Meeting with your boss for your annual performance review or quarterly check in can be anxiety causing enough, but adding the need to ask for an Olympic size raise to your agenda, and you might just “chicken out.” So how do you prepare for the conversation in which you’re going to ask your boss for a raise that is much larger than a standard three percent cost of living increase? Here are five things you need to do before you meet with your boss.
1.Timing is everything
Make sure that you know what’s going on with your boss before you request a meeting to discuss your salary. If your department or company is not doing well, it’s going to be tougher for you to get the raise you’re asking for. However, if your group or organization just scored a major coup, this could be the perfect time to make your request. When you do ask to set the meeting with your boss to discuss your salary, be direct with your intentions. Make sure to say something like, “I’d like to get some time on your calendar to revisit my salary for next year.” If you can make the request in person, it’s better than email. By taking this approach, you’re allowing your boss to prepare for your meeting, and will likely come armed with an idea of what the budget will allow for an increase for you next year.
2.Tell your story with numbers
Even if your boss comes prepared to your meeting with a number in mind, you still need to make your case. And if your case is good enough, you might find your boss abandoning the original number he or she had in mind, and giving you the Olympic size raise you’re asking for. One key to doing this is to tell your story through numbers. This is not the time to complain about how much work you’ve taken on this year, rather illustrate the progress you have spearheaded for your team in the last 12 months. Use numbers, talk in percentages and give examples that do the talking for you. You’re asking for a raise this large because without you the team would not have accomplished XYZ. -Do not say it in those words, let the examples you’re giving illustrate your case. Chances are, your boss already knows how valuable you are to the team, but this is the time to remind your boss of your integral role on the team and demonstrate why you’re worth the salary increase you’re asking for.
3.People like you, they really, really like you
This might sound cheesy, but when you’re doing a great job, outside vendors, clients and internal staff take notice. They’ve likely sent you emails or notes that explain how you make their life easier and that they couldn’t live without you. This meeting would be a good time to make reference or hand over this sort of anecdotal evidence that other people think you’re doing a great job too.
4.Understand the competition
Do not lead the meeting with your boss by stating, “I know that Stacy K at XYZ company is making XXXX dollars a year, and I know I’m worth at least that much.” If you start your conversation comparing yourself to someone, you’re taking the spotlight away from your accomplishments and changing the conversation from highlighting why you’re so valuable, to why you think you’re underpaid. Additionally, if you don’t work with “Stacy,” your boss doesn’t work with “Stacy,” and you’re basing your assessment of value on the fact that you both have the same title in companies that are in the same industry, you can’t explain why you should actually make as much as “Stacy.” This is also the wrong approach because you’re reminding your boss that other people do what you do, can likely do your job as well as you do, and you are not “one in a million.” That does not help your case for getting a raise. The reason you want to understand your competition, and what people in a similar role in your industry are earning is that you want to know for your own point of comparison. This is information for you to have, not the basis for your argument to get a raise. You will want to take this data and craft a compelling argument about your own compensation that doesn’t sound like, “I want to make what Stacy earns because we have the same job.”
5.You CANNOT say these things to your boss
- “I need a raise because I’m having personal problems.”
- “I’m doing the work of 3 people.”
- “I haven’t had a raise since. .. . “
- “If you don’t give me a raise, I’m outta here.”
- “I just found out that co-worker “X” makes $, so I should too.”
- “I’ve been here for a year, and I’ve done everything I’m supposed to, so. .. . “
If you say any of these things to your boss when you’re talking about why you deserve a raise, you are not likely to be successful. These kind of statements will put your boss on edge, inspire a defensive attitude, and worse, will likely reflect poorly on your maturity and understanding of your role within the company. Do NOT use any of these statements, and you’ll be 100% closer to getting the raise you’re asking for.
Part of getting an Olympic size raise is making sure your boss understands why you make his or her life easier, and if you weren’t part of the team, there would be pain. Use the four key points above to prepare for the conversation with your boss, remember the things you shouldn’t say, and get that raise!