Asking for a meeting with your manager to discuss a raise can be a nerve wracking experience. You think you deserve a raise but you don’t know what your manager thinks.
Before you decide that you want a meeting to discuss an increase, make sure you have all of the information and the reasons for why you think you deserve a raise.
The first question you will be asked is, “why do you think you deserve a raise”.
Be prepared, have all of you documentation with you, if you received emails from customers or clients that expressed how helpful you were with them or from other departments praising your work, bring those emails with you, reach out to your HR department and ask for any documentation they may have in your file.
If you have worked long hours to complete a project without being asked to, have that documentation with you.
One of the most used reasons for asking for a raise is, Joe was just hired and he is doing the same job as me but is making more money, that reason won’t fly, the typical response to that will be, you were hired 2 years ago, the salary range for your position has increased to accommodate today’s new hires.
Complaining about this won’t get you favors with your manager.
Be concise, prepare what you are going to say, have your documentation ready and then sell your reasons.
Lastly, don’t ask for more than what is reasonable, you may have the skills to warrant a raise but companies are all too quick to bring on someone whom they can train and pay at a lower salary.
Don’t back your manager into a corner, you wont’ come out winning.
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