all images via shutterstock.com
It took a long time for me to learn how to ask for what I wanted at work. I spent the first 5 or so years of my working life being adorably naive; I had this super cute whimsical notion that employers would just hand over extra cash the moment it’d been earned, simply because they seemed like nice dudes and that would be The Right Thing To Do. LOL, right. Eventually I realised that work is just this whole other thing in life that isn’t always fair, and so sometimes you’ve gotta ask for what you’re due.
Unless you’re a supremely confident individual, at one time in your life (or right now) you’ve probably felt like you can’t or shouldn’t. Maybe you fear being fired. Maybe your boss always talks super loud about how broke the company is. Maybe you need your insurance and can’t afford to rock the boat. Maybe you’re too familiar with the gender pay gap, that fucking outrageous thing. Maybe you’ve heard that asking for money flaunts a whole bunch of unladylike qualities like confidence, initiative and a sense of self-worth and, shouldn’t we be grateful that we’re allowed to work at all?
Most likely, the worst that’ll happen if you ask for a raise is “no.” However the sad truth is that, although rare, people have lost their jobs or been otherwise penalised. To narrow the pay gap we need to be bold and brave and to demand what we’re worth but only you can judge whether your work is a safe place to do that. Listen to your gut and/or ask the advice of more seasoned co-workers. And if you do decide to ask, here are some tips that’ll help you out.
Explain to you how spreadsheets work for the fiftieth time? I’D LOVE TO!
1. Get clear on why you deserve a raise
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis it seems like we’re all being asked to bust an increasing amount of ass for the same pay cheque. So, showing up and working hard may not be enough to justify a raise. The more reasons you can find, the better.
Other things that might qualify you for a raise:
- You’ve been promoted or asked to take on extra responsibilities.
- You’ve completed studies that are beneficial to your role.
- You’ve invaluable. Maybe you’re so great with customers that they’d all follow you out the door.
- You’re the only fisherwoman in the village and everyone would be screwed if you left.
- You’ve discovered that people with comparable skills, experience and responsibilities (at your company or elsewhere) are earning more than you.
- The cost of living in your area has increased over the years and your salary hasn’t.
Practice explaining your reason/s to someone until you’re both totally convinced. It’ll help you sound more confident when it comes time to pitch them to your boss.
No seriously though give it back you’re making me nervous
2. Prove it
You’ve determined your reasons, you need to collect evidence. Lots of evidence. You’re Benson and your boss is the smokin’ hot DA. It’s on you to do the legwork to prove that you deserve this.
Start with the most obvious. Print any emails containing positive feedback from customers, co-workers and superiors. If the praise was delivered via phone or in person, make a written record of each incident. Also, compile any statistics and figures that show how great you’ve been performing. Did you sell more products this month? Did the website you design receive lots of visitors? Have your customers been spending less time on hold?
If you don’t work in a job where your performance can be measured by figures and stats, proving your worth might be a little more tricky. Maybe you’re the unofficial workplace social coordinator and there’s no concrete way to prove that the lunchtime ping-pong tournament you organised prevents your co-workers from poking out their eyeballs. Maybe you’re the one who always steps up and takes the shitty holiday shifts. Maybe someone quit and you volunteered to take on some of their tasks. Write down all of your achievements, even if they’re hard to measure. Worst case, they’ll be ignored. Best case, they’ll show you add value in ways that your boss hadn’t even considered.
Sidenote: “Log how awesome you are” is hands-down the most valuable career advice that I’ve ever received. Keep a notebook in your desk/locker/bag and write down all the great things that you do, all year round, no matter how small. Do this even when you don’t have a particular reason to. It sounds over the top but you’ll thank yourself if you ever have a performance review or apply for a promotion or transfer, or if your superstar status ever gets called into question.
Damn I look good in Photo Booth
3. Have realistic expectations
Most pay rises for salaried workers are around 5%, and so if you decide to name a price then that’s a good number to toss out. You could probably get away with requesting 10 – 15% if you can prove that you’re being underpaid but anything higher might give the impression that you’re unreasonable and/or out of touch with reality. Remember you can always ask for another raise next year.
Tips for determining (and proving) whether you’re underpaid:
- Search the internet for job ads that are similar to your job, ideally in your city. Is there a salary advertised? Is it higher than yours? You should print it out and bring it to your pay review meeting. The more higher-paid jobs you can find, the stronger your case will be. Set up email alerts on job-seeking websites so that relevant ads land straight in your inbox.
- There are online tools like payscale.com which list average salaries for common occupations. These figures don’t take into account factors like your location, experience level or benefits, but they flag if you’re being grossly underpaid. Print off any results that work in your favour and add them to your list of evidence.
- Ask people in a similar role what they earn. Discussing salaries is still largely taboo and so be tactful and selective when approaching co-workers. Some employers expressly forbid it, so check your contract first!
Do you want some? It’s poison
4. Choose your moment
If you’re naturally apprehensive about asking for things, there’ll probably never be a moment during your workday where you’ll think, “YES! THIS IS MY MOMENT!” So don’t wait for that. But do keep in mind that some moments will be better to ask in than others. Did your company just lay people off? Is your manager preoccupied with a crisis? Are you still in your first 12 months? Maybe hold off a while. Conversely if you’ve just kicked ass or received a promotion or somehow saved the day, jump on that and ask while your awesomeness is still fresh in everyone’s minds.
If your job comes with an annual or six-monthly performance review, that actually is the perfect time to ask. If it doesn’t, or if your next evaluation is too far away, ask your boss for a meeting. Always ask for a meeting. Ambushing them in the corridor or parking lot won’t get good results. Emailing them with the request is even less effective. Propose a meeting time and give them a heads up that the meeting is about money. You want them to be just as prepped for that conversation as you are.
