OT: Asking for a raise

[CrookedLetta4Eva]

What is the Pack’s best way of asking for a raise?
I have outperformed job duties for the past year and feel like one is due.

-I do work for a large corporation, but report directly to one manager

 

[Shmuley]

Take your boss to lunch and ask him/her to give you advice on how you can contribute even more to the success of the "team." Allow the conversation to be about how you can help your boss look better to his bosses. At some point, and in an appropriate, non-confrontational way the subject of your compensation should naturally occur.

 

[LawDawg97]

From my experience

What is the Pack’s best way of asking for a raise?
I have outperformed job duties for the past year and feel like one is due.

-I do work for a large corporation, but report directly to one manager

1. Timing is key. Obviously have the discussion in person with the manager you report to, but set up the meeting for a time when the company is healthy. Do they typically give bonuses or hire new employees at the end of the year? Or are there layoffs coming? If the first of the year feels better do it then. Only you can really get a feel for how your company works, but if you do it when there is money to go around it helps your chances.

2. Point out exactly how you have outperformed and even offer to take on more to show you legitimately want to continue to grow if the company invests in you. Make it more about your value than about just your want for more money.

3. Find a number that is realistic and ask for that. Most raises are around 5%. You may feel you are entitled to more, but don't shoot too high and risk not getting it. If they say no, don't throw a fit. Tell them you would like to set up a time frame to revisit this in the next 6 months and keep showing your value and what they would be missing out on if you left.

Good luck!

 

[DancingRabbit]

Great advice, but I might go a step further and say don't bring up compensation

in this first conversation unless your boss brings it up first.

Take your boss to lunch and ask him/her to give you advice on how you can contribute even more to the success of the "team." Allow the conversation to be about how you can help your boss look better to his bosses. At some point, and in an appropriate, non-confrontational way the subject of your compensation should naturally occur.

 

[Drebin]

In my experience, February or March is usually the best time to have this conversation. Since you work for a big corporation, budgeting has likely been completed (including for merit increases), but that money hasn't been allocated yet.

Have a conversation with your manager if you have a good/friendly relationship with him. Just tell him you aspire to have a bigger role and want his advice on how to get there. Managers love that because you're stroking their ego and making them feel trusted. Ask for his input on how you've done to this point. If his response is glowing, that's ammo for you to take it to the next level. But don't just come out and talk compensation....let him give you feedback and then use it.

It may well be that your manager doesn't have enough stroke to get you the raise you need if you are in a big company. I'd figure out ways to ensure that his boss and his boss's boss also sees your contributions. If they allow skip-level meetings at your company, I would ask for one with your boss's boss.

Good luck!

 

[horshack.sixpack]

What is the Pack’s best way of asking for a raise?
I have outperformed job duties for the past year and feel like one is due.

-I do work for a large corporation, but report directly to one manager

If the company isn't doing well, but you are killing it, re-examine your options, but give serious consideration to whether you want to come across as tone deaf and entitled. I've had employees who thought they could somehow divorce themselves from corporate profitability and I could magically make compensation appear. I do believe that if you are more valuable than what you are being paid, the market will reward it either there, or somewhere else.

As you may surmise from my response, I had the unfortunate experience of having my least valuable employees often thinking they were worth way more, or in down years expecting raises and bonuses as if the company was doing just fine...

ETA: if you can tie your performance directly to the corporate bottom line, you will have a better case; may be difficult in large corporate

 

[Drebin]

If the company isn't doing well, but you are killing it, re-examine your options, but give serious consideration to whether you want to come across as tone deaf and entitled. I've had employees who thought they could somehow divorce themselves from corporate profitability and I could magically make compensation appear. I do believe that if you are more valuable than what you are being paid, the market will reward it either there, or somewhere else.

As you may surmise from my response, I had the unfortunate experience of having my least valuable employees often thinking they were worth way more, or in down years expecting raises and bonuses as if the company was doing just fine...

Outstanding advice here.....don't be tone deaf to company performance!

 

[Clarence Boddicker]

This is my own personal opinion, but most companies only give raises if they have to. If you are valuable enough, you will force their hand. If you aren't, you won't. Cold hard truth, but life isn't a charity. You have to truly get out there and make someone's life easier and make them realize they can't do it without you, to make the big bucks.

I would simply advise you take a hard look in the mirror, and know your TRUE worth before having that conversation. If you have it before you should, you can end up causing a rift, whether intended or not.

 

[BlueRidgeMtns]

Find out when the budgeting process starts. Our company is finalizing ours now and the only raises allocated are cost of living (3%) or people who have have taken on added duties.

For our employees, now is certainly the time to talk about this.

 

[Coast Dawg]

not enough info

What is the Pack’s best way of asking for a raise?
I have outperformed job duties for the past year and feel like one is due.

