A Sticky Situation

[Stephen Arrants <arrants -at- BRIGHTWARE -dot- COM>]

A neighbor, Jean, who is also a technical writer, came to me with a
problem.  She one of two writers at a very small hardware company. Her
manager was the only writer until Jean was hired in October 1996.
Recently, the company hired another writer, at a salary Jean says is 15%
above hers. The new writer has six months experience (compared to Jean's
five years) and has never worked on a complete project (from start to
ship).

Jeannie is angry about the siuation and asked me for advice. i'd advised
her to take the following approach:
*       List out her strengths, successes, and improvements since she started
in October.
*       List the responsibilities of *her* job.
*       Gather feedback she's already received from folks she's worked with.
*       Tray and gather salary figures from comparable companies in the area
(there are only one or two of them, though).
*       Present this to her manager and talk about a rise in salary or
additional benefits (extra time off, telecommuting, etc.).

I've warned her not to be confrontational, but to be honest with her
manager as to how she is feeling about this, and what she sees as a
solution.

Can you give any other advice?

thanks,
steve arrants

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