It’s Time for You to Get That Raise

When was the last time you assessed your value or negotiated your salary at work? According to a recent survey¹ conducted by SoFi, over half (57%) of respondents said they feel that they are underpaid, yet only 33% plan to ask for a raise this year.

The conversation surrounding financial independence often only focuses on cutting back to save money – eliminating a daily latte, or bringing lunch to work. Of course, being financially responsible is an important part of getting to financial independence. At SoFi, we believe there is another important dimension to this discussion: earning your way to financial independence. Earning more money gives you the opportunity to put it towards your financial goals faster, whether that means saving for your first home, paying down existing debt, or investing more. Our goal? To help you get your money right—and steer you toward an accelerated path to financial independence.

Earning your way to prosperity often means pulling out all the stops and really going for it. That’s why today we are announcing SoFi’s “Get That Raise” initiative, focused on equipping our members and professionals with the tools and the confidence to know their value in the workplace and take that step to ask for greater compensation.

As part of helping people Get That Raise, we’re hosting an intimate fireside chat on September 20, 2018 in New York City with MSNBC Morning Joe co-host, Know Your Value founder, and best-selling author Mika Brzezinski. If you’re unable to attend, you can watch the event live – and even ask a question! – on Twitter and Facebook .

We created an online tool that creates a personalized action plan to help you Get That Raise. This interactive experience helps gather your information and shares your value in the market while also creating a professionally designed presentation to be used during negotiation. Based on insights from our members, we found that the greatest challenge is knowing how to ask for a raise and this special tool is meant to provide you with concrete and actionable information to help prepare and boost your confidence.

Other interesting insights from our member survey:

• 56% of respondents said that the minimum they need to receive to make the conversation with their boss “worth it” was $5k

• 48% of respondents said they received a 1-5% increase the last time they asked for a raise

• 70% (the majority) of respondents said they would interview for a new job if they were unsatisfied with pay and benefits

• 42% said they feel they will not have a strong enough argument (imposter syndrome) and get declined

• 58% of respondents turn to current or ex-colleagues for advice on negotiating/asking for a raise

• 46% of women said their biggest fear when they think about negotiating is getting emotional or flustered vs. only 17% of men, who were most concerned they will appear greedy or ungrateful

• Women responded that they are 2x more likely than men to stay at their job forever than have an uncomfortable compensation conversation with their boss

Libby Leffler is Vice President of Membership at SoFi. Before joining SoFi, Libby worked at Facebook and Google. While at Facebook, Libby was business lead to the Chief Operating Officer and, later, led media partnerships.

Libby holds an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.

¹ Based on a Raise Awareness survey of 1,138 SoFi members from 8/7/18 to 8/9/18.

CG18132