You’re doing more work in less time and it’s the greatest work you’ve ever done. That “Outstanding” or “Exceptional” is a sure thing on your performance review this year.Now that you’re a hot commodity, like the other commodities, prices go up. But rather than just being treated like a barrel of crude, you can find lots of ways to maximize the return on your top-notch rating.

Here are a few things, some you’ve probably already thought of, and some others might be new. I’ll add some pluses and minuses for each, and if there’s any more you think I’ve missed, add it to the list in the comments!

A raise

I know, this is about as obvious as it gets. This is the literal translation of value of your work into a dollar amount.

  • Advantages: To quote Homer Simpson (or more accurately, his brain), “Money can be exchanged for goods and services.” A raise can make an impact on your bottom line, whether it’s used to cover debts, necessities, savings or fun, you get to decide how it’s used.
  • Disadvantages: Money may seem like a lot, but there are a few things to consider. Depending on where you live and the tax bracket you’re in, each $1000 of raise could amount to as little as $23 per paycheque, after taxes and other deductions. While that’s still a nice movie for two every paycheque, it’s nothing outstanding.

A promotion

Similar to the raise, this one is fairly obvious. You might get more money and more responsibility based on your performance, not to mention some other perks.

  • Advantages: If you’re looking to move up the corporate ladder, this is pretty straightforward. However, you might also be able to use this to customize your career path, moving into a promotion with a slightly different sphere of responsibility than you had in the past. Tie that in with the fact that the raise could be more substantial if you’re moving up a larger step, and that can be great.
  • Disadvantages: This is largely subjective. If you like the fact that right now you get to do a lot of great graphical design and the next promotion has you managing graphical designers but doing none yourself, ask yourself if this is the right path for you. Likewise, there are greater responsibilities and stresses with this promotion, and you need to evaluate if it still fits in your ideal balanced lifestyle.

Better perks

This is an alternative to a raise or promotion. If you really warrant it, (and you do, you exceptional employee, you), your employer may be willing to give you some of the perks that come with higher level jobs as a bonus.

This could be everything from more vacation days, to flex time, to working from home, to just about anything. If you’ve got something in mind, it can’t hurt to ask.

  • Advantages: Probably not taxable, might even give you a tax break if you can claim some of your home as a home office. Other than that, who complains about more vacation or flexible hours?
  • Disadvantages: Might mean no raise (but that mightn’t be a big deal), and depending on your corporate culture, your manager might have absolutely no flexibility.

Better equipment

So you’re doing great work, but your 5 year old laptop just isn’t cutting it when giving presentations to high-profile clients. (Who would have thought they don’t like waiting 5 minutes for your Pentium III to boot up?) Or maybe that 15″ CRT doesn’t really allow you to do justice to the masterworks of graphical design you’re working on. If you’ve been having trouble getting new equipment, this can be an opportune time to ask.

  • Advantages: Can make your work easier and higher quality, if it’s equipment dependent. You can also sell this to management by highlight that fact, making it a win-win.
  • Disadvantages: Doubtful you’d get to take it with you if/when you leave the job.

Autonomy

So you’re well equipped, have enough money and vacation, and don’t want to have to manage people. What else can you ask for? How about asking for some autonomy, at least partially? If you’ve got a project you’ve been wanting to get moving, maybe talk to your manager and see if they’ll give you the time and resources to at least start it on the side.

  • Advantages: Can allow you to customize your job to your strengths and interests. This can also put you on the right track to maintaining that outstanding review and the company will like it if you can provide some unforeseen benefit to the organization’s bottom line as well.
  • Disadvantages: Just ensure that you get enough time to focus on this, because if you’re trying to squeeze this in on top of a full workload, this can really throw your balance for a loop.

So these are a few ideas, if you’ve got some more, please share them below. And if you’ve tried these before, let us know how it went!

Cheers,

Adam