Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The surprising performance review

I had my annual performance review today, and was pretty surprised by the results. My manager is very hard to read, and (his words) extremely aggressive. I was cautiously optimistic, and was  surprised by the results.

I ended up receiving the second highest mark possible (top 15% of employees), and:
  • a pay raise of 3% (negligible, since I'll only be earning that salary for a few weeks. But, allows me to have a higher end salary when I go to find a new job).
  • A bonus of $27,300
  • Someone unknown portion of stock that I'll never see (vests over five years). If I get a job in the next few weeks, I may be able to use that stock as leverage in my overall compensation in a new role. We shall see.
I have to add that I waited for all of the review stuff to be finalized (meaning, my manager could not change it) before I gave notice. I feel comfortable with this, as the review is meant to reflect my performance rating on work that I completed from August 2012 to August 2013. It would be pretty awful if work that I already completed was "marked down" because I gave notice, but I've seen it happen MANY times.

So, I've been dying to have a spa day (a hair cut, a pedicure, & most importantly - a MASSAGE!). That was my big reward for the move, so I really need to get it set up. I'm also hoping to put aside some money to fly my sister out to visit. The rest of the money (plus my recent stock vest)will go towards:

  • Priority 1 - paying off my 401K loan
  • Rebuilding our emergency fund after the move
  • Paying off the remodel on our primary residence, so we can get it ready to sell.
  • The rest of the money will go into my savings, to bridge any gaps between jobs for me.

It's been hard to balance the move, the kids, work, & I've had about an hour to myself over the last few weeks. Tomorrow - I start my pilates class. SO excited to have a little "me time".

If you got a bonus - how would you use it? At least part of your answer has to be "fun" and just for you! :-)

1 comment:

  1. Very nice! That's great negotiating power going forward.

    If I got a bonus, I would pay off our remaining debt and spend more money on decorating our house. I might even hire someone to do it for me.

    Does your employer know that you moved?

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