Cleared professionals are expecting their employers to ‘show them the money’ this year, according to a recent survey of cleared professionals. And many are setting their sights higher than the standard three percent pay raise.
In a recent survey of 1,200 professionals with active federal security clearances, 85 percent of male respondents and 74 percent of female respondents said they anticipate a pay raise in 2015. When asked what percentage of raise they anticipate, men and women were nearly identical in their responses.
Of those expecting a pay raise:
- Approximately 12 percent expect a 1-2 percent pay raise
- Approximately 33 percent expect a 3-4 percent pay raise
- Approximately 31 percent expect a 5-7 percent pay raise
- Approximately 17 percent expect an 8-10 percent pay raise
- Approximately 5 percent expect a pay raise 10 percent or higher
It’s yet another sign of upward movement in the defense and government contracting industry. After years of sequestration, shrinking budgets and employee furloughs, the future looks brighter. An audit of security-cleared professionals reduced the size of the cleared workforce by 10 percent in 2014. Always-increasing demand for cyber professionals means many recruiters are competing for the same pool of candidates. If you’ve been stuck in a stagnate salary, 2015 may be your year.
Pay Disparity for Women
When it comes to pay disparity – a hot button issue in the government contracting community today – women do say they aren’t earning what their male counterparts do. Several survey respondents cited knowing that males in their workplace out-earned them, by as much as tens of thousands of dollars.
A defense industry professional recently shared how a recruiter literally laughed at her salary request – saying she would never get it. Another employer valued her skills and offered that, and more. It’s those kind of disparities that make salary negotiation tough for everyone – men and women. Sometimes, salary ranges seem less tied to the position and more tied to the person – and that’s when recruiters get in trouble. Because men can be more aggressive in salary negotiations than women, they can find themselves making significantly more. This unintentional pay disparity may become a significant factor if more companies start opening up salary information.
In the ClearanceJobs survey, 44 percent of females – and perhaps shockingly, 47 percent of males – said pay disparity is a big issue. Thirty-nine percent of men, and 50 percent of women said it was an issue, but not a big issue. Fifteen percent of men and only 16 percent of women said it was not an issue.
Positivity Pays?
The 17 percent of survey respondents anticipating an 8-10 percent increase in pay raise represent a very optimistic segment of the professional population. Even generous estimates of what should be expected during an annual review top out at 10 percent. If you’re expecting to be in the small percentage of professionals earning a big boost this year, here are a few points to consider:
1. What have your last three raises looked like?
If your pay raises over the past few years have been less than usual, you have a good case for asking for a larger increase. Make sure you know definitively what your previous raises were, and factor that into this year’s ask.
2. Did you take on any new, and significant projects?
A boss will show you the money if you can show them your performance. Be prepared with a lot of concrete examples of how you brought in business and saved by going above and beyond the call of duty.
3. What’s your value on the open market?
This is the money maker, but you need to be committed. If you want to earn a pay jump in the 10 percent or more camp, you’re likely going to need to demonstrate that if you can’t make it with your current company, there’s a risk you’ll move into another job where you could. This is why you should always be managing your career and maintain an online and offline career network. Most recruiters are happy to discuss ballpark salary figures with professionals they’ve established a relationship with. (Note: they’ll likely low ball the numbers. A good hire is driven by both skills and emotion – if you’re a great fit for the job, they’ll pay more than what you’re ‘worth’). Always have an idea of what you could make outside of your current company.
