Have you ever outworked a colleague and wondered why their compensation was higher than yours? I’ve been there and it’s not a great feeling. True, statistics show that women still make 77 cents for every male dollar and studies increasingly show that women work harder for their pay, but pay disparity can happen to men, too.

Why do some employees accept unequal pay for unequal work? According to a recent survey, men are motivated by money, whereas women are more likely to be motivated by the pure satisfaction of accomplishing their goals.
How we approach our resolutions says a lot about how we approach our work, since both are deeply rooted in goal setting and accomplishment. But even in the male-dominated environment of financial services, men are every bit as likely to suffer from pay disparity as women.

As a gender stereotype, we might be able to predict trends in motivations, but as human beings, it becomes more difficult. Many men made the same mistake I did, which was to believe I shouldn’t be compensated for the work responsibilities that most excited me because I was being presented with an opportunity to do something new.
When should you consider working for free? There are a few times, when taken advantage of sparsely, when we can benefit from working for free.

1. It’s a networking opportunity
If the gig can open up new doors or get you in front of industry thought leaders you want to meet, it can be worth taking on a free project, as long as you don’t make a habit of it.
Early on in my career, I volunteered to run the biweekly orientation day for new financial advisor because I knew that on each of those days, I’d get the opportunity to speak with the regional vice president of my company. This translated into being tapped for more managerial responsibilities and entry into an exclusive pilot program.

2. It’ll enhance your career skills
A new project can help you gain new expertise or visibility in an area where you haven’t yet shone. Just be careful the project scope doesn’t creep past your learning curve or PR opportunity. The exclusive pilot program I entered was to help advisors become better at word-of-mouth marketing, and it advanced my skills faster because I learned from the best. The drawback was I had to complete it in addition to my normal work responsibilities. But the benefits far exceeded the extra time commitment...... Read complete article at: http://blog.cvwizards.com.ng/?p=282

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