HOW TO ASK FOR A PAY RISE WITHOUT SH*TTING YOURSELF
… And how to GET IT, too!
There are various reasons you might like to ask for a pay rise. Maybe your workload has increased, and you feel your salary needs to better reflect that. Maybe you’ve come to realise that the salary standard for your role in your industry is WAY higher than what you’re currently earning. And maybe you’re just ready for the next step up and want to convince your employers of that, too.
It’s often cringe-inducing – the last thing you want to do is feel like you’re grovelling or begging just to make ends meet. Or worse, that inkling of self-doubt rears its head and starts to convince you that you’re actually UN-deserving of a salary increase.
Here are some key, essential tips to help you present your case in the most compelling manner. These will help you lay out a plan, so that you’re going into that meeting prepared and most importantly, that you believe you’re genuinely worth what you’re asking for.
1. Set a formal meeting
You might feel more comfortable sending an email or doing it over the phone, but you also run the risk of not being taken as seriously. Setting a formal meeting, face-to-face, allows you to present your case under the lens of an official request rather than a casual ask that is more easily dismissable. If you’re due a performance review, that’s the perfect opportunity to bring it up.
Make a plan for what you’ll say, and practice with a friend or in the mirror if you need to!
2. Consider timing
Timing is sometimes everything.
If you know the company is struggling financially, or if there have been recent layoffs, then your request most likely won’t be answered favourably.
Likewise, if there have been recent successes, or if you’ve taken on several responsibilities since someone left a few months ago and have smashed those out the park, it might be the perfect moment.
3. Frame your case as a win-win for everyone
Rather than going in and blurting out “PAY ME MORE,” or threatening any sort of repercussion if you don’t get your ask, you want to make sure you’re framing your argument in a way that benefits your employer as well.
If they value your role in the company it’ll only work in their favour to provide you with a clear path for career progression.
Present it as a matter of investment in your long term growth with them, setting appropriate goals and targets for you to aim for, and if you’re able to take on more responsibilities to accompany that pay rise immediately, make that clear.
You’ll come across as ambitious and as a team-player.
4. Provide tangible reasons
Whether you’re overqualified or pulling more weight since someone left, it’s important you bring those points to the table. It might be in the form of job milestones you’ve reached, trainings and qualifications you’ve received that allow you to perform better, positive feedback from colleagues or clients, increased sales or production since you came onboard, or technical skills that you bring, and you only. Show your boss all that proof to back your case because sometimes facts speak the loudest.
And don’t bring your personal life into it. Whilst your rising rent, holiday to Sicily, or your cat’s medical bills are reason enough for you, your employer most likely won’t care.
When you’re working for someone else the decisions are never just about you; they need to reflect the general best interests.
5. Do your research – check comparable salaries
Make sure the figure you’re proposing makes sense for your role within your industry, and that you’re neither overshooting nor underestimating yourself.
You’ll want to do a bit of research to see what others are getting working in similar roles in your area (salaries will be partly dependent on cost of living, which varies across cities and countries).
Ask your friends, colleagues, or anyone else you know in your industry to see what the benchmark is. Use a salary calculator such as Glassdoor, Bench Mark My Pay, and Total Job’s Salary Checker.
6. Believe in yourself/be confident
The most important thing you can do is make sure you truly believe that you deserve that glorious increase.
If you don’t fully back yourself, your employer won’t want to either. Maintain eye contact, hold your back straight, and let them know you mean what you’re saying.
Imagine you’re asking for your friend; you’d be in there defending them to the HILT in order to convince their employer there’s no other choice but to add an extra figure on that payslip! If you just apply that mindset to yourself, you’ll be much more convincing and thus more likely to be successful.
You’re not bragging, you’re being honest.
If your employer refuses to give you a pay rise, ask what you can do to achieve it and set yourself a timeline to make it happen. Maybe they aren’t in a position to, in which case it’s possible they can still offer you other benefits instead: additional annual leave, more flexible working if that’s an option, or annual bonuses. You can also ask if they’re willing to support your professional development such as by funding external training. The point is, you never know until you ask!