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So, you want a pay rise?

You might be thinking about getting a new job – but is it for the right reasons? Many people leave their current role to go somewhere with a higher pay, but if that is your only reason for wanting to leave you have to find out from your current employer if a pay rise is possible.

Asking for a pay rise can be a scary experience, but if you plan how you are going to ask for it and know what you want and are going to say before entering your boss’s office you will come across and hopefully feel more confident about asking about your pay.

Do your research

Prior to asking you need to work out if the pay rise you are wanting is reasonable, is your current pay under the national average? Are your co-workers receiving more that you are? Are there other similar roles on the market with a higher pay? Once you have answered these questions it will be clearer on what the answer to your request may be.

Reasons

You now need to work out the real reasons you want a pay rise, unfortunately just because you want one isn’t going to cut it with your boss. Use examples of how you have gone above and beyond in your job and how you are exceeding your job description. If you feel you are managing a team but your pay doesn’t reflect this, show your boss how you are doing so and explain to them why.

Timing

Choose your timing to talk to your boss carefully; don’t surprise them by just walking into their office. Plan a meeting when your boss is likely to be less busy and less stressed. First thing on a Monday morning is not a good time to talk about this. You need to make sure your boss isn’t just going to rush off midway through the meeting, book a slot in the diary to ensure the timing will be kept to.

Remain calm

Throughout the whole process you should remain calm and as relaxed as you can be. If you remain calm you are less likely to get irritated if you are not getting the responses you want. You need to be careful about the language you use, and if you are not calm you are more likely to come across as demanding.

Not matter your reasons for wanting a pay rise, talking to your boss in a calm, collective and planned manner is the best way to go around it.

Have you ever asked for a pay rise? Were you successful? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below.

After posting this blog one of my connections decided to share their experience with me, which you can read in full below. What I found most interesting was that although this person did not get the answer they wanted when asking for a pay rise it turned out to be the “best things possible” for them.

“Hi Amy,

I hope you are well, it was very interesting reading your article about pay rise and I wanted to share my experience with you.

I did once arrange a Pay-rise meeting with my then manager who escalated it to his line manager and arranged another meeting with the three of us. The meeting didn’t go great for me as I was informed “You don’t come and perform really well for 5-6 months and expect a pay rise, it has to be more pro-longed and consistent”.

I was also told that other people on lower salaries than myself are putting in more hours and taking on similar work (which I disagreed with). I did feel like leaving the company but instead I remained and that day I applied for more jobs. I understood that my bargaining power is much more if I remain in a job and apply than if I were to leave and apply. The best thing that came out of the meeting was my motivation to get another job, and within a week I managed to get a job at an increased pay with much shorter commute as the new job was in my own home town.

I also found out the manager’s manager who said all those things to me was eventually fired for reasons I don’t know. It just goes to show that the outcome of the Pay-rise meeting definitely did not go my way, but that was in the short run. In the long run it motivated me and gave me an incentive to go search for something greater which I then found. I was gutted after the meeting but little did I know the outcome was the best thing possible for me.”

KDR Recruitment is the home of the best data, technology and analytics jobs. For more career advice follow KDR on LinkedIn.

This blog was originally published on Linked. To read the original version please click here

Amy Saulino

June 7th, 2016 View my profile

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