3 Ways to Prepare To Ask For A Salary Increase
As you progress further into your current company and as your skills and expertise grow, it’s not uncommon to want your salary to reflect those changes. But in our society, it’s often very taboo to talk about money or seeking a pay increase. However, if you want to get paid what you feel you’re worth, you’re going to have to bite the bullet and speak to your supervisor about the possibility of getting a raise. To help you approach this subject with confidence, here are three ways to prepare to ask for a salary increase.
Get The Timing Right
Just like with all requests, you want to ensure you time your asking correctly. If you decide to speak to your boss at the wrong time, you could be sabotaging your chances of getting the increase you otherwise would have been able to achieve. Molly Triffin, a contributor to Forbes.com, writes that it’s best to ask your boss about a raise either when it’s traditionally discussed within your company, like during reviews or the end of the year, or when your boss will be preparing his or her budget for the following year. These times tend to be found more successful for securing the type of salary increase you’re likely looking for.
Justifying Your Request
In most cases, you’ll want to be prepare to have a frank discussion with your boss about why you think you deserve to have a raise. While most companies will give out a yearly increase for inflation or cost of living, getting a legitimate raise generally means you’re going above and beyond in what your previous value was. To best showcase this claim, Dawn Rosenberg McKay, a contributor to The Balance.com, recommends writing down a list of what you’ve been able to accomplish this year along with what relevant skills these accomplishments have helped fortify. This list can be invaluable in helping prove to your boss why you’re deserving of a decent raise.
Prepare for Negotiations or Rejection
Because you’re merely making a request for a higher salary, there’s always the chance that your boss will give you less than you want or completely deny you. When going into your meeting about increasing your salary, Shannon Gausepohl, a contributor to Business News Daily, recommends having something in mind to say in case your boss doesn’t give you the raise. This could include asking what you can do to get a larger raise in the future or simply thanking him or her for taking the time to discuss your performance. Just because you didn’t get the raise you wanted now doesn’t mean you can’t improve and be worthy of a larger raise in the future.
If you plan on asking for a salary increase in the near future, use the tips mentioned above to help you prepare for this tough conversation.
