You’re sitting at your desk, thinking about all your accomplishments the past few months. You increased revenue, helped integrate a new employee onto the team and saved thousands of dollars by switching vendors. A glowing light clicks on – you deserve a raise! Then a glowering demon inside scowls and mutters, “You haven’t got the spine to ask for a raise!” Almost 60% of workers listen to the Negative Nancy voice and don’t ask for a raise.
Don’t be in that 60%. If you’re providing value to your company, you should share that value. Here’s what you should and shouldn’t do when asking for a raise.
Do…
- Show quantifiable improvements you’ve made to your team and the company. Do valuable work that can be clearly demonstrated.
- You saved X hours of time on X project by doing X.
- You collaborated with another department and saved X on an outside vendor.
- Think about what would motivate your boss to give you a raise. Focus on their goals as well as yours.
- If you know your boss wants a person on the team to take on a new task, offer to take it on and demonstrate why you should be paid more accordingly.
- Show how you’ve been a leader.
- Be confident (not cocky). If you aren’t sure you deserve a raise, why would they give you one?
- Keep your hands still, maintain positive eye contact and know what you’re going to say ahead of time.
Don’t…
- Wait until the next year’s budget has been set, bring it up at 4:45 on a Friday afternoon, on a day your boss has 75 meetings or in the middle of some kind of company crisis. Timing is critical.
- Suggest a figure without first doing some research. Check glassdoor.com and salary.com first to see what the average is for your position, industry, responsibility level and geographical area.
- Complain! When talking about a raise, your boss doesn’t care that your rent is going up or that you need a new car. And never directly compare yourself to a coworker’s faults or mistakes as a reason you should get a raise. Just because Suzy accidentally messed up a mailing to 5000 people is not a reason to make yourself look better in comparison.
Keep in mind that no matter what, there may be circumstances outside your manager’s control when it comes to salaries. There could be office politics, internal salary caps or budget constraints. But if you don’t ask, the answer is already no. What do you have to lose?
You do have the spine to ask for a raise.
Keep it classy,
MufasaMufasaMufasa
The Lion's Mane 