- My name is Olivia Hughes.
I've always wanted to come to LA.
I came to work as a nanny for my second cousin.
It wasn't exactly what I wanted to do,
but it was a great way to get here.
Being an assistant can be difficult
because there is no definitive line
between when your hours begin, when your hours end.
So it's hard to figure out
what is appropriate, you know, payment.
Negotiating as an assistant is particularly hard
because you do feel so close to your boss in a way
that most people will never feel close to their boss.
You do feel like they're part of your family,
and you're part of their family.
I would really love to know how to ask for a raise for
myself without feeling totally guilty and terrible?
(upbeat music)
- Hey, Olivia, I'm Jean Chatzky.
I'm a financial expert and the CEO of hermoney.com.
And I hear what you're saying.
I have not only been an assistant early in my life,
but I've had assistance later on.
So I know what you mean when you say
it starts to feel like family,
and it gets hard to talk about money.
What you do need to do is get your ducks in a row.
And that means doing some research,
to go online, to look at what other people like you
are being paid.
And then you decide, is it time to sit down with your boss
and ask for more money?
And I think that you should do it once a year
at the very, very least.
I know this is a competitive industry,
but I also know how valuable a very good assistant is.
And so when you sit down and you have this conversation,
make sure that you acknowledge how much you value this job,
how much you value what you're learning,
how much you love working with your boss.
But also acknowledge that you have created opportunities
in this position.
Start a file on your desk, in which you keep
all of the emails that your boss sends you
when he or she says, "Great job,"
because that's your ammunition.
That's what you have that backs you up.
When you go in and you say,
"It's time to talk about my pay."
It's helpful to go into this conversation
with something that resembles a script
so that you know that you're going to say,
I've been in this job for a year.
These are the things that I have accomplished in this job.
I've done my research and people who are in this position
are earning X dollars more than I am earning right now.
And I'm wondering if you can see your way clear
to increasing my compensation by that much.
It is not an easy conversation to have
so practice it in front of a mirror,
practice it with a friend,
practice it with a significant other.
And by the time you actually have it with your boss,
you'll be really good at it.
(light music)