-I do work for a large corporation, but report directly to one manager

good insight from others. In addition,

(I don't really need more info from you but) you should also take into consideration how long you have been with the company and how long you have been in your current role. This might vary by industry but I too work for a very large corporation. If you reported to me and have only worked for the company 1.5 years, been in this same role for 1.5 years, first six months was ok and this year feel like you have outperformed job duties.... Now you are looking for a raise based on this short tenure with only one year of "killing it". Not only would you not get the raise but you could also have a negative label (assuming you were fairly compensated when hired 18 months ago).

Now if you have proven yourself over a little longer time, either in current role, other roles with the company, etc... The request for a raise should be better received.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Some boring responses here. This is the real sixpack advice; 1. Pay hooker to seduce boss, 2. Take pics, 3. Profit!

 

[StillTbonewannabe]

That was one good thing about working for Sanderson Farms, we actually had an end of year meeting where you basically filled out a resume again listing your strengths and weaknesses. Raises were on a sliding scale depending on how long you worked there and how close you were to the salary range ceiling.

Basically, you need to schedule a meeting with your boss on how HE thinks you are doing. If he agrees then you should ask his advice on how to advance your career. Salary should come up at some point. Several people have said it but I just wanted to reenforce, raises are tied to company performance. So if you are doing great but the company overall not so much then the company would have to greatly value your contributions to give you a raise.

If you can tie your work to a quantifiable number then that gives you better ammo when talking about compensation.

 

[HotMop]

Some boring responses here. This is the real sixpack advice; 1. Pay hooker to seduce boss, 2. Take pics, 3. Profit!

Have sex with his wife!

 

[TheStateUofMS]

Start the conversation off with your boss about how Dale's is hands down the best marinade ever invented. Invite the man over for steaks soaked in Dale's and discuss the raise over that. If you can somehow work clearing mole crickets into the conversation, you may be set up for a promotion AND a raise. You win twice, brother!

Seriously though good luck. There's lots of good advice in here. Don't ask for a raise unless you can demonstrate you've added value. I think that's the best way to get one.

 

[CookieMonster.sixpack]

Never ask for a raise

What is the Pack’s best way of asking for a raise?

Go get a better offer from another company. If your current employer realizes your value, they'll try to keep you. If not, then you just moved to a company that does see your value. If you can't get a better offer from another company, then you maybe shouldn't be asking for a raise.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Start the conversation off with your boss about how Dale's is hands down the best marinade ever invented. Invite the man over for steaks soaked in Dale's and discuss the raise over that. If you can somehow work clearing mole crickets into the conversation, you may be set up for a promotion AND a raise. You win twice, brother!

Seriously though good luck. There's lots of good advice in here. Don't ask for a raise unless you can demonstrate you've added value. I think that's the best way to get one.

Also, refer to yourself as the Nick Saban of the Acme Corporation, refer to your chief rival at Acme as "SloMo."

 

[fedxdog]

Develop an exit strategy. Do that first even before you talk with mgt.

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

A few questions to ask here. Does your company have an annual review cycle? Are you close to the annual review? Do you get to provide contributions for your review? Does your immediate manager make the decisions on who gets raises and how much? What has your previous history of raises been?

If your company has an annual review cycle, then make sure you take advantage of it as much as possible. If you get to make contributions for it (e.g. self appraisal, list out your goals for the year, etc.), then forcefully state your contributions with quantities and in the language your business uses. "Captured four new customers leading to $5 million in new sales with a profit of $800,000" sounds better than "I developed a lot of new business." A lot of your coworkers hate doing these self-appraisals because it's another piece of paperwork, but in reality it is your main way of stating your case for a raise. Also state how that performance fits into your goals for the next year, e.g. "Cultivate relationships with existing and new customers to make $7 million in sales" or "Make inroads into selling our product to Apple, Amazon, and Google" versus "Develop new business". If you don't get to state this but your company has a review cycle, tell your manager what you want said in your review. This is psychologically easier if your manager does not directly control your raise. And whether or not your manager controls your raise, you're helping your boss out by telling him what you want said because doing reviews is yet another stack of paperwork for the manager to do.

If you're close to the annual review, follow that above. If reviews just passed, what you do next depends on history. If you have been getting good and steady raises (average of 5%+ over the previous 3 years is what I define as pretty good at a single company without a promotion) then it may not be advisable to ask for a raise. But since you're asking the question, you probably haven't been getting these raises. If the raise was what amounts to a cost of living adjustment (~2%), then schedule a meeting with your manager and tell him that the raise you received is not commensurate with your performance. You should have cold hard data to back up your statements. Use emotion sparingly (or not at all) in your argument. Don't say "I don't feel this was a good raise" because, frankly, your boss doesn't care how you feel.

