2 Tips on How to Ask for a Pay Raise From Your Boss

Do you want to earn more money in your job than you are currently, earning? Asking your boss at the workplace for an increase in your salary can be nerve-racking and complex. But the truth is that asking for a salary raise or increase is the only way to get paid higher, apart from the occasional bonus.

Research, planning, and preparation are keys to make you confident and successful in asking for a pay raise. Some of the preparation steps include finding ways to demonstrate your performance, getting a sense of salaries in your industry, and check the economic conditions. Also, check the timing of your asking, market-based pay rates for other jobs in the area.

Addressing the issue from the view of your contribution and the value it adds to the company will increase your chances of success. Ensure that you set up a private or personal meeting with your manager. Let them know the purpose of the meeting while asking for it.

You can use some of these tips below to ask for a raise in your salary.  

1. Research an appropriate pay increase

The goal of your meeting with the manager is to ask for a pay raise. But before you do that, you need to know the pay practice of your employer and your job’s market pay rate. Get to know about your employer’s pay practice. The practice may be to offer a pay raise once every year, then you might not get a pay raise. Unless the company frequently gives an increase, you will have more luck in the meeting. Research the market pay rates of your current job and gather more information as you can. 

2. Prepare your presentation

After making research about how competitive your pay or salary is in the industry, you need to look for things to back it up. Some of the things to consider are your work contributions or whether you deserve a raise or not.

To answer all these, you need to get a good day to support your request. You can still ask your manager the requirements to get a pay raise if you cannot justify why you need a pay raise now. Make a list of the goals and tasks you have accomplished for the company and state how it helped the company.

Every successful negotiation or meeting about a pay raise has always been based on the employee’s accomplishments, contributions, and merits. It has never been our reason for having more money. Even if the employer cares about you, your lifestyle is not their business.

So you need to be straightforward when addressing the request and let the manager know your relevant reasons. Telling them about the additional responsibilities expected from you is a good idea. Prepare yourself and go with documents if necessary.

Show them the research you have made, which supports your request, and be specific in telling the manager what you want. This should include your salary range, measurable achievements and contributions, and industry research. If your request gets rejected, you can as well ask for what you will need to do to you qualified for a pay raise.