... is a recognition that you’re now contributing at a higher level than when your salary was last set. A raise isn’t a favor or a gift; it’s a way for employers to pay fair market value for your work and to keep you around because otherwise you’re eventually going to want to find a different job that does pay you competitively.

A raise

It’s not greedy or entitled to ask for a raise.  Unless you work somewhere truly dysfunctional, it’s understood that you work for money. This is okay.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <div>Even if your manager doesn’t ultimately say yes, you’re not likely to damage your relationship by making the request, as long as </div><ul><li>you’re not asking for an amount that’s wildly out of sync with the market for your work, and </li><li>you have a track record of strong work.</li></ul>

It’s normal to ask

You shouldn’t ask to talk about your salary when your manager is especially harried or having a bad day or nervous about impending budget cuts. On the other hand, if you’ve just saved the day with an important client or garnered rave reviews for a high-profile project, or if your boss has seemed particularly pleased with you lately, now might be a particularly good time to make the request.

Be emotionally intelligent about your timing

For most people, expect to wait a year from the last time your salary was set before asking for it to be reassessed.
 
 
 
 
 The “excellent work” part of this really matters. If your boss hasn’t seemed pleased with your work, a request for a raise isn’t likely to go over well.
 
 <h2></h2>

Doing excellent work for a year 

If you work for a company that generally gives raises once a year, pay attention to when that normally happens and plan to initiate the conversation with your boss at least a month or two before that formal process begins. If you wait until decisions on raises have already been made, it might be too late to get changes made.

Your company’s raise and budget cycles

Find out what the market rate for your work in your geographic area is before you ask for more money. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Figuring out the market rate for your work isn’t always straightforward. Salary websites aren’t always accurate at the individual level but can give you a very rough range.

Know what your work is worth

You can often get surprisingly good data just by talking to people in your field. Most people don’t love being asked, “What do you earn?” but will happily share if you ask, “What would you expect a job like X at a company like Y to pay?” You can also try talking to recruiters and see if any professional organizations in your field keep salary data (many do).
 
 
 
 
 <h2></h2>

Talk to people in your field

Some employers adhere to rigid policies around how large a pay increase anyone can get at one time. It’s useful to know how your company generally handles raises so that you know what’s likely to be possible.

Factor in your company’s salary structure

Touch on why you think you’ve earned a raise — i.e., that your responsibilities and/or the level of your contributions have increased.  If you know your boss will need to get your raise approved by someone above her, you can leave a short, bulleted list of key points of your most significant new responsibilities or accomplishments.

What to say to ask for a raise

... not your finances.
 
 
 
 
 You might be asking for a raise because your rent went up or you want to save more for retirement, but that shouldn’t be part of your case to your boss. Your case should stick to business reasons — the contributions you’ve made and your value to your employer.
 
 
 
 
 <h2></h2>

Focus on your work accomplishments

<ul><li>If you get a “maybe,” make sure you’re clear on what next steps are. It’s okay to say something like, “Could I plan to check back with you when we meet on the 20th?” </li><li>If the answer is no,  this is a perfect opportunity to ask, “Can you tell me what you think it would take for me to earn a raise in the future? A decent manager should be able to explain to you what you’d need to do to earn more.</li></ul>

If the answer is “no” or “maybe”

Get Ask a Boss delivered every week Get That Money is an exploration of the many ways we think about our finances - what we earn, what we have, and what we want. If you're like a lot of people, it's been quite a while since you've asked for a raise - or maybe you've never asked.

How to Ask for a Raise

Command the tasks and responsibilities in your current role, then start solving the problems that your soon-to-be self would be working on. The only way to effectively do this is through careful time management. Understand the core strategy of your organization, ask lots of hard questions and align your priorities with that of the company.

