You Deserve a Raise. Here’s How To Ask For One.

You’ve been working long hours, taking on more responsibilities, and doing an outstanding job. You’ve been consistently progressing in your role and contributing to successes for the team. Let’s face it, you’ve earned a pay raise! But you pause — we’ve all heard about the massive layoffs, particularly in the tech sector, amid economic uncertainty with the potential for a recession on the horizon. Sure, a conversation about a pay raise can be uncomfortable anytime but add an economic slowdown, and it gets tricky.

As Kate Dixon, author of “Pay UP!: Unlocking Insider Secrets of Salary Negotiation,” writes, “If you are in a place where you’ve had a significant impact on the organization and taken on more responsibility and the company isn’t saying, ‘Have some more money or this promotion,’ you do owe it to yourself to ask. They may not say yes, but what if they do?”

Here’s a short four-step method to make it happen!

Step 1: Assess your company’s health. If your company is struggling financially, i.e., doing layoffs or has a hiring freeze, it’s probably not the right time. If, however, your company is financially solid, keep reading.

Step 2: Enumerate your contributions to the company utilizing metrics. You need to demonstrate how you contributed to the company with specifics. For example, I surpassed my sales goal for 2022 by 25%, generating an additional $3.5M for the company. I brought in 5 new clients with the potential to generate $2M in revenue for the company. I achieved all my KPIs for 2022 and received outstanding reviews from my staff on our annual employee survey. I outsourced our company newsletter and found a new printing vendor saving the company $500,000.

Step 3: Determine how much you want. This requires doing your homework. There are numerous sites that provide salary comparisons for your role — Indeed, Salary.com, and Glassdoor. Also, many HR groups will share salary ranges with you for your position and/or where you are in the range.

Step 4: Plan what you will say to your boss. Such as, “Here’s the impact that I’ve had on the company in the last year (share your list of contributions.) I believe a raise would be warranted given how much I have contributed, and I would like a raise of $.”

Step 5: Meet with your boss and ask for what you want. Also, don’t apologize about the timing or reference the overall economy. It weakens your position.

There is a good chance that with substantial contributions to the company, you will receive a raise, and even if you aren’t successful, there are still benefits to asking. You have established your value and what you are looking for financially. And if your request is denied, ask what you need to do to get to where you want to be. When you’re going in prepared for your conversation and confident in your performance, you’re ready for that raise.

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