in a positive sense), “How in the heck did they do that?”
The Good Hack on the job is what makes professionals professional. It is what separates the big guns from the small players on the field. The good hack is what makes the dry cleaner badass while you struggle at home with getting the right pattern when ironing your trousers.
So, if a good hack makes you smarter, gives you fewer problems with your boss, gives you better solutions, makes your life easier and earns you more money, why not give it a try?
These are the types of Job Hacks:
TOOLS
- Software
- Apps
- Online resources
- Personal folders
KNOWLEDGE
Reference sites
Personal Learning
Tutorials
Years of experience
Broad knowledge of your field
Here’s how you can develop good hacks.
• Understand your job better:
Aim to be the person that knows about your job the most in your workplace; the tips, new updates, most current info, etc.
• Develop secret work hacks:
Build a directory of files, tutorials, documents, and references that you can easily refer to.
• Invest in your hacks:
Have some hacks that are personal to you only, either bought or discovered by you.
HACK TIPS
- Mastering the right hacks keeps you one step ahead every time.
- Customise your work hacks to what suits you.
- Become so good that others will hear about you.
- Broaden your mind on your job so widely that you become hard to beat.
You might wonder what to do and how to go about it:
Learn from experience: every work experience is a learning curve. Make sure you learn something new from each project or task.
Never use a hack to make your work easier: use it to make your work better.
Research better ways to do things: research tools, websites, and references that can help your work.
Your hacks must be easily accessible to you: once you have a task, your personal resources should always be nearby.
Master time management: you must know how to best manage your time. Timely delivery is key.
If you want to be good, work doesn’t end on Fridays.
Do it for yourself.
Still, thinking about trying out these new tricks? What you don’t know is that the clock is ticking, here’s why you should get started now.
Learning Abilities and Age
Learning abilities decline with age | Readiness to learn increases
Source: https://elibrary.worldbank.org/doi/10.1596/978-1-4648-1328-3_ch4
Research explains that our brain cells and neurons die faster than they are replaced as we age. The more we get older, the more effort it takes to recall and comprehend things.
This graph shows that it is best to understand and customize your good hacks at an early age and career phase so that mastery can be attained as you become older.
Now get to work and smash it at your job. Remember to keep your eyes on the price. If you think retiring at age fifty and going on vacation trips with your family to the Maldives sounds good. Working smart and using the good hack is the way to go.
