How dental assistants can handle a “dry” promotion
You’ve worked hard at your dental practice for a few years, taken initiative when opportunities arose, and made yourself as valuable as possible. Now, you’ve finally been rewarded with a promotion! But there’s a catch — the elevated job title doesn’t come with a pay raise. What should you do?
This is referred to as a “dry” promotion. In other words, you receive more responsibilities and/or a new job title without an increase in compensation. If you’re a dental assistant in this situation, here’s some guidance on navigating it and whether you should accept the promotion.
Evaluating the opportunity
Receiving a dry promotion isn’t ideal. But it’s worth at least considering what the potential long-term benefits could be before accepting or declining the offer.
Will accepting the promotion help you move closer to achieving your career goals? Perhaps your employer is willing to pay for you to earn DANB certification, which is an important step toward becoming a dental assisting educator. Could the new job title help you find opportunities at another practice that will pay more? Many dental practices are actively seeking dental assistants and some might be willing to pay you more than you currently make — especially if you have leadership experience or more advanced clinical skills. In this case, having a new job title on your resume may give you a leg up with another practice.
Asking questions
When you don’t receive a pay raise along with a promotion, it can be confusing and frustrating. Asking your dentist a few questions can give you clarity on how to proceed. For instance:
- Will you receive a raise down the line, after serving in the role for a few months?
- Will the promotion come with more benefits, such as additional days off?
- Is your practice willing to provide and pay for training or continuing education to help you grow into the new role?
- Are you being expected to take on new tasks in addition to your current ones, or will some of your existing responsibilities be delegated to other staff members?
- What does the practice envision for your career moving forward? Have other team members followed a similar career growth trajectory?
If you receive satisfactory answers — meaning your practice shows they’re invested in your career growth and willing to increase your compensation within a certain time frame — the promotion may ultimately be worthwhile.
Negotiating
You can also treat the promotion like a job offer and negotiate compensation — either a wage increase, more benefits, or both. If your dental practice truly values your contributions and wants to keep you around for the long haul, they might be open to negotiating with you. Do some research on your new job title to see what dental assistants in similar roles are earning in your area. Remind your dentist of the value you bring to the practice; after all, this is probably why they offered you a promotion in the first place. Approaching the situation with a positive and confident attitude may help you reach a satisfactory solution for both sides.
Read more: How dental assistants can negotiate pay
Knowing when to say “no”
You aren’t obligated to accept a promotion, particularly if it comes without additional compensation. Still, declining a promotion can be tricky — especially when you are interested in advancing your career.
If you’ve asked questions and failed to receive satisfactory answers or attempted to negotiate without success, you may be unsure what to do. While those can be red flags on their own, here are some additional signs it might be best to say “no” to the promotion:
- It would increase your workload and stress. You’re being asked to take on additional duties while keeping your current ones, which can leave you feeling stretched thin and burned out over time.
- It would negatively affect your work-life balance. The promotion would require working longer hours that take away from your free time and obligations outside of the dental practice.
- It wouldn’t further your career. You’re being asked to do more around the dental office but aren’t developing new leadership or clinical skills that are helping you grow.
- It makes you feel undervalued. You may feel like you’re being taken advantage of, providing additional value to your practice without being appreciated in return. While there’s nothing wrong with being loyal to your practice, you deserve to feel respected and valued for it.
Declining a promotion can be awkward, but it’s important to know your worth and establish boundaries. If you decide to decline the promotion, stay professional and thank your employer for their consideration. This may also be your sign to start seeking an opportunity at another dental practice that will support your career growth and compensate you appropriately.