Talk about the future

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.

• you’re not asking for an amount that’s wildly out of sync with the market for your work, and 
• you have a track record of strong work.

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.

Every job has a market value. 

• Compare what you’re currently being paid to the trends you find.

• Consider your education, years of experience, years you’ve worked for your current employer and any specialized skills or attributes you bring to the table. 

• Make a list of your accomplishments, taking note of which ones added the most value to the organization

• Identify a salary range or percentage increase in pay that you’d be happy with. 

Meet in person and in private. 

You should approach asking for a raise with the same level of seriousness you would have for a job interview or an important presentation, and you should dress accordingly. 

A good manager’s job is to help you and the rest of your team get better results. So it would be logical that she should be invested in your career. When you do better, then by extension, she does better. 

Hence, your manager should be on your side, who wants you to succeed, and who is willing to spend a good deal of time and energy to help you do that.

There is research that shows if you can create a clear visualization of yourself achieving the outcome you want, you prime yourself to act in a way that is consistent with what you imagine.