US News lists the following as times not to ask for a raise:
1. When you haven’t been on the job for long.
2. When you haven’t been performing well.
3. When the company is struggling financially.
My comments on these:
1. You should negotiate aggressively up front and therefore not need to ask for a raise soon after you are hired.
2. No one is going to give a raise to someone who's a poor performer. In fact, I'd have a hard time not laughing at a sub-par employee who asked for a raise.
3. If you're a great/vital performer, you still can get a raise when the company is doing poorly. Whether or not you want to ask then is up for debate. You'll need to balance your needs with those of the company and consider that you may be able to negotiate more later.
And here are their thoughts on when it's ok to ask for a raise:
1. When you have a sustained track record of accomplishment that you can point to.
2. It doesn’t hurt to have just done a great job on something.
Let's face it -- those who perform get raises, promotions, extra benefits and the like. Why? Because they deserve them. It's that simple.
I've taken a bit different approach in my career, but similar to what they're discussing above. I have only once asked for a raise after delivering some great results for a company (and I was getting promoted for it, so I felt a raise was in order.) This was despite the fact that people were getting laid off at the company. But I had some pretty big accomplishments, was getting promoted, and thus asked for a raise. And I got it.
But more often (three times) I've parlayed success at one job into a new/better/higher-paying job at another company. Each of these times my results were good enough to get me an award of some sort. These added validity to my success (outside recognition) and gave me something to talk about (during the interview/selling process) and point to (during salary negotiations.) Twice, in fact, I was able to push high enough that I was just a few thousand dollars below what my direct boss was making. ;-)
If you want to read more on asking for a raise, check out my posts titled How to Ask for a Raise, How to Ask for a Raise, and How to Ask for a Raise. I'm pretty creative with those names, aren't I? ;-)
I've always worked for myself. The only person I ask about a raise is my accountant who always says no... He is usually right but I don't like it!
You haven't had the urge to get out on your own?
Posted by: Dr Dean | April 28, 2011 at 11:17 AM
You are so right about negotiating a good salary up front. Although in my husband's case, he hasn't had a raise in 3 years because he is overpaid compared to other people in his position who have been in that job for a long time, which is a bummer.
I used to have compensation discussions when I had my performance review. Then, the boss is discussing all your accomplishments, so it is a good time to mention a raise!
Posted by: Everyday Tips | April 28, 2011 at 01:32 PM
Pretty much every job I've ever worked, the company always sings the "we're so poor, we can't give anyone a raise" song and dance when I've asked. I'm always told I'm a stellar employee, and I'm always praised at any job I've worked at, but the company always seems to be poor. :/
Posted by: BD | April 28, 2011 at 08:14 PM
BD --
Sounds like time to leave/upgrade to a new job/company. Great performers always have the option of taking their skills elsewhere to earn more money.
Posted by: FMF | April 29, 2011 at 07:22 AM
FMF: That's exactly what I've done, every single time. I worked my way up from making $7.50 an hour up to a little under $20 an hour only through switching jobs over and over, and rarely through any pay raises. It was always a bit frustrating though...I went through 6 or 7 companies in about 10 years doing it.
Then, the bottom dropped out of the graphic design industry, so to speak, and now, I can't find work, so I'm back in college to learn a new career. Hopefully this time around, everything will work out better.
Posted by: BD | April 29, 2011 at 09:04 AM