Boost Your Income Without Changing Jobs: Proven Strategies

When you want pay raise, probably the first thing that comes to your mind is finding a new job. But there are ways to increase your income without looking for new job. There are ways to improve income simply by taking advantage of opportunities that may be right in front of you.

Maybe you are looking for a pay increase so that you can qualify for a larger mortgage. Or maybe you need to improve income so that you can build up savings or pay off debt. But you don’t necessarily need to look for a new job in order to make that happen.

Before you start a new job search, you should first do all that you can to improve income right where you are.

Get Necessary Training or Certifications to Get Promoted

There’s no getting around the fact that it’s more difficult to get a promotion since the financial meltdown than it was before. Employers are very selective, and both hire and promote only the most qualified employees. If you have been unsuccessful in getting a promotion in recent years, it could be because you lack either mission-critical training, or certain highly desirable certifications.

In that case, the only way to get a promotion and the desired pay increase, is to improve your qualifications. That might mean taking courses in your spare time in order to get a needed credential, such as a certification. There are certifications for just about every career path in existence, so find out what they are in your field, and take the steps needed to obtain them.

You may also need to get additional training. In some cases, this training is on-the-job. But increasingly, it’s taking place outside the job. Once again, you may have to spend some time and money for that training. Fortunately, most training programs are available at little cost for online programs. And of course the benefit of online programs is that you can complete them at home in your spare time.

If lack of certain credentials or training have been holding you back, you may need to bite the bullet, and get the credentials or extra training needed for that promotion and pay raise.

Take Advantage of New Employee Referrals

Many employers, particularly larger ones, offer a variety of bonus programs. One is a new employee referral program. The company may pay $100, $500, or even $1,000 if you refer a qualified job candidate who is hired.

Find out if your company offers this type of extra pay, and then stay on top of the jobs they’re looking to fill. This can usually be done by perusing the company’s website periodically, to see what job openings are available.

If you can bring in potential candidates from your circle of friends and contacts, this can turn into a fairly regular source of extra pay. In a way, you would be acting as an employment recruiter for your company. So go ahead, recruit away, and enjoy the increased income.

Become Active in Getting New Customer Referrals

Some employers have a formal customer referral program in place. But even if they don’t, you might be able to work out an arrangement that will provide you with extra income for bringing in new customers and clients. In fact, you might even be the person who launches a new customer referral program your company.

This is only likely to succeed if you work at a for-profit company. Jobs with government agencies, schools, and nonprofit organizations don’t look for customers or clients, and will be unlikely to pay for any type of referrals.

But if you do work for such a company, it should be a fairly easy sell for you. This is especially true if you have strong positive feelings about the products or services that your company offers. If there’s a bit of a salesperson you, you can turn it into a serious way to increase income.

There’s a bonus here too. Since increasing revenue is the goal of every for-profit organization, your efforts to improve sales could put you in a better position to get a promotion. That can result in a higher salary, and maybe even commission income.

Provide Extra Services to Your Employer – For a Fee

Does your employer subcontract out work to outside providers? If they do, there may be an opportunity to increase income for you. If there are any services that they pay outside vendors to provide, that you can match, offer to become that provider. This can be especially effective if you can provide the same service at slightly less cost.

Approaching it from a different angle, are there any unfinished jobs around the office that no one wants to touch? If so, offer to take on the project in your spare time for extra pay. The fact that you are a company insider will almost certainly make the job easier for you than it would be for a subcontractor.

Sometimes you can find these side projects at your employer just by asking. And if you work in a small company, say less than 50 employees, it should be easier to negotiate.

Offer Your Skills Out for Hire to the General Public

Do you have any skills that you either are or are not using on the job? If so, consider selling those skills to the general public, or to small businesses that might be in need of those skills.

You have to be careful here, as some employers may have rules against their employees working for competitors. But if you have general skills, such as any type of IT skills, administrative skills, marketing skills, sales ability, or just about any special talent that you have, consider marketing them either to individuals or to small businesses that are not in the same field as your employer.

Sometimes you can pick up side work just by putting an ad on Craigslist, or even at work or on any public bulletin boards that are available. Laundromats, apartment complexes, churches, or neighborhood newsletters can be good places to advertise your skills.

There’s a bonus here too. If your side business starts to take off, you may be able to replace your current job with a full-time business. It’s certainly worth considering if you have the skills, and you’re looking to improve income.

Offer Your Skills to Websites and Blogs

If you have any type of internet related skills, there may be a built-in market with websites and blogs. Since most websites and blogs are owned by individuals and small businesses, they are usually in need of certain specialized skills.

You may develop a healthy second income if you can provide any of the following skills:

• Graphic design
• Web design
• Search engine optimization
• Content/article writing/editing
• Social media marketing/promotion

There are hundreds of thousands of small, privately owned websites and blogs, that represent a limitless potential market for these skills. For example, often, you can get writing assignments for foreign websites and blogs simply because you are a native English speaker (foreign websites and blogs are often anxious to enter the US market).

You can market your skills by sending emails to websites and blogs, advertising your services. It may take 100 such emails to get two or three clients, but once you do, you’ll be in business – or at least a side business. What have you got to lose?

These are just some of the ideas that you can use to give yourself a pay raise. Get the creative juices flowing, and brainstorm with others who are looking to increase income as well. You’ll be surprised at how many ways you can make this happen without ever having to look for a new job. Good luck!