After wrapping the first full week of daily episodes, Nichole zooms out to share exactly where the series is headed for the rest of the year.

In this episode:

• A recap of week one: believing your labor has value, starting your brag document, getting feedback from your manager, and understanding market rate
• Why you should pause and give yourself credit for any action you took this week
• What's coming next: the research phase, building your case into a one-pager, timing and strategy, and the actual ask itself
• What to expect once the ask happens: how to handle a yes, a "let me think about it," and a no
• This weekend's reflection task: where you already feel confident, and where you still feel shaky
• A personal update: episodes will post on weekdays, not seven days a week, and Nichole shares she's six months pregnant and recording episodes in advance to stay ahead of schedule
• A reminder that the Seven Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge includes templates you can copy, edit, and send straight to your manager

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Nichole breaks down one of the most misunderstood phrases in salary conversations: market rate.

In this episode:

• Why market rate is a range, not one fixed number, and the variables that shift it: role, experience, location, and industry
• How to push back when someone tells you what "market rate" is for your job, starting with the question "based on what?"
• Why companies sometimes use market rate as a way to end a conversation, and why it should really be a starting point
• A personal example of this happening to Nichole, both as an employee and as a manager
• How to research your own range using multiple sources for your exact title, location, and experience level
• The exact sentence to use once you have your range, to walk into a conversation with data instead of a guess
• Today's task: spend ten minutes researching your range and add it to your growing case

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Continuing the week's momentum on believing your labor has value and tracking it in your brag document, Nichole covers a step most people skip entirely: getting feedback from your manager before you ever bring up a raise.

In this episode:

• Why walking into a raise conversation cold is risky, and how an unknown concern can catch you off guard mid-ask
• How to time this conversation depending on your company's review cycle
• The exact, low-pressure way to request a feedback conversation with your manager
• How to frame it if you already have regular one-on-ones
• Why this conversation gives you either confidence or a heads-up gap to close before the real ask
• Specific questions to ask in the meeting, including biggest strengths, growth areas, and what performance at the next level looks like
• Why you should log your manager's exact words in your brag document to reference later
• How this conversation quietly plants the seed for your manager, ahead of the actual raise discussion
• Today's task: get a feedback conversation on the calendar for the next week or so

Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here.

Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop