How and when to talk to manager about career goals?

[Anonymous]

I am a new manager (worked previously in IT, have MBA) and report to a CEO of a $1bn organization. I took this job because it’s a great opportunity, but feel the work I’m doing is greater than my title reflects, including leading a business integration effort and serving as point on a system-wide cost savings initiative, in addition to essentially being the chief of staff of the CEO.

I’m in a MCOL area and accepted a salary of $78k. I enjoy the job but think I am underpaid, and I would like to be in a director role next year. Is this asking too much? I work almost entirely with senior executives (C-suite and VPs) with a few directors rolled in.

[Anonymous]

Yikes. How long have you been there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yikes. How long have you been there?

Not long: a few months.

Yikes at salary or what I’m being asked to do?

Because I agree!

[Anonymous]

What's the culture at the company? Are director roles "created" or do you take over an opening when someone else moves up or out? If the latter, I would focus on building connections at the company. Otherwise at a few months it seems like it's too soon to really ask for a pay raise, especially in this climate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the culture at the company? Are director roles "created" or do you take over an opening when someone else moves up or out? If the latter, I would focus on building connections at the company. Otherwise at a few months it seems like it's too soon to really ask for a pay raise, especially in this climate.

Director roles are definitely created, particularly given our rapid expansion via M&A. I was thinking of bringing up the potential of a new role after a year at the company, in about eight months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yikes. How long have you been there?

Not long: a few months.

Yikes at salary or what I’m being asked to do?

Because I agree!

I agree with the other poster that this feels too soon to raise though I would start documenting examples of how I’m meeting the director level job description for my next (first?) performance review. At my last job we hired someone who felt they were overqualified and asked for the next level position and we almost agreed until we gave him more time and realized he was hired at the right level.