How to ask for a raise

Posted on the July 7th, 2008 under Careers & Education by Philippe Desrochers

Question:
“I have been with my company for almost three years and I have been doing good work. During my last performance evaluation I was not happy with my salary increase. How do I ask for more money during my next evaluation and not upset anyone?”

Answer:
The shocking statistic is that 90 percent of managers expect people to negotiate their salary during times of a performance evaluation. Even more amazing is that only 10 perfect actually do.

The best news of all is that managers have an increased amount of respect for you when you do negotiate.

Fact:
I interviewed a human resources manager from a large telecommunications company several months ago and she told me that in her 10 years with the company no one ever lost their job or was reprimanded for asking for more money.

Problem:
If you do not ask for more money then you may become resentful. It is your responsibility to tell people what you need. Your boss is not a mind reader.

Solution:
Know the rules of the game. Find out if there is a range for your position. Also, visit www.payscale.com and www.salaryexpert.com to get a free salary report for your position’s fair market value. A four percent raise is an inflation raise not a performance raise. You have to ask for a performance raise which can range typically from six to 25 percent.

Keep it simple:
After your boss gives you initial pay increase, say this: “Thank you. I have enjoyed my time here and look forward to growing with the company. I hav done some research and am requesting an increase to ____. Can you work with this?”

Next step:
Visit the two websites. Ask for what you want.

Weekly remedy:
If a company asks you what your salary expectations are during a job interview, ask them this: “I would be more than happy to talk about compensation. Are you offering me the position?” Only talk money if they say yes.

Email your questions to: info@Dr-Career.com. Listen to Career FastTrack “Live” Mondays at 5.30 p.m. on CiTR 101.9 FM or online at citr.ca