Many find asking for a raise in salary to the same stressful experience as stressful getting fired.Of course you want a raise, but the thought of talking to the supervisor about it is something terrifying.
Before you head for the superiors, it is good to prepare for negotiations on wage increase
Make clear statement at the beginning
Generally known rule is that you agree on salary in the beginning of your employment. Do not count that you will get the raise as soon as you start working, and with that, agree on much lower salary than you want.
The wages issue is subject that is negotiated during the entire working life- from the first employment until the retirement. Men tend to have more expressed negotiating skills, and therefore tend to have somewhat higher beginning salaries.
The unwritten rule is that, while you were negotiating, if the the employer promised a raise, you must let pass at least six months until you can talk about it again, because you have to show your employer that you are worthy of that salary raise. While starting a new job, near in mind that you need to take at least a year to ask for a raise.
The right time to ask for a raise
The right time to ask for a raise depends on the internal processes of the company. Some companies have a performance-appraisal annually and on this basis their administration decides on promotions and raises. In this case, that period is the right time to talk to superiors about your results and eventual salary raise.
If there are no such formal assessment processes of employees, it is best to talk with your supervisor at the time of preparation of business plans, usually in the fall. Interviews for the raise will be less successful during the year because then the employer can use the oldest excuse and claim that the company has low budget. Therefore, the time for making future plans is ideal for negotiations. Just make sure that the negotiations start early enough and the plan at an early stage, because you may need several meetings with the Head of HR to a supervisor or your boss.
How to ask for a raise
Preparation is important before you talk about a raise. It is a conversation in which you have to take out all the reasons why you deserve a raise.
Print all mails in which your clients and colleagues praise you. Prepare a short presentation of your projects that you have successfully led and completed. In doing so, emphasize your most important achievement and the effect of your projects to the company. After all, you are the only one that can present those achievements. The results that have a direct impact on increasing revenues or reducing costs are the best arguments for a raise because you can show that you have contributed to the company in monetary values and in prestige.
Some of your achievements might not have a direct financial impact, such as for example the improvements of internal processes or eliminating the unnecessary statements, but those achievements could have indirectly turn into lower operating costs, which can, again, be considered as a positive impact on the company. Therefore it is extremely important, for your personal success, to make your impact clear to the superiors, by starting a meeting with them once the achievement is done, and make transparent what you have done. In this way, you are actually preparing your boss to discuss eventual raise that in this case should be a mere formality
Additional tips that can be useful
- Be prepared to talk about other alternative ways of rewarding, other than money. This may be in terms of the official car, some additional education, or more flexible working time…
- Never compare your salary with the salary of your colleagues, because you are selling yourself and your values, even when you know a colleague has a higher salary and it frustrates you. It is unprofessional to say the least.
- If you are looking for a meeting with your supervisor via mail, make sure to specify the topic of the meeting so that both sides are ready.