Take on more responsibility

Consistently exceed expectations in terms of your current role and job responsibilities. Take on more than expected, and manage these projects as well as your more senior colleagues.Share your accomplishments early and often<a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Felanagross%2F2016%2F06%2F27%2F8-managers-share-the-best-way-to-ask-for-a-raise-and-get-it%2F&text=Share%20your%20accomplishments%20early%20and%20often.%20%23CareerAdvice">.</a>

Proactively communicate wins

<ul><li>Demonstrate that you have taken on additional responsibilities and provide specific details about your accomplishments. </li><li>Share examples of projects you have completed and how they’ve positively impacted the business. Was there an increase in revenue? Did you save a customer? </li><li>If you’ve received positive feedback from colleagues or other leaders regarding your work, be prepared to share that with your manager as well. </li><li>Identify ways you’ve earned money for the company, for example through sales, upsells or creating efficiencies.</li></ul>

Demonstrate your accomplishments

Not why you need it. 
Everyone would like to make more money, but don’t bring up personal reasons like your rent increasing, needing to plan an expensive birthday party for your dog or your vacation to Hawaii.Stick to discussing your performance and impact.

Focus on why you deserve it

... in which you are asking for something almost always go better if you've rehearsed in advance and have considered the many possible responses that you'll get to each of your requests, and how you'll address these responses.

Practice your pitch conversations 

Conduct background research to determine your market value. Study salary trends for professionals in your geographic area and industry with similar job titles, qualifications, and responsibilities to find out the market rate for your role or intended one.

Do your research

Show you’re invested in the company.Volunteer for a project or create one by being a proactive problem-solver. When leveraging a project to get a raise, explain the new responsibilities you’d like to take on and how it will help the company grow and generate more money.

Talk about the future

If a raise and promotion isn’t going to happen right now, ask for things beyond salary such as professional development opportunities or more vacation time.

Be prepared to hear no

I asked for a raise for the first time a few years ago. At the time, asking for what I thought I deserved and having a frank discussion about money was outside of my comfort zone - but I did it anyway.

8 Managers Share The Best Way To Ask For A Raise (And Get It)

As you’re doing your research, you’ll likely come up with a range that represents your market value. It can be tempting to ask for something in the middle of the range, but instead you should ask for something toward the top.

Pick the Top of the Range

The anchor—or the first number put on the table—is the most important in negotiation, since it’s what the rest of the conversation is based off of. If it’s too low, you’ll end up with a lower final offer than you probably want.You should always be the first person to mention a number so that you, not your counterpart, controls the anchor.

Put Your Number Out First

Negotiation may be scary, but you should always keep the conversation on a positive note: "I really enjoy working here and find my projects very challenging. In the last year, I’ve been feeling that the scope of my work has expanded quite a bit. I believe my roles and responsibilities.."

Stay Positive, Not Pushy

If your boss (or the hiring manager) really, really won’t budge? Try negotiating for flex time, more vacation time, a better title, or plum projects and assignments.

Consider Other Options

When considering your numbers, you should also come up with a “walk away point”—a final offer that’s so low that you have to turn it down. This could be based on financial need, market value, or simply what you need to feel good about the salary you’re bringing home.Walking away from an offer will never be easy, but it’s important to know when to do it—and powerful to be able to say “no.”

Be Willing to Walk Away

Step-by-step advice for negotiating your salary, whether you're interviewing for a new job or asking for a raise.

How to Negotiate Salary: 37 Tips You Need to Know

Think about your e-communication like cholesterol, meaning that there are two kinds of conversational tones: positive and negative.
<ul>
<li>Positive-toned communication: phrases such as “This is great,” “I really like . . . ‚” and “Thank you,” through greetings (“Dear so-and-so”) and closings (“Best wishes”), and also in emojis such as smiley faces etc.</li>
<li>Negative-toned communication: negations and other phrases like “I don’t think . . .” and “This is a problem” and the even harsher “I am not happy with . . ..”</li>
</ul>
It is the ratio of positive to negative that is really important for our e-communication.

Conversational Tones

According to researchers, three types of engagement can be measured via your words: emotional engagement, social engagement, and task engagement. 
Let’s face it: relationship building is more difficult over email than face-to-face. One key to building a relationship via e-communication is to be engaged.

