Working up the courage and conviction to meet with your boss and ask for a raise can be a really tense and anxious time. And that's why you need some tips for negotiating a raise. Even though you know you deserve more money, there is always the risk that your boss won’t see the situation the same way, and this could lead to plenty of work tension that wasn’t there beforehand. If you want to have the most productive meeting and outcome, then you need to be prepared for the interaction, so take heed of these five key tips for negotiating a raise.
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1. Do Research
One of the top tips for negotiating a raise is doing your homework beforehand. Don’t go into the meeting without facts and figures. If your boss asks you what your new salary expectations are, you need to have knowledge about other colleagues and the money that they make so that you don’t suggest a completely outlandish figure the damages your credibility. Those figures can be hard to get hold of, so you can also consult websites that give median figures for the salary that your position commands at other companies.
2. Good Timing
Assess the situation of your work environment and choose a time that you think is going to be most fruitful to put your plan in action. Peak season or two minutes before your boss is due to clock off for a holiday isn’t ideal. How about setting up a meeting in the wake of some great praise that you have been given?
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3. Don’t Get Personal
When it comes to asking for more money, keep the reasoning as professional and work based as possible. Your boss doesn’t need to know that you want to go on the holiday of a lifetime next year or you’ve been eyeing up a pair of Manolo Blahniks. All they need to know is that you are a hard worker who deserves to be getting paid more than you currently do. It will be harder to deny you a raise if you help your boss to see that your work actually warrants it, rather than just to cover the costs of your outside life.
4. Mention Your Highlights
If you work in a large group, your individual achievements can sometimes be forgotten in lieu of the bigger picture. When you have your raise meeting, make sure to let your boss know all of the best and most impressive achievements that you have been directly responsible for. This will help your boss to see your individual worth.
5. Practice Your Pitch
Make sure that you know exactly what you are going to say before you go into the meeting. The more confident and persuasive you seem, the more likely you are to be successful. If you cover every single base without fault, it will very hard for your boss to deny you your valid request.
