Asking for a raise doesn’t have to be an uncomfortable conversation, especially if you’ve worked hard and proven your value at a company. Generally speaking, there’s a stigma around talking about compensation and salary, but the dialogue doesn’t have to be anxiety-inducing. To ease the discussion and to ensure you’re prepared for your comp meeting, we tapped Michal Goldvaser, Senior Recruiter at The Workshop LA, to share her expert advice. Read on to learn how to confidently ask for a raise during your next review.
1) “Ask yourself if you deserve the raise. Have you been with the company long enough (at least a year)? Have you done anything noteworthy to warrant the raise? If so … read on.
2) Make it official. Politely email your supervisor and request a time for a review.
3) Be prepared. Come to the meeting with notes and milestones highlighted. Milestones should include evidence of hard numbers. If you are in sales, show how much you grew your business. Anything that can show your supervisor that you are doing a great job and deserve recognition financially or even a better job title.
4) Be realistic. Do your market research to make sure that you are getting a fair wage that is comparable to the industry standard. If you are making $50k, don’t expect your base to go up to $100k overnight. You can reasonably get anywhere between a 3% and 10% base increase, but if you want to be more proactive, you can ask for percentage increases on commissions or bonuses.
5) Be gracious. Be thankful to your supervisor for taking the time to meet. If you got what you wanted, great! If you didn’t, you have two options: 1) Work harder to get where you need to be. 2) Start looking for a new job that will pay you what you feel you are worth.”
