Asking for a raise – how to do it right?

I have had dozens of such conversations in my life, on both sides of the barricade. Due to my profession, I was more often the one who was asked than the one who asked for a raise. It ended differently, so on the basis of my experience I have prepared the following text, which may be helpful for you if you plan to go to your superior to talk about a raise.

The roots of this conversation should actually go back to the moment you set the terms of your employment. It is then that you should find out (perhaps without specific numbers, but at the level of the overall process) what the development/promotion path is for your position, the bonus system and changes in remuneration due to awards, penalties or, for example, seniority. In organisations where these rules are clearly defined and adhered to, employees know the rules of the game and as long as they are clear, understandable and fair to them, they generally have no need to go off the beaten track. In this case, the only argument with which you can go for a raise are changes in your responsibilities related to additional duties or projects.

The ideal opportunity to renegotiate your salary is at the time of contract extension and periodic evaluation. The former for obvious reasons, the latter actually too :). A periodic appraisal is a review of your performance and personal development over a period of time, which in any case you will have to prepare before the interview. In good companies, every periodic appraisal discussion ends with a question about your feelings and conclusions and here you can smoothly and elegantly interject a thread about a raise. See if you can boast of

– above-average performance compared to colleagues/other department/analogous period (generally a relevant benchmark for your position);

– completion of additional projects not financially rewarded;

– Extending your responsibilities with additional activities;

– broadening your professional skills (on your own, not subsidised by your employer), useful for your position;

If you answered yes to at least one of the above points, and you can consider the others to be at least at a standard level, it means that you have strong arguments for your request for a raise to be approved. Unfortunately, this list does not include your personal obligations or emergencies – of course, an empathetic employer may offer you a loan, a collection or some other kind of assistance, but rather not in the form of a pay rise, and these arguments should not be raised in this type of conversation.

There are still two points that are worth elaborating on. First, if it’s not an appraisal interview or a contract renegotiation, make an appointment with your boss. If the conversation is to proceed at an appropriate business level, allow yourself to prepare the other side for a constructive discussion. No one likes to be taken by surprise and few people make such decisions ‘out of the blue’.

During the conversation you will probably be asked, “How much?” Prepare your answer so that this time you will not be surprised and, in the heat of emotions, you will not say too little (which you will later reproach yourself for) or too much (in relation to similar positions or the remuneration standard in your company).

4) The last point is a warning against the tactic often used by employees: “Either I get a raise or I don’t. “Either I get a raise or I get fired!”. I realise that some bosses are so hardened in their approach to remuneration that only this argument seems to work. However, no matter how you look at it, this is just blackmail, and it may happen that in response you hear from your boss “Then get fired and you’re gone!”. Please take this into consideration, and if you still think that this form is the only effective one in a conversation with your superior about a pay rise, then maybe you really should change your job… not because of the salary, but because of the boss

Good luck!