I sensed trouble the moment my boss asked me to stay late all week to train the woman who would be taking over my position. What really shocked me, though, was HR’s news: she’d be earning $85,000, while I had been making $55,000 for the same role. When I asked why, HR simply shrugged, “She negotiated better.” Something inside me shifted. Instead of arguing, I agreed to train her—but on my own terms.
The next morning, I left two neatly labeled piles on my desk: “Official Job Duties” and “Voluntary Tasks.” My replacement stared at the second pile in disbelief, realizing how much unpaid work I’d been quietly handling over the years. The lesson had already begun.
During training, I stuck strictly to what was in my job description. No extra responsibilities, no technical fixes, no crisis management, no cross-department problem-solving. Whenever she asked how to handle issues I’d always managed, I replied, “You’ll need to check with management. That wasn’t part of my assigned duties.”
I could feel my boss grow tense as each unassigned responsibility bounced back onto him. The sting of HR’s earlier comment started to fade—it felt liberating.
By the second day, my replacement understood she hadn’t been hired for one job but two. She was grateful, not upset, realizing she had assumed the salary reflected all the hidden work I had been doing.
Meanwhile, my boss was running around, handling tasks I had always taken care of, finally seeing the true scope of my contributions.
On my last day, after finishing everything officially on my job description, I placed my resignation letter on his desk—effective immediately. Two weeks later, I started a new job where my experience was respected, and this time I negotiated my salary with confidence. Once you know your worth, you never let anyone undervalue you again.