7 Tips How to Ask For a Pay Rise at Work

Wouldn’t it be great if you walked into the office tomorrow morning and discovered you had just a pay rise? In an ideal world, your boss would immediately recognize your strengths and you would simply be offered a pay rise you thought you deserved. Unfortunately, here in the real world, automatic pay rise rarely happen.

Many people find it difficult to talk about money, especially with the boss. But British communication coach Robin Kermode says that, if you know what you want and make your arguments clearly and convincingly, your chances of success are good.

Here are seven top tips for planning and executing a strategy to help you get you the pay rise you deserve.

Know your limits

In any form of negotiation, we must always know what our bottom line will be. How far are you prepared to go?  “For instance, are you prepared to resign if the offer is too small? Or will you accept anything because you are desperate to keep the job?” Kermode writes in The Guardian. He compares this sort of negotiation to playing poker: “If your manager knows you will accept 5%, there is no point asking for 25%.”

Be prepared

Prepare strong arguments for why you deserve a rise, Kermode advises. “Have all your colleagues in similar roles recently had a pay increase? When was the last time you had one? Was it more than two years ago? Has your output, profitability or job specification significantly increased or grown?”

You should avoid making it all about you and your needs. For example, ‘I’m trying to buy a house so I need X’. It’s not their problem. Everyone, including your boss, is under pressure in tricky economic and political times.

Think about your timing

Picking the right time is crucial. Don’t approach your boss at the busiest time of the week. Instead, try to schedule a meeting at a time when you know your boss will not be too busy, so they have time to listen to you. You can also mention that you’d like to discuss about salary.

Don’t send mixed messages

This is where body language is important, Kermode says. “It’s easy for anyone to see when someone is being defensive, angry or even when they are bluffing,” he writes. To help keep your cool, and remain convicing and confident, speak slowly and hold relaxed eye contact. Sound strong, yet reasonable. As long as you are polite and reasonable you have nothing to fear.

Know when to stop talking

Don’t repeat yourself — this will only make you seem weak. When we get anxious, we often repeat our argument to make it more forceful. But in fact this has the opposite effect. “Say it once and then stop talking,” Kermode advises.

Stay calm, even if the answer is no

If the answer you receive is not entirely satisfying. So try to remain unemotional. Letting off steam can make you feel better, but rarely helps in a negotiation. And, of course, the person who gets angry always loses the argument. You can also ask what might seem a more reasonable offer to them.

Just listen

Often when we get upset or anxious we stop listening because our mind is thinking of loads of counterarguments and justifications. Keep a clear head by remembering to listen and you will appear more confident, too. It’s OK to give yourself 24 hours to be disappointed, but then get back on your horse and move on.

Wrapping Up

If you feel you deserve a pay rise and the time’s come to do something about it, make sure you approach the matter in the right way. As with all difficult conversations with your boss, the answer is to know what you are trying to achieve and then make sure your message lands in a clear, concise way with no mixed messages.