How To Ask for a Pay Rise

21 November 2018

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How To Ask for a Pay Rise
Many people struggle with asking their boss for a pay rise. Yes, it can be awkward, it may not go to plan and could result in a 'no' but here are our tips to give you the best chance at success.

Asking for a deserved pay rise can be tough and is often a conversation that many avoid. Unfortunately, this avoidance restricts many people's earning potential and is one of the factors behind the gender pay gap.

Recent studies have shown women in particular simply don’t ask for a pay rise, or are not as confident as men when asking - so ladies take note and get your deserved raise!

  1. The toughest one first - ask with confidence! It’s important to realise that most managers don’t see everything you’ve achieved in the past 12 months. Especially if they have a large team working under them. The key to asking with confidence is being prepared - check out below for tips on how to get prepared

  2. List your achievements - take a quick look back over the past number of months and begin to list out any major projects you helped complete. Don’t just list the tasks, list the ones where you smashed expectations! If you’ve created value or reduced costs for the business, include these also. These achievements will help build a framework for the conversation.

  3. Do your research - how much are you worth in the open market? Our Salary Guides provide a wealth of information, or if you can’t find the info you need just call us - we’ll give you insight free of charge!

  4. Timing - picking the right time is a key part of a successful salary conversation, but we recommend having these conversations outside of the yearly review. Your manager will be completely bogged down with multiple reviews and salary chats. Try to sit down at your work anniversary - if you’ve achieved a lot in the previous 12 months, then you should be in a good position to negotiate.

  5. Don’t fall in love with yourself! Being realistic is so important to this whole process. Now that you’ve done your market research, listed your achievements and built up your confidence enough to ask for the meeting - don’t blow it by being unrealistic with your salary expectations.

If you’re looking to get any additional information or find out more about opportunities in your space, get in touch below.

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