Asking for a raise at your current job

Workplaces have been turned on their heads over the past year (or more!) with Covid changes. Businesses are expecting to do the same amount of work with fewer employees and with employees working in different locations and working conditions. As we begin to slowly return to “normal” in some ways, people are realizing their work responsibilities have changed over the last year and often finding their compensation has not changed (or maybe even decreased). If you are in this situation, how do you go about asking for a raise at your current job?  

There is no doubt that the old workplace standards have changed recently. Employees are being asked to do more and more as part of their jobs as businesses have adapted to accommodate the limitations of operating during a pandemic. 

Often, the accumulation of this additional work can sneak up on us. It is adding one 30 minute weekly task, followed by a one-hour monthly task, and covering something for a co-worker temporarily (that just somehow becomes yours forever!). After adding just a few extra tasks, you find yourself now trying to fit five or ten extra hours of work into your already full forty-hour workweek. 

Asking for a raise can be intimidating. It is not something to just wing, you need to be prepared to justify why you deserve this raise. You can’t rely on your boss to ensure that you are fairly compensated. They have many people to supervise and are not as vested in your career growth as you are. This is your life! Take control of it! So where do you start with this process? 

Do your research

• What is the market rate for your current job and where does your salary fall in that range? Look at salary sites (like Glassdoor) for your company and job title in your geographic region. Also, look at Indeed and other job search sites to see if there are similar jobs hiring and what the salary range is for those positions. From this, make a determination of the dollar amount and then convert it to a percentage increase you would like to have. I would recommend figuring out what you want and then adding 2-3% on top of that. If your company negotiates your proposal, this allows you to “give” a bit, and still get close to what you wanted. 
• Is the job you are doing the same one you were hired for? Review your job description and duties and see if there are tasks and responsibilities you have above and beyond what is listed Have you taken on any additional roles, responsibilities, or supervisory duties since your last raise? Add any additional roles, responsibilities, or supervisory duties to your brag list. All these additional items are reasons for you to be asking for a raise at your current job 
• Make a brag list (or update the one you already have). A brag list is something I would keep a document of at any job. Whenever you have an accomplishment or are recognized for good work, note it on the brag list. People (especially bosses!) have a very short memory of the good things that are accomplished. As part of advocating for yourself, make sure you note these so you remember all the details when you need them (like right now!). 
• When was your last raise and how much was it? Common raises are 3% to 8% a year. If it has been more than a year since your last raise, I would strongly encourage asking for a percentage on the high side of that range. 
• Has anyone else in your area/department/job title received a raise recently? Salary discussions can be seen as taboo in many companies. If there are a few people you are more comfortable asking, then see if you can bring it up in conversation. You don’t need to push to get a detailed salary or raise information. Even just knowing if the company has been open to raises recently can help strengthen your pitch. 

Come up with your justifications/pitch

• Keep it factual. This feels personal to you, but it is a money-based business decision for the company. Have factual statements to back up your request. These are just examples but look for ways that you have taken on someone else’s responsibilities, increased revenue or decreased expenses, or the time it takes to do something. Do the best you can to include specific dollar amounts or hours of time. If you have any written (email) praise from a customer or co-worker, go ahead and print out one or two of those. These are extra strong evidence if they mention ways you saved the company money or made someone else’s job easier.  These may look like:
  • Increased sales figures by 12% from the prior year. This exceeded the goal of 8% and resulted in an additional $35,000 of revenue to the company. 
  • Added monthly reconciling of 10 accounts to my job duties when Betty left allowing her position to remain empty. 
  • Began supervising Joe, Jim, and Jane in June of 2020 freeing up time for my supervisor to no longer need to provide supervision to these three employees. 
  • Implement new documentation procedures reducing monthly close procedures from 150 hours per month down to 85 hours per month across the team. 

• Write it down. Write a list for you to reference as you are meeting with your boss. 
  • While you are working on this list for you, come up with a one-page document of the highlights that you can either give to your boss or email to your boss with providing them with the best specific factual justifications for this raise. This will give them something to use when they justify your raise to HR or their boss.
• Use emotional intelligence and your past experience with your boss to tailor your presentation of your raise to fit your boss’s style. How familiar is your boss with your day-to-day responsibilities? If they are unfamiliar with them, work into your conversation some of those responsibilities so they know all that you are doing. 
  • Is your boss likely to lowball your raise, or more of a straight shooter? That may affect your decision to bump your raise percentage a bit or not. 
• Determine what will happen if you do not receive this raise? This isn’t to ruin the excitement of your raise, but to give yourself a realistic perspective of what this raise means to you. If your boss comes back and says a hard “no” what does that mean for you? Do you start looking for other jobs or reduce the amount of effort/hours you put into this job? Or do you keep on as you have been and hope for a raise in a year? 
• How would your answer change if the raise is not as much as you wanted? Maybe an 8% raise would get you to the industry average, but your boss tells you the best they can do is 3%. How would you feel about that? 
• What if the company offers a one-time bonus payment instead of a raise? A raise is better than a one-time bonus because future compensation increases are based on your salary, not salary plus bonus. Bonuses are less reliable than raises as future compensation. It is much more difficult for a company to cut salaries than not pay bonuses for a year.  If they only offer a bonus and say a raise is off the table, then take the bonus. But remember that you still will need to advocate for a raise again in the future. 

Schedule a time to ask

• This is not a spontaneous conversation to have with your boss. If you regularly have a 1 on 1 with your supervisor, then plan to have the initial conversation at one of your meetings. Reach out to your supervisor and set up a meeting to discuss your position and have a check-in. 
• If you have an upcoming annual or semi-annual evaluation coming up, this would be a great time to bring this up. In the evaluation, wait and see if they offer a raise. If they do, then negotiate up to the % you are looking for based on your research above and use the brag list to back up your value to the company. If they do not offer a raise, then plan to make your pitch for one at the end of the evaluation.
• Temper your expectations. Don’t expect to walk out of the meeting rolling in the dough! Your boss will probably need to review the budget and get approval from HR or someone above them before they can grant the request. 

You Got This!

Asking for a raise can be intimidating. Plan ahead to the minutes before the meeting and play some pump-up music or have an encouraging friend text you to build you up. Go into the meeting with confidence in your abilities and how hard you have been working. It may help you to role-play through this conversation with a friend so you can practice your delivery in how you say things and have thought through possible questions your boss may have for you. 

Remember, you are your own best advocate! No one cares more about your salary growth than you do, so use that to your strength! Now, start planning what you will be doing with your raise! Increase your 401K contributions, start an F-money fund, plan a vacation! The opportunities are endless!

Do you have tips or a story about getting a raise to share with us? We would love to hear them in the comments below!