How To Squeak🐭

We’ve all heard it: “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” 🙄 But let’s be real — squeaking sounds like tattling, whining, or jockeying at the expense of your team-first mentality.

Instead, think of it as advocating for yourself. That squeak? It’s just you turning up the volume on your worth. Your car’s engine light comes on when it needs something, yeah? So do you. 

You want more money? Cool. And expected. Let’s make sure you squeak in a way that’s smart, informed, and effective.

1. 🎯 Get Your Facts Straight

• Know your number. Seriously, double-check your actual gross salary. People are often surprised it’s higher (or lower) than they think. Don’t argue from a fuzzy place.

• Look beyond the paycheck. Salary + benefits + perks = total compensation. That free dental plan and gym stipend? They count. The Value Proposition of an organization includes intangible benefits like culture, colleagues, career growth, exposure to career accelerating thought leadership opportunities, etc. This list is endless as it is personalized to each person’s motivations. Know yours.

• Ditch the drama. Don’t threaten to quit. Don’t corner your boss. This is a conversation, not a WWE match. Getting backed into a corner creates fear and dynamics that will haunt you for the rest of your tenure at said company. Not worth it. You’re not doing this “or else;” you’re doing this for yourself!

• Accept the context. The economy, company performance, and internal equity all factor in. Sometimes it’s not about you—it’s about math. A compensation strategy, at its core, must be affordable. You likely don’t know what factors are considered when setting the budgets. Go in curious.
  
  

2. 📊 Know Your Benchmarks

• If you live in a pay transparency state: check the job postings on your company’s career site.

• Not in one? Build your own range using salary.com, Glassdoor, PayScale, Indeed, etc.

• It is not illegal to ask your colleagues about compensation. In fact, in most states, it’s illegal to deter compensation dialogue among colleagues.  I’ll leave it at that.

• Learn the lingo:

• Entry quartile (Min): new to the role.

• Mid-point (Mid): you’re solid and consistent.

• Top quartile (Max): you’re crushing it and likely leading.

• Compa-Ratio:  This is your position to the midpoint of your band. Most company budget and forecast salary spend on the midpoint of the band. So, if your compa-ratio is 100%, that means you are squarely on the midpoint, or on budget. If your compa-ratio is 120%, you are coming in on the high end of your range, and your performance/value better match that band placement or you may have a target on your back (i.e. you’re expensive, but not high-performing).  If your compa-ratio is under 100%, you’re paid in the lower portion of the band - it’s fair to ask why. It could be that you’re new to the company or role. It could also be that you’ve been at the same company a while, and your compensation hasn’t grown year over year at pace with the market - you may need an internal equity adjustment.
  

(Pro tip: Place yourself honestly. If you’ve been in the role six months, you’re likely not “top quartile” yet, unless you took a lower level role to get your foot in the door, but you STILL have to prove yourself in the new environment with the new team. As Kendrick says, sit down, be humble.)

3. 🤝 Compare Wisely

• Apples to apples. A Project Manager at a small nonprofit ≠ a PM at Google. Their budgets (and snack perks) are galaxies apart. You can google the role and get a six figure difference in comparisons. Check the professional trade publications, sites and networking groups for relevant data.

• Stop obsessing over colleagues. Gossip-fueled comparisons will make you miserable. Focus on your value, not their paycheck. It is mind blowing to me how many people don’t know their actual total compensation value. Anecdote - I was working at a global, industry-leading design firm when a mid-level Designer came to me and said, “I need a raise because I am the lowest paid Associate Director in this office,” and I promptly pulled up my comp sheet and informed him that he was indeed the second HIGHEST paid in the team - much to his surprise. Your colleagues have their own filters, value sets and needs. You also shouldn’t compare to others but if you want to compare, compare to the value and positive change/growth you bring to the team and company. When your focus is on helping the business compete in the marketplace vs. you competing against your internal colleagues, you’ll unlock the comp.

4. 💬 Ask Smart Questions

Here’s your starter pack for manager conversations:

• “Can you share the salary range for my role?”

• If the answer is no, you can ask why isn’t this information publicly available or shared?

• If the answer is, “I’ll need to check with HR (scapegoat alert!!),” you can say, “Okay, thank you, and when is a good time to check back in with you or them directly?”

• “What’s our comp adjustment process?”

• If your manager doesn’t know this, or if your company doesn’t have one, I’d recommend getting your resume together. Mature and thoughtful companies have these and train their managers on such.

• “What could I be doing differently to hit the next pay tier?”

• A cool, vulnerable exercise is to draw a horizontal line on a page with your current role at one end of the line, and the next logical role at the other end. You then place an “x” along the line where you believe your career currently sits, and simultaneously, your manager does the same thing. You get to explore the difference in real talk. Hmmmm… why do I think I’m closer to my next level than you? Why do you think I’m closer to my next level than me? FUN!

• “What benchmarking data does the company use?”

• Ask for paid and unpaid sources. Legitimate bands (with budgets) use both. 

This flips the script: you’re not whining, you’re seeking clarity.

5. 🔄 Follow Up Like a Pro

• If the answer is “No”: Ask when you can revisit and put it on the calendar (don’t leave it to fate).

• If the answer is “Not now”: Great, you have a timeline. Circle back then — not a minute earlier.
  
  

🪄 In the Pocket

Advocating for yourself isn’t selfish; it’s part of building a career. Done right, squeaking isn’t annoying — it’s professional, proactive, powerful, and dare I say necessary to advance your career.

Get your squeak on.