7 ways to start earning more this year

Are you not satisfied with your income? Then there is only one person who can do something about it: yourself. You will have to take action yourself to earn more this year. But what actions can you take?

We list 7 ways in which you can earn more.

Learn a new skill the company desperately needs

One way to start earning more this year is to make yourself more valuable. You do this by investing in your development. When you learn a new skill that the company desperately needs, it’s only natural that you’ll be compensated for it as well.

Talk to your manager about your desire to develop yourself. Often the company has a budget from which you can follow a training or course. You can learn a new skill (sometimes even for free) on places like LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, or Coursera.

Take a critical look at your work

We all want to earn more, but not everyone delivers the work actually to make it. So take an honest and critical look at your work. Do you currently deserve a salary increase? And if not, what’s the cause? You still have about eight months to improve this before you have your year-end assessment.

Make clear how much value you bring

Perhaps it is now clear to you that you deserve a raise. You are always the first to help others, signing up for new projects, and you are the one who never misses a deadline. You work hard and deliver good work: your manager must see that.

In reality, managers are busy and in charge of many more people than just you. So it is not at all certain that your manager realizes how much value you bring. But wait – this doesn’t mean you have to stress to your manager how hard you are working towards your colleagues.

Throughout the year, keep a record in which you collect evidence of your worth. For example, the thank you from a colleague for helping him out, the projects you contributed to, and the compliment from someone from another department about the work you have delivered. This helps you to be stronger in a salary negotiation.

Build a network outside your department

Do you work in a relatively large company with different departments, and would you like to grow in salary and career? The better your network is within the company, the sooner you will be eligible for a promotion.

You don’t just network outside your organization – on the contrary. Networking within your organization is perhaps even more important.

Get the timing right

If the company is not doing well, there is a good chance that you can forget about that salary increase. And if your manager is just in the middle of a big project with a deadline approaching, now isn’t the right time to talk about your salary either.

Of course, you don’t have a crystal ball, so it’s never possible to accurately predict whether you have the right timing. Will you be told no? Then make arrangements with your manager. What goals do you need to achieve each quarter to get that salary increase next year?

Start a side hustle

It’s a bit of an open door, of course. But if you seriously want to earn more, it’s good to think about this seriously. At least you can think about your options. For example, you can invest in passive income. Here you work hard on a product once, after which you can continue to sell it (such as an e-book). This way, you will keep your free time at some point.

Or research what makes you happy. Where do you forget the time? What do you often look up information about, watch YouTube videos about? If you know the answer to this, maybe you can start a side hustle in this. Making money with something you enjoy doing is a win-win, in our opinion.

Ask yourself if it’s time to look for a new job

There are many reasons why people look for a new job. Earning more is one of them. A salary negotiation at a new job is often an excellent way to get a big salary increase. But of course, this is only a good option if you are no longer in the right place at your current job.

Please note: by this, we do not mean only if you are depressed at work. Then you have to pack your bags anyway. But even if you do have fun at work, it may be time for the next step. For example, if you haven’t grown for some years. If you can no longer develop yourself in your job, it is a sign that it is time for something new.