Picture a very nervous seventeen-year-old Julia. My heart was
pounding my mouth was dry and my hands were sweaty because I was about to walk
into my boss's office and ask for my first pay raise. Somehow I managed to
negotiate my rate from $7.25 an hour to $7.75
10 years later when I found myself in a similar position you'd think I might
have felt a bit older and wiser going in but I didn't. Negotiating your pay isn't
something you get a lot of practice doing. And it's not like they teach it in
high school or college and most people don't even like to talk about how much
they make with anyone even their boss. A study in Australia found that only 48%
of men and 32% of women thought their pay was even up for discussion.
Your income is the most powerful tool that you have to grow your financial
stability so you owe it to yourself to exert some control over it.
The first step in getting a pay raise is to decide to ask for one. In a perfect
world your boss would notice all your hard work and say "Hey that employees a
real benefit to this company. I should increase their salary and I'll give them
a company car and a corner office while I'm at it!" But this just doesn't happen
in the real world. Your boss might even recognize your value but he or she
probably has their own budget to worry about so they're unlikely to increase
their expense without you initiating the conversation.
However before you do that you've got to prepare your case. How are you especially
valuable to the company? What achievements or successes have you had
recently? Have your responsibilities expanded beyond the original job
description? Any extra training or education relevant to your work? It's
best not to compare your pay to other employees that's not considered
professional. And don't include personal needs like my rent went up or my dog got
sick. Employers will only care about your individual merit ... and remember that just
doing your job is not a good enough argument. After all
you already agreed to do that when you first took the position. You have to show
that you're more valuable now than you were when you were hired. Although you're
arming yourself with arguments keep in mind that it's not a battle. Replacing an
established employee is very expensive and time-consuming so if you're a good
worker your boss probably wants the same thing you do; for you to be happy enough
to stick around. Unless they're an abusive jerk in which case would getting
a raise really make you happier? Maybe you should be looking for a different
job instead. Have a specific number in mind. Researchers at Columbia Business
School found that workers were more likely to get a raise if they asked for
a precise amount probably because they seemed more confident about their worth.
But you do have to be realistic. Most pay raises are between one and five
percent and you can use websites like a pay scale or Glassdoor to find out the
market rate for your position in your area. Timing is key. If the company is in
the middle of a big project and your boss is stressed out you might want to
wait for things to calm down before asking for a raise.
plan your request soon after you've completed a big achievement or shown
that you can successfully handle more responsibilities. And if you've recently
taken a vacation or missed a deadline you should probably allow some time to
re-establish a reliability. Asking at the right time will only make it easier for
your boss to say yes. Even if your employer thinks you deserve it they just
might not have the ability to increase your salary which is why you should be
ready with alternate options. Salary only typically accounts for about 70% of
employees total compensation which leaves lots of room on the negotiating
table for other benefits and perks. And you can get creative! There's gym
membership reimbursement, professional development funding, commuting expense
coverage more flexible work hours. Heck maybe it's just a cubicle that's as far
as possible from the obnoxiously loud co-worker. Come up with the top three
things you would change about your job and see if they're amenable. When you've
got your presentation planned out it's time to rehearse. The thought of
explaining why you deserve more money makes most people want to crawl under a
rock but it's important that you appear confident in your self-assessment. So
have a friend or family member sit down with you and just get some
stumble-throughs out of the way. The mirror isn't gonna cut it here. You need
to sit across from a human being who can ask you questions that your employer
might bring up during your talk and don't ask for feedback from your
rehearsal partner until you've gone through it at least a couple times.
And lastly be prepared to hear "NO". Even if you walk out of your boss's office with
nothing more than what you went in with it's not a defeat. You have successfully
communicated your expectations about your career and shown your investment in
the company long-term. Trust me your employer will remember these things the
next time you're up for review or a promotion becomes available. You'll also
be giving yourself practice at asking for what you want something that is
difficult for a surprising number of people but essential to feeling like you
have control over your life. As my mother-in-law always says if you don't
ask the answer is always "No". So there's no harm in trying if you do it with
preparation and professionalism. And you won't have to wonder whether you could
be making more than you are.
And that's our two cents!