6 months in, is it too early to ask for a raise

bennyineire

Hey peps,
I was thinking of asking for a raise in the new year, I will be 6 months in the job.

The job is a help-desk role in IT, the money I'm on is crap and I work a 42.4 hour week.

I quite like the job and I think I'm pretty good at, the role I'm in would be a pain in the butt for the company to fill if I left as takes quire a while to train someone in for this role.

Also I know that one of the company we work with have lost their contract and a new company will be interacting with us from March. This will affect well over half of the tickets that are generated to the help-desk.

So I'm thinking it might be a good time to look for a raise as the last thing they will want to do is go through the hiring process at the same time as the new company's handover, I'm not looking for much, maybe just to cover my travel cost's (€2500) for the year.

What do you guys think, all they can say is no right ?

Balmed Out

I'd have thought definitely too early, are you even out of probationary period?

allibastor

many times companies will have a review of you at the 6 month mark

_Kaiser_

I'd agree with the above.. 6 months is too soon to be looking for more money. You'd need to be there a year at least and it'd usually be discussed as part of your annual review.

Not to be negative, but don't get too over-confident about how irreplaceable you are either. Helpdesk roles are probably among the most volatile in IT in my opinion and have a lot of staff turnover as people move up/elsewhere. Also, many are now outsourced to other companies as well.

My advice would be to sit tight for another 6 months but use that time to prove your ability and start looking for ways to add value to the department/business.. coming up with new ways of doing things to cut down ticket handling times, or improving customer satisfaction is always a good one.

bennyineire

Balmed Out wrote: »

I'd have thought definitely too early, are you even out of probationary period?

Not on a probationary period, I'm on a 12 month contract which stated "xxx is the STARTING wage" seems to suggest that there is room for negotiation.

Polo_Mint

You could ask but I think its too soon

Are you sure you are not still in your probation period?

bennyineire

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

I'd agree with the above.. 6 months is too soon to be looking for more money. You'd need to be there a year at least and it'd usually be discussed as part of your annual review.

Not to be negative, but don't get too over-confident about how irreplaceable you are either. Helpdesk roles are probably among the most volatile in IT in my opinion and have a lot of staff turnover as people move up/elsewhere. Also, many are now outsourced to other companies as well.

My advice would be to sit tight for another 6 months but use that time to prove your ability and start looking for ways to add value to the department/business.. coming up with new ways of doing things to cut down ticket handling times, or improving customer satisfaction is always a good one.

Thanks for you advice but I can't see me been in a held desk role for to long especially with this crap money, it's a bit soul destroying to be first in the door in the morning and last out in the evening 99% of the time and be probably the worst paid there.

Polo_Mint

bennyineire wrote: »

Thanks for you advice but I can't see me been in a held desk role for to long especially with this crap money, it's a bit soul destroying to be first in the door in the morning and last out in the evening 99% of the time and be probably the worst paid there.

But the role is an IT Help desk role

That first level tech support. Most people who work in that role can be trained in 2 to 4 weeks before they go live on the phones.

OR do you work in Onsite Support?

Maguined

While you are correct in assuming that companies don't like the hassle of training in new people so that would make them more willing to give you such a pay raise to avoid the hassle you are forgetting the flip side in that it would be worth their hassle to lose you and train in someone new than risk giving you a pay raise and then gossip spreading that to every other member of staff who then asks for a pay raise since you got it.

From my experience 6 months in would be far too early to be asking for a pay raise.

_Kaiser_

bennyineire wrote: »

Thanks for you advice but I can't see me been in a held desk role for to long especially with this crap money, it's a bit soul destroying to be first in the door in the morning and last out in the evening 99% of the time and be probably the worst paid there.

It's a bit of a chicken and egg then, because you don't want to be there any longer than you have to (although you initially said you quite like the job?) - but to get ahead you'll need to put in the time first and prove yourself.

As someone who manages helpdesk teams myself, if someone came to me after 6 months looking for more money then it'd be very unlikely they'd get it without having proven themselves first in the day-to-day role AND having proactively added extra value - taking on more responsibilities or projects, improving the processes or CSAT etc

Michael D Not Higgins

At least a year before a pay rise is what would be the norm. You'd have to demonstrate something fairly substantial to justify a raise so early and a pay rise of €2500 for your position is, what, 10%? Crazy money to be asking for.

Enigma IE

Given your on a 12 month fixed term contract, you aren't really in a position to negotiate. After the 12 months, then you could negotiate new terms. The reality is they probably budgeted a specific figure for your role and that's all they will pay. As it's a 1st level position, it's probably easier than you think to replace you with someone else for the same money. I'm not saying that's right, but that's the nature of contracting.

You should probably be thinking about the bigger picture. Is the the 1st level role you are not happy with or will an extra 2.5k make you happy? I'm guessing it would make you happier only temporarily.

My advise would be to do a good job for the next 6 months, start up-skilling yourself in the meantime (if not already) and then look for another role that offers better money for the additional skills you acquire e.g. Level 1.5 or Level 2 roles.

bennyineire

Polo_Mint wrote: »

But the role is an IT Help desk role

That first level tech support. Most people who work in that role can be trained in 2 to 4 weeks before they go live on the phones.

OR do you work in Onsite Support?

On site support for a Government agency

bennyineire

Maguined wrote: »

While you are correct in assuming that companies don't like the hassle of training in new people so that would make them more willing to give you such a pay raise to avoid the hassle you are forgetting the flip side in that it would be worth their hassle to lose you and train in someone new than risk giving you a pay raise and then gossip spreading that to every other member of staff who then asks for a pay raise since you got it.

From my experience 6 months in would be far too early to be asking for a pay raise.

I'm on site support so don't have face to face interaction with other personal who work for the same company

bennyineire

Enigma IE wrote: »

Given your on a 12 month fixed term contract, you aren't really in a position to negotiate. After the 12 months, then you could negotiate new terms. The reality is they probably budgeted a specific figure for your role and that's all they will pay. As it's a 1st level position, it's probably easier than you think to replace you with someone else for the same money. I'm not saying that's right, but that's the nature of contracting.

You should probably be thinking about the bigger picture. Is the the 1st level role you are not happy with or will an extra 2.5k make you happy? I'm guessing it would make you happier only temporarily.

My advise would be to do a good job for the next 6 months, start up-skilling yourself in the meantime (if not already) and then look for another role that offers better money for the additional skills you acquire e.g. Level 1.5 or Level 2 roles.

Yep thanks for you advice, yep I'm working my way to MCP and then hopefully VCP in the background. I have always been prepared to do this role for a year but I guess I'm a bit to ambitious at the moment, just need to put the head, get my certs and then start looking for work in the summmer

Enigma IE

bennyineire wrote: »

Yep thanks for you advice, yep I'm working my way to MCP and then hopefully VCP in the background. I have always been prepared to do this role for a year but I guess I'm a bit to ambitious at the moment, just need to put the head, get my certs and then start looking for work in the summmer

Ambition is good, so your on the right track. Focus on getting your certs and relevant work experience and you'll go places and earn good money.