Help a Reader: Get a Raise

Here's a question from a reader that was recently left as a comment:

I am about to have my annual review...I took the lowest salary of all my offers after graduating. The Company said they paid lower, because they have to invest so much time and money up front in us....fast forward one year, after talking to last year's hires, I know I am about to receive a tiny raise....how to do I get the Company to pay me as the "highly trained" employee they have helped me to become over the past year?

My short take:

1. Determine the going market rate for your position, experience, etc.

2. List your set of accomplishments that detail why you deserve at least average pay. In other words, so how you've at least met -- if not exceeded -- the expectations of the company.

3. Take these to your boss in advance of your review/salary increase and talk with her about what's reasonable given the market and your performance.

For more thoughts, see this post on how to ask for a raise.

From there, if they still refuse to pay you what you're worth, you may want to consider working elsewhere.

That's my take. What else do you suggest?

Comments

[Matt]

Start looking for jobs with other employers. There's nothing like a signed offer letter to prove your worth in the job market.

[Cytoman]

If you have other opportunities to make more money you should mention them. Not in a confrontational manner but it will let them know that you have done your homework and have presented examples that you are marketable and worth more to other companies. If they want to keep you and value you as an employee they will come back with more money. However, do not threaten to leave unless you are prepared to.

[Christopher Smith]

I highly recommend PayScale (www.payscale.com), a free service that will let you compare your compensation to that of other similar workers. Companies typically have data about what the going salary for employees is; PayScale helps you know what you're worth.

[Matt]

Cytoman makes a good point about not threatening to leave unless you're prepared to. Let me clarify what I was trying to say: prepare to leave. That sounds kind of like my first job, and my pay jumped 40% when I left. Had I stayed, I would have been given 10%, which they considered extraordinarily large.