That’s right, I can do windswept hair all by myself
5. Be prepared for every answer
How you react to the outcome of your request is really just as important as how you made it.
Outcome: You got the raise!
Congrats, champ. When thanking your boss, casually ask what compelled them to approve it. This info will be useful when asking for future raises.
Outcome: You got a raise, but it’s not as high as you expected.
It’s common for employers to counter with a lower figure (if you requested a specific amount). There may be budget constraints or an internal policy dictating that raises need to be within a certain percentage or pay bracket. Acting short-changed will leave a bad impression. However, if the opportunity presents itself then I suggest enquiring as to how your boss arrived at that particular figure. They may not disclose that, but if they do then it might help you to manage your expectations of future pay raises within that company.
Outcome: You didn’t get the raise.
DON’T threaten to quit, even if you’ve already decided to. It won’t change your boss’s decision, it’ll just make you look unprofessional and burn bridges. It’s far better to resign on your own terms than to be let go once your boss hears that you’ve already got one foot out the door.
Never accept an unexplained rejection. Ask your boss to tell you what you need to do in order to get a “yes,” and then decide if you’re willing and/or able to do it. If you’re told “we’d love to but we’re broke,” consider countering with a request for non-monetary benefits, e.g. flexible work hours, extra vacation days, a parking space, training courses, and so on. Providing your company offers such things, it’s not a bad way to gauge how sincerely they regret not having enough cash to bump up your pay.
Go get it, tigers.
Got a work related question? Need advice on all things profesh? Email Crystal at crystal [at] autostraddle [dot] com
Thanks for this! I’m prepping for a performance review within the next month or so and I’ll definitely use some of these tips. :)
This is so helpful! Also those captions are really on point.
I recently started working a super small company in NYC with a decent salary that is (allegedly) going be re-discussed in December. Just found out (accidentally) that one of my coworkers, who has the same title, got a raise and is now making 20% more than me. Any tips for jumping to that even though it represents a super mega substantial increase?
If you work in a fairly open environment then I’d suggest making it known that you’re aware of what your coworker is being paid and ask what you can do to work towards earning that salary. Given you’re quite new to the company (and I’m assuming your coworker has been around a while), it’s probably best not to demand a 20% bump in your first pay review meeting, but I think you can safely let them know that it’s what you’ve got your eye on. They’ll hopefully meet you in the middle somewhere and then let you know what you can do to earn the rest.
I’ve seen a lot of different advice on this topic, and I suppose that perhaps different things work for different people. For me, the only thing that has been effective is to get competitive offers from other companies, and so I tend to interview regularly even when I’m quite happy with my current employer. Maybe it’s kinda like selling your junk on eBay — you only get the best price when you have more than one bidder.
Yeah I agree that there are a lot of varying opinions on this strategy. I considered adding a mention of the bidding tactic in this article but decided against it because I feel that it mostly only works for people who are super invaluable / hard to replace, which tbh is probably not the majority of us. And it also wouldn’t be effective if the employer places high value on loyalty, which some do. Personally if I was to tell my boss that I’d received a higher offer and asked him to match it, my feeling is that he’d wish me luck and start advertising my role. So it’s something I’d only consider doing if I’d exhausted all other strategies for getting a raise and was truly prepared to leave. But as you said, different things work for different people.
I just got a raise that went along with a promotion! I didn’t even have to ask for it because my coworker is leaving her job and I’m basically going to be the new version of her. Next step is to someday find a non-hourly job that actually has benefits…
Also I love that Autostraddle has work/career-related articles. You can find plenty of career advice out there on the Internet but I guarantee that none of it has funnier photo captions than this website right here.
Congrats on the promotion!
Ahh thank you so much for this! I’m starting a new job at the end of next month, so I’m saving this until the time comes down the road. :-)
Goodluck!
This is great advice! (Can you please yell it at my wife next time you see her? Preferably through a megaphone.)
For whatever reason, I end up giving a lot of career advice. One thing I’ve found is that oftentimes you’ll get more $$$ if you switch companies. Seriously, it sucks that that’s the case – but oftentimes a raise will only be around 3-7%, and if you switch jobs you’re looking at 10% + sometimes.
Glassdoor is a pretty great place to find salaries (and job postings/interview questions as well).
I got nearly a 30% raise going from my last job to the one I just started. No joke.
Yes, definitely. Moving to another employer is a great way to get a salary bump. The only thing I’d add to this is to be careful not to focus only on dollar signs while searching. Some businesses pay higher because they’re terrible places to work in every other way, so it pays do your due diligence: ask lots of questions about the culture, non cash benefits, training and development opportunities etc. You want a place that pays more but is also comparable (or better!) in every other way otherwise the extra $5K or whatever may not end up being worth it.
So true. There are a ton of people who worked with the electronic health record company we bought our computer program from who are getting paid 2-3x what Im getting but they need to put up with the biggest aholes the world will ever know. One of the guy told me it takes a toll on some people emotionally and you eventually run out of fucks to give.
Any advice for turning an internship into a regular paid opportunity? Would it be the same sort of strategy?
I think my advice would be a little different. If you want to email me some basic details (company size, industry, no. of interns, how long you’ve been interning) then I’ll think it over and see if I can reply in a post.
Important note about this!
“Ask people in a similar role what they earn. . . . Some employers expressly forbid it, so check your contract first!”
If your employer forbids you from discussing salary with other employees, they may be breaking the law! Don’t let them get away with it. More on this issue here: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/07/when-the-boss-says-dont-tell-your-coworkers-how-much-you-get-paid/374467/