6 Valuable Tips When Asking For A Salary Raise

december 18, 2019

Source: Thomas Drouault/ Unsplash If you have been sitting at the same salary for some time, you likely feel like you deserve a pay or salary raise. You know your own value, but you are not sure your boss notices. You feel like it is finally time to do something about it. Before you give up and set all your sights on winning in blackjack, read this article and learn how to ask for and receive the salary raise you deserve. You may not get the exact amount you want, when you want it, but you will learn how to confidently ask and open the door to enhanced opportunity.

How to Prepare to Ask for a Raise

Before you ask the big question, be prepared for some legwork. First, timing is imperative. Many companies utilize an annual personal interview or evaluation to review performance and assess salary. If there is a perfect time for asking for a salary raise, it would be during this annual evaluation period. If you work as a subcontractor in childcare or pet care or for the elderly, you may set up an appointment to discuss salary or pay rate after a year. If you have never received a feedback interview with your employer, just ask. This is the path to higher pay. Other milestones you achieve in your work might prompt the pay raise conversation. If you have taken over a sizable project or helped your marketing department land a significant client, you may take the opportunity to ask for an increase. Also, be mindful of an appropriate increase when you approach your boss. Do your research within your company or field first. If you can’t find data, operate on the 20 percent increase rule if you are absolutely certain your abilities warrant an upgrade in pay. By asking for this amount, your employer has room to negotiate, hopefully settling on at least a 10 percent increase to satisfy both parties. Source: Sharon McCutcheon/ Unsplash

Six Steps to Success

Now we get to the concrete steps. Follow this basic plan, speak with confidence, and trust that your boss will see you for the accomplished, reliable individual you are.

1. Bring Documentation – Don’t assume that your boss is the only person who needs to authorize your raise. Employers usually have higher-ups who finalize pay grade decisions. Bring written documentation with you outlining your specific contributions and the value you assign to your own accomplishments. Also, include specific value you feel you bring to the company through your contributions, inciting those in authority positions to agree with your request. Make sure you state you have records of your contributions and ask them if they would like extra copies.
2. Consider Long-Term Strategy – Strategize if you crave success. Plan ahead and your boss may get on your side to help you accomplish milestones to earn the raise to which you aspire. By creating a foundation of success and accomplishments, you make a salary raise the next natural step when the head of your company clearly sees that you have climbed every rung on the ladder yourself. Make a point of specifically asking your boss to tell you what expectations may be met to attain your goals.
3. Emphasize the Value of Your Contribution to the Company – The last thing you want to do is focus on your own needs when you ask for a salary raise. Remember, you are paid for performance and contribution to a company or individual and not what the work does specifically for you. Go the distance and do your research for how you have added value in the past. Document your performances and project future value output so you can prove to your boss in concrete terms why paying you more will only further benefit the company.
4. Consider Alternatives – An increase in value may not be only monetary. Beyond more money, maybe your boss can instead offer you more responsibilities, an upgraded title, or more hours. These perks, instead of more money immediately, could open to door to greater pay raises in the future. When you lay out your request and your PowerPoint display of accomplishments, also pack some humility to accept alternatives. If a freeze on salary increases has occurred in your company, a willingness to compromise for now will be appreciated.
5. Summarise and Confirm – Congrats! Your request worked and you were granted a pay increase. Don’t just shake your boss’s hand and exit the door. Make sure you confirm the exact amount and date of effect, along with any term changes. Get it in writing and then move forward.
6. Thank Your Boss – If you did not get the raise this time, thank your boss. A sour attitude will not help future requests. Conversely, if you act overly appreciative of a granted raise, you don’t want the boss to thank they did you a favour. A salary review is your right and your boss should always be willing to give you the opportunity.

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