ctually asked what I thought my work was worth.
I gave her an honest answer.
She listened.
A month later, Emily called me.
She had negotiated a raise.
Not to $100,000.
Not to anything dramatic.
But enough to make her feel valued.
She also told me that the company had finally reviewed the salary structure for the entire department.
Several employees received increases.
Others started looking elsewhere.
Karen eventually transferred to another division.
And me?
I stopped apologizing for wanting to be paid fairly.
The biggest lesson wasn’t that I had found a better job.
It wasn’t even that I had earned more money.
