How to Ask for a Raise
Learn how to ask for a raise with these helpful tips to strengthen your position when asking your employer for a raise in salary. We help you develop a plan that you can use to request a salary increase.
Can You Get a Salary Increase?
A good way to approach your employer is to look at the situation from their perspective, they want to obtain your services for the lowest possible cost. An employee's wages and benefits are a large part of the overhead for many businesses. Keeping these costs down increases the profits for the business, so of course, the employer will try to hire the best-qualified people and pay them the lowest salary they can.It would be best if you were comfortable with the notion that by asking for a salary increase you are informing your employer that you are not satisfied with this aspect of your job. Keep this in mind if you do approach your employer, the door can be opened for negative consequences if the employer feels you may leave if you don't get what you want. We have assembled a list of tips that show you how to ask for a raise. You can apply these techniques to get any benefits you may desire; benefits are another form of payment.
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Five Strategies to Get More Pay
- Don't Ambush Your Employer
- Timing is important, don't show up and drop this on them, no one likes to be caught off guard. They may be preparing for a meeting or presentation when you come by to “drop this bomb” on them.
- Contact them and ask them for a meeting explaining that you would like to speak with them about an increase in your salary and/or benefits. Be prepared for the chance that they may want to speak to you right then, otherwise set up a meeting at a mutually convenient time.
- Don't Be Emotional
- When going into the meeting be prepared to be turned down. You will get the increase or you won't. If you are angry because you are not getting paid the amount you think you should don't let that show through during your conversation. Continue to retain your composure and act as the model employee even if the conversation is not yielding the results you expected.
- Don't argue, you still need to work there. If you didn't get the result you wanted, and you think you can do better, you can begin to look for another job.
- What Are the Boss's Expectations?
- Your boss doesn't base your salary on the amount of money you need to live. Your compensation is what your employer feels your position is worth, not how much your new car payment costs. Don't approach them based on the fulfillment of your needs.
- Document how your employment benefits the company through increased sales, securing new accounts, or other measurable improvements that improve the company's profits. Show your worth to them in black and white using hard facts and examples.
- Do research to find out what others who hold a position like yours are being paid in your area.
- Factors such as the financial strength of the company or the budget cuts in your department can affect whether you get a raise.
- Be Prepared!
- When you do get a meeting don't muddle through it, conduct yourself in a tactful, professional manner. Make a list of the feats and successes you have accrued.
- Describe how you have benefited the business in a quantifiable, tangible way. Don't present vague references to things you have accomplished, produce facts and figures. Produce measurable statistics documenting improvements that can be verified and reproduced by you in the future.
- To What Does This All Boil Down?
- From the perspective of how you benefit them, you must convince your boss that it is more profitable to pay you more, than potentially lose the benefits you provide to the company. If they are happy with your work, they may decide it is less costly to give you a pay increase, than it is to expend the funds hiring and training a new employee. This outcome is what you are hoping will happen when you approach your employer.