I was turned down for a raise — now what?

A reader writes:

I work at a fairly large nonprofit (500+ employees) outside a major city. I’ve been here four years and genuinely like my job, but my compensation has become a major source of stress. I hold a director-level title, supervise 15 part time employees, and earn just enough to qualify as exempt from earning overtime pay. Since starting, I’ve taken on significant additional responsibilities. I regularly work 45-60 hours each week and am expected to be on call for emergencies for eight hours every other weekend. I know nonprofit salaries aren’t high, but I didn’t expect to be 10 years into my career and still living paycheck to paycheck.

Recently, I had my annual evaluation and decided to ask for a raise. We get small merit increases each year, but they barely keep up with inflation. I prepared a list of accomplishments and additional duties and researched comparable salaries, mostly government-funded roles with public data. Based on what I found, I’m earning $10,000–15,000 below market.

My performance review was glowing. My manager even listed many of my accomplishments before I mentioned them. But toward the end, she said it seemed like I had too much on my plate and wanted to discuss reallocating tasks. To my surprise, I burst into tears. I still managed to explain why I felt I deserved a raise at the end of our conversation, but I know I didn’t present my case as clearly as I’d hoped.

My manager took the request to our department head. Yesterday I was told my compensation was “deemed to be sufficient.” I’m shocked and hurt. I didn’t expect them to match the salaries I found, but I did expect something. The reasons I was given had nothing to do with my performance. First, the usual “no wiggle room in the budget.” Second, they said my salary research wasn’t relevant because the positions I found were closer to the city and might not have comparable benefits, even though the cost of living there is similar and there are no other jobs in our town like mine to compare to. Third, they said there’s no clear evidence I’ve taken on additional responsibilities because there’s no job description on file.

To my manager’s credit, she immediately started working on the job description issue. The person who hired me retired a year after I started, and her files are a mess. Her replacement, my current boss, has never been able to find my original job description.

Still, I’m frustrated. My compensation doesn’t match my role, and the reasons for denying a raise had nothing to do with my work. I also wasn’t given any guidance on how to advocate for myself in the future. At the same time, I don’t feel like I have leverage because I don’t intend to leave since my field has an especially terrible job market.

I’m not sure what to do next. Some of the conversations about reducing my workload seem promising, but that doesn’t solve the compensation issue. I’ve thought about refusing overtime since I’m not compensated for it, but I know that could backfire since evening and weekend hours are common in my industry.

Is there anything else I can do, or re my only real choices to accept my current salary or look for another job?

You can read my answer to this letter at New York Magazine today. Head over there to read it.

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