The Types Of Engagement

As a second step in analyzing your own email communication, count all your pronouns—e.g., “I,” “me,” “you,” “us,” “our,” “we,” etc. Personal pronouns reflect attention to people rather than to objects or concepts. 
The more personal pronouns are present, the more people are paying attention to people—themselves as well as others. First-person pronouns are interesting.

You And I

Using a lot of “I, me, mine” words can reflect a neurotic or ruminative self-focus, in natural conversation it often takes the form of hedging (e.g., “I think this might work”). But it also can reflect dominance.
According to researchers, the ideal rank order of personal-pronoun use in negotiation is first: “you,” second: “we,” third: “I,” and fourth: “they.” Your total number of pronouns is a reflection of your social engagement. Also, circle all the verbs (action words) in your email (“work,” “talk,” “meet,” “align,” etc.). These reflect task engagement.

I, Me, Myself

Examine at least three exchanges between you and another person, using these three indexes. Are you engaged? Is the other person engaged? On what dimensions: emotional, social, task?
<ul>
<li>First, do not begin messages with anything negative. Why? This creates a general gloomy tone and negativity in the other person such that everything that follows will be interpreted as negative. So begin with the positive.</li>
<li>Second, aim for at least a two-to-one ratio in your positive–negative messaging.</li>
</ul>

The Task

People behave differently when they are not face-to-face. They are more negative and, often, more presumptuous, conveying the impression that they are entitled and not easy to work with. This is a problem because excessive pride or hubris harms our ability to locate the sweet spot in any kind of negotiation. If we are unwittingly conveying negative impressions in non-face-to-face interactions, we need a wake-up call!
Excessive pride may blind us to finding sweet spots. People quickly develop impressions of our personalities on the basis of very limited information.

Putting Pride Aside

This excerpt from Negotiating the Sweet Spot: The Art of Leaving Nothing on the Table offers three tips for writing emails that engage and persuade.

How to Negotiate via Email

<blockquote>
"If you were to leave your company tomorrow, would there be any meaningful disruption to the business? If the answer is no, you don't have any leverage to get a raise." -- Jason Nazar
</blockquote>

Actually deserving the raise

... if you've been at the company for less than a year.
If your responsibilities are dramatically different from what was outlined in the interview process, you might be eligible for a raise.

Don't ask

It's important to have goals that you can use to measure your success. 
Make sure you and your supervisor both understand how success looks in your organization and what is expected.

Understand the goals

<blockquote>
"You should always link individual performance to departmental goals, and then to overall company goals and how what you've done directly impacted each." -- Adam Ochstein
</blockquote>

Meeting or exceeding goals

... based on how you've quantifiably exceeded your goals. 

Find the numbers that prove your contribution to the workplace. Data should comprise the bulk of your salary negotiation because it's hard proof of how valuable you are to the company.

Prepare a case

If you led training, introduced new procedures, or became a trustworthy person during a year with tumultuous office politics, you should include that in your discussion.

Qualitative reasons

Take an inventory of your unique selling proposition.
Present the unique skills and achievements you bring, particularly ones that are in shortage industry-wide.

Highlight rare skills

Don't discuss your own needs during a salary negotiation.
It is not your employer's interest, their personal interest, to actually really truly care for that, and it's not necessarily going to make them open up the pockets of that company to pay you for that.

