7 Things You're Unconsciously Doing That Cut Your Salary In 2025
Talent is nothing without making yourself strategically visible
You're talented, you work hard, and you've studied hard. You're even upskilling online with an industry-recognized certificate.
But despite sending hundreds of job applications, you're met with the same auto response: 'We're sorry, but we've decided to go with another candidate at this time.' Despite constantly asking your manager for a promotion or pay raise in the next quarter, you're met with, 'This is not a good time.' (Or worse, your co-worker with less expertise and qualifications than you lands the salary increase.)
And regardless of you launching your business online and being visible in all the right places, when it comes time to pay for your service, no one wants to work with you.
It's totally baffling and frustrating, especially when, on paper, everything listed in the job specs or project requests matches exactly with the skills and experience you have to offer. You're unable to move up in your career, or increase your salary and income because you're consistently met with a roadblock.
Salary growth is needed now more than ever. The cost of living remains high, and today's buying power is so low that Gen Zers and even Millennials are struggling to afford basic necessities, including paying their student debt and housing costs. Many young professionals can't even afford the 'luxury' of purchasing their first home and are swamped spending more than half of their salaries on housing or are living with parents just to get by, per a CardRates.com survey.
But unfortunately, we're often the cause of our woes. Don't get it wrong, being hit with a layoff or financial uncertainty can happen to anyone. However, the quality of having enough career resilience to bounce back and hardly feel the impact comes down to several factors, a few of which will be addressed below.
There are habits that we tend to repeat over and over which initially seem harmless, but in reality, through doing them, you sabotage your earning potential and close the door to greater career opportunities.
These micro-habits send loud signals to employers and potential clients that you're not confident in your skills, or you're less capable or less high-value than the price/salary you're demanding in return for your expertise. Here are a few of them.
Ever caught yourself saying 'I just….' or 'I only…' or 'It was only…'? To be honest, this is something that we're all guilty with at some point in our lives. Starting your sentences with these diminishing words and phrases undermines your value in the mind of the listener. It takes away from what you really did and makes everything you say from that point on, irrelevant.
Build the habit of getting straight to the point and owning your achievements so you no longer devalue your contributions. To give this extra "oomph," swap diminishing language with some power verbs and impactful language.
For instance, 'I spearheaded,' 'I led,' 'I was a core contributor in,' etc.
Here's something else that might surprise you: a study conducted by Harvard Business School in 2024 revealed that women generally tend to undervalue themselves when applying for job opportunities, more than their male counterparts. Their findings confirmed the results from the well-known Hewlett-Packard study, where male applicants applied for roles even though they only met 60% of the criteria, while women waited until they were at least 100% aligned with the job description and requirements before applying. This is one of several contributing factors as to why women are still underrepresented in certain fields and job titles.
As a rule of thumb, you should always apply for a job or new career-enhancing opportunity as long as you meet at least 70% of the criteria. Only applying for jobs that you feel totally comfortable with keeps you in a mediocre comfort zone, and doesn't allow your career or salary to grow. You're essentially pigeonholing yourself.
This is a significant one. Many job interview candidates fail because they neglect to answer interview questions using concise storytelling that speaks directly to the results they delivered, and this not only costs you a new job but can also cost you new business if you're an entrepreneur, and a promotion if you're applying for one.
Use structured models like CAR (context, action, results) and STAR (situation, task, action, results) to convey context, the actions you took, and tangible impact. Use metrics and numbers as much as possible to quantify this.
Another costly mistake many professionals make is when they fail to pay attention to their online footprint. It's not enough to have a basic online presence or a stagnant LinkedIn profile. You need to be active and intentionally visible, for all the right reasons, of course.
Create a portfolio website. Share your thought leadership on LinkedIn, on Medium, even on X (formerly Twitter). Share your expertise and pitch yourself for expert commentary opportunities so you can be featured by journalists and leading publications in your field. Establish credibility and authority. This is what builds trust instantly, which ultimately leads to them being willing to pay a premium for your services and skills because you're a verified expert.
Stop saying 'we launched a new platform,' 'we delivered this program,' etc. While it's OK to say 'we' when introducing a story about an achievement at work, don't continue leading with the 'we.'
Once acknowledging them at the beginning, it's time to give yourself some credit. The listener needs to understand exactly what your role was in that team and what you specifically did to contribute uniquely as an individual. For example, you could say, 'We launched this new platform, and I collected data on our user feedback and made suggestions for improvement to the team.'
Subtle habits in your language and wording can make a significant difference to your salary
Do you recognize yourself in any of the mistakes on this list? Have you been guilty of one or more? If so, now is your 'aha!' lightbulb moment. Stop hiding your value. Upgrade your language and own your impact. It's time for the world to see exactly how much you're worth.
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