How to ask for a pay rise
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How to ask for a pay rise
You’ve been in your current job for a while now, and you feel it’s going well: your performance is good; your boss seems to value your contribution to the department. But no pay rise is in sight and you’re beginning to feel undervalued and underpaid.
This happens to all of us at some point in our careers. Management rarely comes running with substantial pay rises, so if you feel you deserve more, you’re going to have to ask for it.
To help you broach this difficult subject, try following our useful tips:
1. When should you say something?
Many companies have an annual appraisal system, but by that time management has usually fixed the budget for pay rises and promotions. If you leave negotiations until then, it will probably be too late.
2. Find out your market value
There’s no point asking for an unrealistic pay rise – you need to know what the going rate is for your job, preferably both within and outside your company. Do some research, which will either show that you are paid fairly anyway, or will provide useful facts for negotiations.
3. Make some notes
You need a good reason to get a significant rise in salary. Think about it carefully before you speak to anyone; make some notes for yourself about why you deserve more money. Consider the following points:
- When did you last get a pay rise?
- Have your job responsibilities changed since then?
- Has your performance radically improved?
- Have your personal circumstances changed?
- What would you really do if you didn’t get a pay rise?
- How valuable do you think you are to the company?
- Could you take on more responsibility in your job?
- What sort of promotion could you imagine?
- Is the company in a position to offer pay rises at the moment?
4. Talk to your boss
A face-to-face meeting is the only way to conduct the discussion about your salary. Ask your boss or send an e-mail requesting a meeting, but don’t say what it’s for – simply ask if they have time to discuss a “personal matter”. Whatever you do, don’t try to have the discussion about your salary in a letter or e-mail: you don’t want your boss to adopt a defensive position before you have even presented your case.
5. Wear something that gives you confidence
For the meeting with your boss, wear clothes in which you feel attractive, comfortable, positive and successful. You want to show you’re someone who would be an asset to any company. Choosecolours that are smart and attractive, and which radiate confidence.
6. If you want more, you have to do more
Obviously, salaries are linked to performance. Pay rises are given in return for achieved objectives or increased contribution to the company. But you can also take this opportunity to ask your boss for more work or responsibility in the coming year, and link it to a pay rise to happen in the future. This is called an “unpaid promotion”. Explain that you would like to discuss how to improve your performance to enable this future promotion and pay improvement. Management will respond well to this approach: it shows your willingness to develop your role in the company – and they won’t feel threatened.
7. Think positive
Don’t forget: you are asking the company for something, even if you feel you have been ignored for too long. Try to present your case without getting over-excited, and listen to what your boss has to say: if they say no, you are entitled to ask them to explain their decision. Remain objective, rational, positive and constructive throughout the discussion – and, above all, don’t threaten to resign unless you really mean it: no one is irreplaceable! -
thanks for sharing! -
8. Look for signs of Nepotism in the company
Some are favoured more than others…even if you conscientiously feel that you did more. Face it or …
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EVERYBODIES tink 'emself have done a good job.
haf u hear any1 say "i did a f**up job"
if u feel ur performance is excellant, u did well ur company improve coz wat u did, n/or value ur contribution n presence ..............
THROW UR LETTER ..... BANG ON D TABLE .......n say ..........I QUIT
IF d compay really need n precious ur contributions ..... they even promote u (mayb)
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Originally posted by Leomanz:if u feel ur performance is excellant, u did well ur company improve coz wat u did, n/or value ur contribution n presence ..............
THROW UR LETTER ..... BANG ON D TABLE .......n say ..........I QUIT
Wah piangz, why so drama one?
Look, maybe you're doing a good enough job, maybe you're not. You can choose to play melodramatic guessing games or you can choose to get right down to business.
Ask the boss directly, "What's it take to get a pay rise?", and open up a conversation about the things that need to be achieved before your salary is bumped up. If you can show that you've already taken care of everything, ask for a raise on that basis, and if not, work out a time when you and the towkay can conduct a review and determine when a raise needs to kick in.
The additional advantage of having this discussion is that you'll have made it clear that you're on the move, and you're not content to simply go along for the ride.
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Originally posted by Leomanz:haf u hear any1 say "i did a f**up job"
Yeah, I've said it. The result is that I got my job redesigned so that I get to play to my strengths, and I don't get assigned jobs that I'm crap at.
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Originally posted by BanguIzai:
6. If you want more, you have to do more
Obviously, salaries are linked to performance. Pay rises are given in return for achieved objectives or increased contribution to the company. But you can also take this opportunity to ask your boss for more work or responsibility in the coming year, and link it to a pay rise to happen in the future. This is called an “unpaid promotion”. Explain that you would like to discuss how to improve your performance to enable this future promotion and pay improvement. Management will respond well to this approach: it shows your willingness to develop your role in the company – and they won’t feel threatened.
Definitely. Let's face it - your boss is a business person, and it's simply good business sense to offer more money only if you see more value.
Originally posted by BanguIzai:
5. Wear something that gives you confidence
For the meeting with your boss, wear clothes in which you feel attractive, comfortable, positive and successful. You want to show you’re someone who would be an asset to any company. Choosecolours that are smart and attractive, and which radiate confidence.
Iffy on this one. I've seen plenty of well-dressed guys overstep their mark and claim performance where there isn't any to be found. Go in overconfident, and you might find yourself fired instead of promoted.
If you want to dress well, do so for the sake of it. Hugo Boss does the trick nicely for me on a daily basis, but my zhong sticks with Brioni. Rolex does nicely to round things off for both of us, though.
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Unfortunately, the cold hard truth is still that its better to move on than stick around trying to up your salary. HR have told companies time and again that it costs something like 150 - 200% to replace a recently departed employee yet departments continue to let their talent walk out the door over marginal pay disputes. A new company will offer you an average of a 15 - 20% increase over your last drawn pay (finance industry, strictly speaking) while a pay raise in your current place generally amounts to no more than 5%. Of course, we can't whimsically be raising everyone's salaries by leaps and bounds every year but the point is, credit should be given when its due
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Originally posted by May-yuen:
Unfortunately, the cold hard truth is still that its better to move on than stick around trying to up your salary. HR have told companies time and again that it costs something like 150 – 200% to replace a recently departed employee yet departments continue to let their talent walk out the door over marginal pay disputes.
A new company will offer you an average of a 15 – 20% increase over your last drawn pay (finance industry, strictly speaking) while a pay raise in your current place generally amounts to no more than 5%. Of course, we can’t whimsically be raising everyone’s salaries by leaps and bounds every year but the point is, credit should be given when its due
I wouldn't agree entirely. For garden variety roles what you say is plausible, but if you're really good at what you do and your role has a significant impact on the business, your company will do what it takes to keep you around to keep you from going over to the competition if nothing else.
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ask some more n u can go fried cuttlefish