Kim跟朋友Anita一起出去吃飯。

K: Hey, Anita! Great to see you!

A: Long time no see! I'm so glad you had time to meet for lunch!

K: I've missed you. How have you been?

A: Pretty good. The boys are doing well in school and John is enjoying his new job. You?

K: Pretty much the same. Still working killer hours and still angling for that promotion. I have a hunch I'm going to move up to vice president this year.

A: That's great!

Kim和Anita顯然是很久沒見了，互相詢問近況。Kim說，自己還是沒日沒夜地干，work killer hours；爭取提升，angle for the promotion. Kim還說，I have a hunch, 有直覺，今年能升成公司副總。

K: How's your career going? Last time we spoke you said you were trying to get a raise.

A: Yep. That's the plan. I mean, I've certainly put in the hours. I'm definitely one of the most productive members of the company and I feel I contribute a lot.

K: So? What's the problem? Why haven't you gone in there and demanded a raise?

A: I just can't work up the confidence to do it. I know I need to, and I know I need it, but it's tough.

Anita想漲工資，可又不知道怎么開口。她說自己就是鼓不起勇氣。I just can't work up the confidence to do it. Kim是怎么指點她的呢？

K: OK sister, we are going to figure this out together. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's asking for what I need.

A: I don't even know where to begin. My son needs braces and his school tuition has just gone up. We really need to get a new car and even the dog has needs we can't pay for.

K: OK, stop right there. You can't base your salary request according to your needs. The company isn't a charity and if you go in and say, "I need" it's not going to work.

第一，不能跟老板說，我缺錢，因為公司不是慈善機構(gòu)。Anita說，兒子需要整牙，學(xué)費漲價，家里需要換新車，結(jié)果被Kim叫停。

A: I could probably make more money if I changed companies.

K: There you go...that's a powerful argument. But leave any threats till the last minute. What you need to do is stress your value.

A: I do have to consider the current global economic slowdown. Our company has been taking quite a hit.

K: That's true. You have to take those factors into account. But you also have to get paid at a fair rate.

Anita說，如果換個工作，工資肯定會增加。Kim覺得這是一個很好的理由，但建議說，leave any threats till the last minute. 威脅是最后的殺手锏。Kim說，what you need to do is stress your value. 要強調(diào)自己對公司的價值。