Tips for Getting That Raise
"Tips for Getting That Raise
By KENT R. DAVIES
Regardless of how justified you are in requesting a raise, like many workers you may still be intimidated by having to ask your boss for more money. Few supervisors, however, offer unsolicited pay increases. So it's your responsibility to present a persuasive case that demonstrates how your employer has specifically benefited from your hard work, skills, and talents and why your pay should be increased accordingly.
These steps may help you the next time you ask your boss for a raise.
- Evaluate your job description.
This is an important first step. It's easy to take on new assignments without considering that increased responsibilities may justify increased compensation. By assuming new tasks, you may be performing at a more advanced level than your job description dictates.
For example, last year you may have begun interfacing with other department heads to better coordinate your department's output. That responsibility may be part of the job description for a position one or two levels above your present title. If so, this could help justify an overdue promotion.
- List your accomplishments.
What have you accomplished since your last raise? You may be surprised at how much money you are saving your employer by, for instance, finding lower-cost vendors. Just as important, you may be playing a major role in landing new business by preparing unbeatable bids for your boss to present to prospective clients.
Put actual dollar values on your accomplishments. If your thoroughly researched bids generated $2 million in new business, take credit. Highlight this fact when documenting and presenting your case for increased pay. If your idea to implement a flexible work schedule for your division resulted in lower absenteeism that saved the company money and increased productivity, calculate the program's savings and include it in your documentation.
Documenting your accomplishments and presenting them in financial terms clearly highlights your value in bottom-line language any manager understands.
- Find out how much others make in comparable jobs.
How much are workers in positions comparable to yours being compensated? Do your homework. This is valuable information, especially if your boss considers you an asset to the team and wants to keep you on it.
Check with any professional association you belong to for surveys of members' salaries. From your local library, seek references on general salary levels. Peruse recruitment ads in local newspapers, career-oriented magazines, and the classifieds. Find out the salary ranges of co-workers and colleagues, both within your department and within your company. Get facts and figures. Use them appropriately when justifying your request for more pay.
- Decide upon a realistic amount.
Before you meet with your supervisor, develop a realistic financial objective for yourself. Be clear on the exact amount of the raise you are seeking. After determining your financial goal, make an appointment with your supervisor to discuss your salary objective. Minimize any surprises by giving your supervisor a written agenda prior to your meeting. This gives your supervisor time to prepare for the meeting and enables you to effectively focus and structure the actual session.
Be sensitive to your supervisor's perspective. This will help you negotiate your pay raise request within realistic budgetary parameters. Even though your supervisor may believe your case is justified, she or he may not have the delegated authority to single-handedly grant your raise. In such cases, be patient when your supervisor has to take your case to higher authorities or when you must wait for a new budget cycle.
- Give your supervisor ammunition.
Make it easy for your supervisor to argue your case before upper management by giving him or her clear, concise, well-written documentation. Even though a pay raise may not be possible at the time you request it, a document effectively highlighting your accomplishments may put you in line for an award or bonus that would not otherwise be available to you.
When you have appropriate documentation, facts and figures based on salary surveys, and a list of your accomplishments and how they have saved or made your company money, asking for a raise will no longer be the intimidating experience it once was. What are you waiting for?"
<Note from JobFairy.com: Good advice, but you're going to get 3 - 5% raise no matter how well you do. If you want a REAL raise, you'll have to fund it yourself (i.e. get another company to pay you what you're worth).>
|
