Want More Pay? Here are Some Tips

This piece from Money covers a study regarding men and women asking for pay raises and the corresponding results. However, at the end of the piece, it gives some tips on how to ask for a raise that I wanted to share with you today. Their thoughts:

• Time your move: Approach your boss with requests for a raise a few months before your review because by the time the review rolls around, chances are he or she has already settled on a number and gotten approval for it from on high.
• Prepare: Compile a list of your accomplishments in the past year and new responsibilities you have assumed. And find out what the market pays for the type of job you have or seek. Networking with acquaintances at other companies or in professional groups, as well as checking salary surveys, can give you a good ballpark range.
• Avoid the empathy trap: If it's true that women are more effective at work when they use a social style, then women can use their relationship-building skills to their advantage. "It's always harder for someone to say no to you if they know and like you," Miller said. But it's just as easy for a woman to avoid asking for something for fear of jeopardizing her relationship with a boss. "It almost never hurts to ask. While you may not get everything you ask for, you will be amazed at how often you get most of what you want," he said.
• Imagine you're negotiating on someone else's behalf: It's hard for everyone to negotiate for themselves, but women especially so, Miller noted. So pretend you're representing a client's best interests. "If you do your homework you will know what is fair and reasonable to ask for," Miller said. "Don't settle for less."

These are good tips. They correspond nicely with what I've discussed before in these pieces:

• The Best Ways to Negotiate a Higher Salary
• 5 Steps to Getting that Raise
• Want a Pay Raise Next Year? Start at It Now

Your career is your single-biggest asset and you need to actively manage it to maximize your net worth. This means that you will likely need to ask for a pay raise a few times in your career (companies don't often give them on their own). Obviously, you need to deserve a raise -- based on performance, what others in your field/industry are being paid, company/department performance, etc. -- but assuming these criteria are met, there's no reason the request for a raise should be met unfavorably (the raise itself may not be given, but at least the request should be heard).

Even a small raise here and there can really add up over the course of a career. A 2% extra increase in one year, a 4% extra increase five years later, a 3% extra increase three years after that -- they all compound and add significantly to your income. Don't take such gains lightly or think they are not worth the effort.

Many of you will work for companies that can't give you extra income for one reason or another. If there is a legitimate reason they can't (and just "not wanting to" doesn't qualify as a legitimate reason), then think about other areas where you could be compensated that won't cost the company as much. Maybe extra vacation time, special use of company facilities such as a gym, flexible work schedule or working at home, free product, etc. would be something you'd value as much or more than a salary increase -- and these would certainly not cost the company as much.

No matter what you want extra, if you're a strong-performing employee in a company that's doing well and you're currently underpaid, it never hurts to ask for a raise -- as long as it's done in the right way and in the right time.

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Comments

[Kim_Mango]

I like the idea of "Imagine you're negotiating on someone else's behalf," I hadn't heard that tip before. Unfortunately, my employer is not giving out raises this year so I'll just have to remember these ideas for the future.