How to talk to your boss about a raise – 8 simple tips

If you deserve a raise, come up with a game plan and execute on it

 

You've been working hard at your job, taking initiative on meeting the needs of clients/stakeholders and even putting in extra hours occasionally. If you’re at a stage in your career where you feel like you deserve a raise, congratulations! But now comes the hard part - convincing your boss to give it to you.

 

As this is understandably a touchy subject for one to raise with their employer, we have come up with some tips for you to follow or consider before diving headfirst into that talk about the raise. If done correctly under the right workplace conditions, the conversation could make both parties feel good about their relationship long after it's over — but if handled incorrectly, things could go south and life at your current workplace could become uncomfortable.

 

Here are 8 tips on how to approach the topic with your boss so that your dreams of getting a higher compensation can come true:

 

Talk to your boss in person.

• Email is not the best way to broach this topic. While an email makes it easier for your boss to see all the information you have prepared and allows you time to think through what you want to say and demonstrate to your employer, it's also easy for them to ignore or delete your message without reading it thoroughly. Rather than run that risk, just move on directly to the next bullet point.
• Face-to-face communication is best. Schedule an in-person meeting with your boss – you can keep the subject of the invite generic, even as simple as “quick discussion”.
• Don't go unprepared! You probably have plenty of ideas about how much more valuable your skills are than when you first started working there and why that deserves a raise; but if those thoughts aren't perfectly organized, they'll be difficult for anyone else (including yourself) to follow. On that note, make sure you do a practice run by yourself the night before to work out the kinks. If you plan to bring documents or research materials to support your case, ensure that they are easy enough for everyone involved in the meeting to interpret on the spot – your boss should be able to quickly access relevant facts as needed—and make sure those facts clearly support your propositions.

Master what you're going to say.

This tip builds off of the previous one. Before you can talk with your boss about a raise, you need to know what you're going to say and how you're going to say it. That means getting organized and preparing yourself mentally.

• Practice saying the things that will convince your boss that you deserve a raise. Get comfortable talking about how great of an employee you are and why it's important for your company to keep paying you enough money for all the hard work that goes into being so awesome at what you do.
• Write down all of the reasons why a raise would be good for both sides: Your employer gets more value out of their investment in your position (and therefore less risk), and as an employee, this would help motivate you by rewarding your efforts toward making the organization stronger/more efficient, etc. Practice your general pointers at least one time by yourself or with a trusted friend/family member (but don’t memorize everything – you should be able to speak freely without sounding like you are regurgitating info).

Prove you'd be worth the raise.

This is more of a longer-term assignment for you to undertake as a career professional. Regardless of where you are in your journey, keep updating a Word version of your Resume with accomplishments and responsibilities that would eventually make you promotion-worthy.

 

Talk to your boss about getting a raise when you have proof that you deserve it. Whether you're looking for a salary increase or a bonus, it's important to make a convincing case for why the company should give it to you. Start by listing all of the things that show how much value and productivity you bring to the table:

• Have an eye-opening list of accomplishments from your past year at this job. Make sure they're quantifiable (i.e., "Increased monthly revenue by 20%") and specific ("Reduced client churn by 10%") – but more importantly, have specific examples to directly support these statements! Include as many numbers as possible—not only will this help support your argument, but it will also make everything easier for your boss to visualize and understand quickly. And don't forget personal development - if there was anything related to professional growth that happened during this time period (like taking on extra responsibilities or learning new software skills), be sure to explain what they mean in terms of their impact on both individual projects and overall business performance over time.

Don't go in empty-handed; do your research beforehand so that you can take charge of the conversation.

You're going to want to bring a list of accomplishments in order to make your case. Think about what you've accomplished in the past year, and be ready to rattle off some numbers that show how much value you've added. If possible, find out what projects your boss is currently working on, and suggest ways you could help with those efforts.

For example: "I'd like to take on more responsibility with regard to documentation as we near our production launch next month." Or "Our team has been doing a lot of work around email marketing lately, so I was wondering if I could organize an event where we can share our knowledge with other divisions who are interested."

 

Or even something simple but impactful: "I'm actively working on improving my skillset," or "I'm taking an online course through Coursera." You should also have some examples ready for when questions come up about why exactly these changes are necessary—and try not to back yourself into a corner by saying things like "because I need more money." With that being said...

 

Pick a time when your boss won't be rushed.

The best time to talk to your boss about a raise is when they are not busy and don't have much else on their plate. When you ask them for a few minutes of their time, try not to do so right before a meeting or right after one. It's also not the best time if it's just before lunch (if they're eating) or just after lunch (if they're eating). And unless you like being interrupted in the middle of your conversation, don't ask them when they're busy on their phone.

 

Make it about the company, not about you.

It's important to remember that a raise is not your problem or concern. You work for a company, and it's their job to make sure you're paid what you deserve. When you talk about yourself in this situation, it's easy for the conversation to get caught up in how much money you want and what your needs are. Instead of focusing on those things, think about how the company can benefit from investing more in your role—reference specific examples of how you've helped them do that.

 

Don't just say something like "I've been with the company for X years." Instead tell them exactly what specific improvements have been made because of your work: "We've expanded our social media presence because I got funding to hire an intern who now manages all our online platforms." Or if there's something really big happening at the office right now—such as launching a new product or project—share some details about how much value that added to the business: "When we started working on X project last year, we had no idea how successful it would be; today we're getting thousands of customers per week through that product alone."

 

Do not make threats or ultimatums.

If you're not being paid what you feel is appropriate for your work, don't make threats. Threats (even ones that don't include quitting or going to work for a competitor) are rarely effective and are never cool to make. If you've been working at a company for a while and haven't gotten the raise or promotion you deserve, be prepared to explain why this is the case. While it's impossible to know what goes on behind closed doors, here are some common reasons that employees may not be getting raises:

• Your boss doesn’t think you deserve one yet.
• There isn’t enough money in the budget right now.
• The company wants more time to evaluate whether they should keep paying you at all!

Show them how you'll continue to add value even with the raise.

Let’s say you got the raise you requested – now you need to show your boss how you'll continue to add value even with the raise.

 

If there's one thing that bosses want more than anything else, it's a motivated employee who is willing to go above and beyond the tasks laid out in their job descriptions - this is what makes someone truly valuable to an organization.

Remember that the key to getting a raise is to show your boss that you’ve been valuable, and will continue to be so even after getting a raise.

 

 

If you would like to have a discussion with us regarding your personal career circumstances, feel free to reach out to us by email at jonathanseah.87@gmail.com or phone call at 204-952-6597.