JoshAsking for a raise can very frequently be extremely stressful, especially for people who are not used to doing this kind of things. And yet, it can provide you with plenty of benefits (out of which having a larger payment is the most obvious one, of course).
How to do it, though? How to ask for a raise? Here are some of the most important things to keep in mind:
Know Your When
When to ask for a raise can be a troubling question for some people. If you are asking yourself the same thing, answer it with two other questions:
- When does your company usually make the raises?
- Have you already had a raise this year?
Some companies raise their employees’ salaries on their anniversary with the company or at the beginning of the fiscal year. Other companies may have a different policy – so make sure your timing is right when asking for a raise.
Furthermore, if you have already had a raise this year, you will probably not be granted with another one. In general, companies only give one raise/employee every year – and you can get more than that only if you are absolutely brilliant and innovative at what you do (and most of the times, if you work in finance or IT and you possess the aforementioned qualities). Furthermore, people working in the retail and fast-food industry can get a raise once in a six months’ period, but it will be almost insignificant (think about a few cents/hour at most).
Know Your How
While determining the when part of the “ask-for-a-raise-project” can be solved quite easily, knowing exactly how to do this can be quite stressful. In principle, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
- Your manager’s personality, work style and leadership style
- Your own activity within the company
Before you ask for a raise, think of how your manager usually likes to run things. If you have a manager that likes things to be put straightforward, simply email him/her and tell him/her bluntly about the fact that you want a raise (“Hello, I would like to have a meeting with you and discuss the possibility of renegotiating my salary” – or something along the same lines – will do). However, if your manager usually likes being not-so-blunt, you may want to insert your “raise question” within a meeting on a different topic (the weekly report, for example).
Your own activity within the company matters a lot too. If you have never asked for a raise, you should know that it doesn’t usually “just happen” and that you will actually have to make a case for yourself. In other words, you will have to convince your manager that you truly deserve to be paid more for your job. And this always includes showing him/her what you have done over the course of the past year as well. Make sure to do your homework and analyze your activity at work so that you can underline all the good things you have done at your job.