🚀 Year-End Raise Playbook, Acing Your Review, Career Worksheet - Dec 2, 2025

5 steps to land a bigger paycheck, what to say on your year-end review, mapping your career for success, and plenty more buzz & gems ahead...

December 02, 2025

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Hello, Career Climbers! ✨ With Thanksgiving leftovers fading, it's prime time to plot your year-end glow-up. Today’s focus: smart moves to position yourself for that raise before the calendar flips.

On today’s agenda:

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT 

🚀 Your Year-End Raise Playbook: Position Yourself for the Paycheck You Deserve

As the post-Thanksgiving haze clears and year-end reviews loom, now’s the moment to subtly (or not-so-subtly) showcase why you deserve a bump in that paycheck. Think of this as your mini strategy guide to help your manager notice what’s been true all year: you’re delivering, growing, and ready for more.

1. Show the Wins — Not Just the Work

Numbers speak. Impact sings.

  • Quantify what you improved

  • Highlight what you solved

  • Share quick “win recaps” in weekly updates

 2. Be the Person Who Makes Things Easier

Leaders notice the folks who reduce friction.

  • Offer solutions, not problems

  • Take initiative on small-but-visible tasks

  • Communicate with clarity and calm

3. Act the Part Before You Get the Part

If you want the raise tied to a higher role, start showing those behaviors today.

  • Own outcomes

  • Think ahead

  • Mentor peers or newer teammates

 4. Set Up the Conversation Early

Don’t wait until the last week of December. Book a short “growth check-in” to align on expectations, outcomes, and next steps.

5. Frame It as Partnership, Not Pressure

Managers appreciate confidence paired with collaboration: “Here’s the value I’ve been adding — and how I’m excited to grow further.”

Ready to prep for the big moment? 

TODAY’S TASK
👔 Behave your way to the role - List the behaviors of the ideal person in your target role, then adopt them until they become natural—the tone, initiative, and ownership. Small shifts build big proof.

TOGETHER WITH THE CODE

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All delivered twice a week in just 2 short emails.

THE WORK PULSE

🔧 Blue-Collar Jobs Collapsing — News Week

  • What’s unfolding: A recent report highlights a steady collapse in U.S. blue-collar jobs — manufacturing, transport and warehousing, utilities and mining are shedding tens of thousands of positions even as overall hiring ticked up recently.

  • Why it matters: If your job interacts with supply chains, manufacturing, or logistics — or you’ve got ties to those industries — it’s a wake-up call to reassess your career resilience or consider upskilling.

👴 Octogenarians Rewriting American Workforce — WebPro News

  • What’s unfolding: People in their 80s are increasingly staying on the job — not out of necessity only, but also to stay engaged and relevant. Everyday retirement is being redefined.

  • Why it matters: As the workforce ages and long-term pros stay employed, younger and mid-career professionals may face greater competition. Firms may invest more in experience and retention over churn, which could reshape expectations around mentorship, longevity, and career paths.

🌍 More H-1Bs on the Table? — Business Standard

  • What’s unfolding: The reintroduced HIRE Act would double the annual cap for H‑1B visa holders — raising it from 65,000 to 130,000, while removing an advanced-degree cap.

  • Why it matters: If passed, this could flood certain sectors — like tech, engineering or research — with more foreign-skilled workers, increasing competition for skilled roles.

JOB BOARD

WORKPLACE

🎯 What to Say on Your Next Performance Review

One smart conversation can change your year — that’s the idea behind “15 Things to Say at Your Next Performance Review.” The article walks you through how to frame your wins in concrete terms, bring up a raise with confidence, ask about growth goals, and even give feedback upward — without sounding entitled.

If you want the kind of review that ends with bonus talk (or a promotion), this is the prep guide you need.  

👉 Read the full article and Ace Your Next Performance Review »

WEEKLY GOODY

🧭 Map Your Next Career Move

Tired of drifting through your career? This free Career Development Worksheet from CareerAddict helps you step back, set meaningful goals, and chart your next move—whether it’s a promotion, a pivot, or leveling up your skills. Quick, practical, and jargon-free, it’s the toolkit your career’s been waiting for.

 Start mapping your career path:

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BREAKROOM

SMART READS

📅 How to Ask for Time-Off at Work

🤲 The Career Path to Becoming a Fundraiser

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📬 Missed the previous issue on ‘The Lazy Walk Break’? Read it »