There is a question

  • Why is it that so many people feel they are simply owed a raise since they been on the job for a year?

  • or because they felt like asking for one?

Well anything worth having, need to be earned. A raise is no different. You shouldn’t simply expect one and you shouldn’t randomly ask once in a while. Instead, talk about a much more positive path, talk about what it means to really earn a raise. First of all, if you’re among the strongest performers, you usually don’t have to ask for a raise.

Management wants to keep great talent

Boss’s will be more proactive in terms of compensating their superstars. However, let’s admit that bosses are so busy, they don’t think about it sometimes. And, often, budgets are so strained, they don’t want to think about. Which means, you have to be a little more aggressive trying to secure the raise you deserve.

First, don’t think about asking for a raise right now. Think about creating a somewhat informal, ongoing dialog about a future raise. Your performance and your pay expectations are legitimate to topics of conversations every few months.

Outside of your performance reviews, you should be finding a small number of times to chat about your development with your boss. You need to understand how they view your progress. And they need to have clarity about your expectations.

When six to nine months have passed since your last raise, and you’re very confident that your performance has been exceeding expectations, think about bringing up the topic of getting a raise. Don’t ask for a raise. Instead, talk with your boss about wanting to clearly earn one in six month or whatever the appropriate timeline might be.

Collaborate with your Boss

Work with them to define specific new skills or milestones you can achieve that will make it a no brainer to give you a raise. After the agreed upon time. Think of it this way, if you receive the raise as discussed, good for you. If you don’t, well, the work you’ve done will have built up your CV nicely, so you’ll be well positioned to make an internal move, or even consider other organizations. In either case, you’ll have done the right thing.

Your job isn’t merely to expect a raise. But to lay out a clear plan that allows you to earn it.

CTTO to the images used.
Inspired by Dr. Todd Dewett.

Facebook Comments