Asking for a Pay Rise Tip #1: Don’t Squeal
This isn’t strictly advice on how to get a pay rise because I am no expert. But I had an experience once which taught me a few things.
I’d been working for a company for 12 months. I’d recently been given more responsibility and work so I felt I deserved more than my current wage. I prepared my speech, making a list of my achievements, new skills I’d acquired and the latest changes to my role. I made an appointment with my manager and wore a black power outfit to work that day. I was going to be firm. I was going to be awesome.
Trouble was, my manager was a quite intimidating figure, always super-smooth and controlled, with an intense stare which either threw me into silence or reduced me to a stuttering mess. So the conversation went like this:
Manager: Hi there [warm smile]. Now, I realise you’re looking for some clarity regarding your role and workload. We’re looking for someone who can blah blah blah. Do you think you’d be able to help us with that?
Me: Oh, yes definitely. I’m always willing to take on new challenges. I also fe–
Manager: Great. Well, we’ll really appreciate your involvement. Now I have a meeting, so–
Me: It’s just… I really-feel-that-with-this-extra-workload-I-deserve-a-pay rise [I swear, here my voice rose to an unfamiliar squeak, like the teenage boy on The Simpsons. My hands shook, my face flushed… it was not how I’d imagined!].
Manager: [Sighing heavily] We really don’t have the budget at the moment. But in three months’ time…
Me: [Meekly] Okay.
Now, it turned out that in three months’ time I did get a good pay rise. But I still don’t feel I handled the situation well enough. I hadn’t agreed on a fixed increase and nothing was in writing, so it was really good luck that that amount came through.
It’s all about having:
- A killer resume. It’s all in the presentation. No hearts or stickers.
- References. Always ask for a reference, they’re handy things.
- Business cards. I’ve never had them and I keep reading that every self-respecting worker should get some made.
- Done my homework. What are people in similar positions making?
- A power outfit. Doesn’t have to cost the earth, just so I feel good and look good.
- Faith in myself.
What about you? Any experiences with salary negotiations?
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Posted
on
Friday, May 18th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
under
The thing most employees miss when asking for a raise is they think like an employee (duh, right?)
May 18th, 2007 at 7:39 pmTo a manager you need to talk about return on investment and how much money you make for the company. Keep track and figure it out. Take every training course that they provide (increase their investment in you).
Realize, and calculate their cost to replace you. If you can prove it on paper, with numbers, why it is a sound business expense to give you a raise, you’ll not only get the raise, you’ll impress the hell out of your boss and probably get a promotion.
Definitely good advice, although it’s hard to measure how much you’re making a company (or not making them) sometimes, especially if you’re starting a new project which is yet to make any money!
May 19th, 2007 at 10:08 am*sigh* Yep, just did it about three months ago and boy, was that a horrible experience. I still get deflated when I think about how flummoxed I got after I stumbled through my oh-so-rehearsed spiel, and got that completely unanticipated response.
May 21st, 2007 at 3:55 pm(oops, could you remove that faux link?)
May 21st, 2007 at 3:56 pmDone. Not removed, just tidied.
May 21st, 2007 at 4:14 pm