If you are absolutely killing it, then asking for a promotion may be a better route. Ask your manager how you can help the company even more. Part of this involves a bit of delayed gratification. There's not guarantee you get more money with increased duties.

If your company gives bonuses, determine when the bonus cycle is and make similar concerns known. Bonuses tend to have much wider differences between similar coworkers. You might be making only $5k more (or less) per year than your less productive coworker, but if you can get $10k+ in bonuses, you'll make up for it quickly. Companies also like it because they can immediately reward good performance without committing to years worth of raises. From their perspective, a justified $30k bonus one year could be better than a $10k raise because you might not perform as well (but definitely good enough to keep your job) over the next several years. Bonus compensation also tends to be kept in separate databases, so even if you were to accidentally get a glimpse of someone else's salary (or pay stub), you won't see the bonus. The much better compensated coworker would appear to be making on par with what you make.

Also, look at your general role in the company. At a high level, everyone in the company is either a profit center (sales, product development) or a cost center (IT, technical support). Generally it's better to be in a profit center, because even great performance in a cost center doesn't get much reward ("I saved the company $800,000 last year" is as good as $800,000 in profit in net terms, but management doesn't process it that way because the cost centers are supposed to cut costs without reward**). If you are in a cost center job, consider moving to a division or company where it becomes a profit center, otherwise you will never get great raises. An accountant in an accounting firm is a profit center, while an accountant at an electronics manufacturer is a cost center. I'll let you guess which one is most likely to have an accountant as the best paid employee.

 

[SwampDawg]

My company announced that times were hard and that as a result nobody would get a raise. A couple of weeks later all the VPs had their brand new cars parked in front of the flagpole. Of course we all concluded they got their raises also. Morale tanked.

 

[RPOdawg]

What is the Pack’s best way of asking for a raise?
I have outperformed job duties for the past year and feel like one is due.

-I do work for a large corporation, but report directly to one manager

go into his office and say “hey boss, i’d Like a raise”

 

[codeDawg]

If you need a bigger than 5% raise, the conversation should be how to get promoted and get a raise with that promotion.

If that isn’t an option, look for an internal transfer that may have promotion / raise associted.

Lastly, apply outside. If you get a good offer, and you want to stay, use it as leverage. This is usually the only way to get a serious raise in corporate environments, but you should be prepared to accept the new offer.

Most people don’t realize they are responsible for their careers. Most employers will not promote or pay more without you pushing. If you are valuable, you’ll get it. If not, do something valuable.

 

[rowdy53103]

go into his office and say “hey boss, i’d Like a raise”

"sure thing, we can get you a pair of stilts..."

 

[Crazy Cotton]

Tell the boss you have the #2 scoring defense in the country and have a lot of interest from other companies.

 

[Shmuley]

And have your publicist/agent circulate rumors about your interests elsewhere to serve as confirmation that your threat is real.

 

[Hypnodawg]

Go get a better offer from another company. If your current employer realizes your value, they'll try to keep you. If not, then you just moved to a company that does see your value. If you can't get a better offer from another company, then you maybe shouldn't be asking for a raise.

This all day. There is a dollar amount you are worth to the company. They will not pay you more than that and they will not pay you that unless they have to. The competing offer is really the only leverage you have. If you have performed extremely well and the company just made a large profit due to you, you may be in line for a performance bonus. Bonuses are much easier for companies to hand out than raises.

 

[MarkDallas]

My company announced that times were hard and that as a result nobody would get a raise. A couple of weeks later all the VPs had their brand new cars parked in front of the flagpole. Of course we all concluded they got their raises also. Morale tanked.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

Go get a better offer from another company. If your current employer realizes your value, they'll try to keep you. If not, then you just moved to a company that does see your value. If you can't get a better offer from another company, then you maybe shouldn't be asking for a raise.

^^^This^^^. You are going to be hard pressed to get much of a pay raise in the same role at a large corporation, as most jobs are "slotted" for low-mid-high comp and you are just on the train tracks now. So you need to internally or externally get a promotion. My wife spent 10 years at a first company out of college and did awesome work in a lucrative industry, was highly thought of and an invaluable member of the team. In 10 years she improved her pay by 60%. Not bad, but after COL it was more like a 20-25% increase and was flatlining. In the 4 years since she has moved to two different companies and now is a VP with a publicly traded company and has trippled her pay since leaving the original job.

Everyone I know that is climbing the ladder is either moving between companies in their location or is moving to different locations with their company. T

 

[LandArchDawg]

The way it works in my field is you entertain other offers with other employers and threaten to leave once you have a backup. My biggest raises always came with job changes and threatening to leave. It is just the way it is in my line of work.