'I need more money' is not a reason

<ul>
<li>Look at what your role pays industrywide. Online tools can help you learn what the median pay is for industry, position, and location.</li>
<li>Avoid asking your colleagues what they're paid.</li>
<li>Avoid asking for an outlandish increase. Your boss may feel you are totally out of touch with what you are worth and with the company's budget.</li>
<li>Decide on a target percentage increase. Expect a 3% raise if you met expectations or a 10% - 20% if you're exceeding expectations.</li>
<li>Know the minimum you'll accept for a new salary and stick to it.</li>
<li>Consider if you would be okay with keeping your salary, but receiving other perks.</li>
</ul>

How much to ask for

<ul>
<li>If your performance review is coming up, plan to raise the topic after receiving favorable feedback.</li>
<li>If you don't have a performance review on the horizon, you could schedule a salary discussion a few months before the yearly budget is set.</li>
<li>Ask before or after a major success. "If you've just created a whole bunch of value for your company..."</li>
</ul>

The perfect time to ask

<ul>
<li>Set up a meeting — in person. Approach the subject diplomatically, with an upbeat, positive demeanor.</li>
<li>Practice beforehand. Practice the discussion until it's free of emotion and nerves.</li>
<li>Consider using the 'gentle startup' technique: "__When I calculate the value I've contributed to this company, I feel happy to know that I've added $$$. Now, I need my salary to reflect my contributions."
</li>
<li>Explore the data of how you've exceeded. Don't spare any detail in how you've benefited the company. 
</li>
<li>Deliver with confidence. You have to sell yourself, just like it's a job interview. 
</li>
<li>Don't compare yourself to other colleagues, focus on your own career path and goals. 
</li>
<li>Remember it's not about you. Connect yourself to the company, and how you fit in there.
</li>
</ul>

How to ask

<ul>
<li>If you get turned down, ask what you need to do to improve. "Get as much specific feedback as possible so you can figure out what steps you need to take to get to the next level,"</li>
<li>Put something on the calendar for a few months out. Ask to revisit the issue in a few months if you don't get the raise you ask for.</li>
<li>If your company can't pay more due to budget constraints, ask about increased paid time-off days, flexible work arrangements, a one-time bonus, or other options. 
</li>
<li>Keep an open dialogue. "Asking for a raise should be a natural part of an ongoing conversation."
</li>
</ul>

Prepare your response

Don't forget to follow up over email.
Mention your excitement to continue making great contributions to the company. Spell out all changes to your compensation package and when they will take effect.

After you get the raise

It's crucial to know how to ask for a raise, but many Americans have never done it. Knowing when to ask for a raise can also be tricky. Asking for a raise could improve your income in the short- and long-term.

A 30-step plan to getting the raise you deserve

There are times in your career where a raise is justified and expected. 
Asking for a raise is a sign that you know what you're worth and often indicates that a professional is taking their career seriously. Therefore, it is critical to recognise when it is time to ask for a raise.

If you're underpaid, you're undervalued

<ul><li>Your employer posted strong quarterly earnings.</li><li>You had an excellent performance review.</li><li>You made a significant achievement. Ask for a raise right after a recent big win.</li><li>You find out you're being underpaid after researching your market value.</li><li>You took on more job responsibilities and establish a track record of delivering excellent work.</li><li>You received a job offer from another company.</li><li>You've just hit the one-year mark. Assuming you've delivered great work over the past year, you're in a good position to ask for a raise.</li><li>You received a promotion. Ask your boss if your new title comes with a raise.</li></ul>

When to ask for a raise

Just because you asked for a raise doesn't mean you'll get what you deserve. If your boss deflects or the company shows signs of financial hardship, it's worth putting some feelers out.

Know when to walk away

Knowing when to ask for a raise can put the odds in your favor when you approach your boss. Don't miss out on any of these opportunities to earn more money.

When to Ask for a Raise

A few practical tips and tricks to help you go get what you deserve.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

🙋
Ask for a Raise

How to Ask for a Raise

8 Managers Share The Best Way To Ask For A Raise (And Get It)

How to Negotiate Salary: 37 Tips You Need to Know

How to Negotiate via Email

A 30-step plan to getting the raise you deserve

When to Ask for a Raise

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

🙋Ask for a Raise

How to Ask for a Raise

8 Managers Share The Best Way To Ask For A Raise (And Get It)

How to Negotiate Salary: 37 Tips You Need to Know

How to Negotiate via Email

A 30-step plan to getting the raise you deserve

When to Ask for a Raise

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

🙋
Ask for a Raise