How to ask for a raise!

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You've been working very hard, but you don't think you're paid enough. It's the story of all our lives! Don't wait any longer. Let your boss know that you want a raise NOW. Here's how you should do it...

Not happy? Show it.

For starters, bosses love to think they are keeping their employees happy. It's a way of feeling good about themselves, you know. So if you are not happy with your salary, make that clear. The key is to do it is without sulking, b**ching or shirking responsibility.

In the boardroom…

You don't want to ambush your boss. You don't want to put him on the spot or make him feel uncomfortable. If you do, you can clean forget about that raise.

Instead, give him a prior warning. You could send him an email informing him that you would like to have a chat with him about your performance and expectations on the job. This would give him a fair idea of where the discussion is going to go and he can prepare himself in advance.

Justify the pay hike

After your little chat, don't expect him to say, "Sure. How about a 50% hike?" That's probably not going to happen. You need to justify your demands by:

1. Explaining your Key Result Areas, Targets and Achievements clearly.
2. Preparing a presentation that includes graphs, figures etc to show him your progress over the past six months to one year.
3. Making a list of the additional responsibilities you have handled and how you faired in them.
   
   

Know what you want

If you don't know what you expect, how will your boss know? Go into the meeting with a figure or percentage hike in mind.

If you've met expectations, you can look at a 15% raise but if you've exceeded expectations, a 25 to 30% raise would be great.

Just remember, this also varies from sector to sector. So check out what the current market standards are and match your expectations with that.

Talk greener pastures

If you've been unhappy with your salary for a while, you have probably been job hunting already and have a feel of the market. If you've got any good opportunities you could also subtly mention that in this meeting. If you are valuable enough to your company, your company will want to match or even surpass those offers.

What not to do:

1. Do not compare your salary with another co-worker's. It'll make you come off as jealous and competitive (and not in a good way)!
2. Do not sight personal/ lifestyle reasons such as 'I need to pay my maid' as a reason for a pay hike.
3. Do not make unreasonable demands expecting your boss to cut you down a bit. [Ergo, don't ask for a 100% hike.] At the same time, be open to a little compromise.
4. Do not threaten to leave the company if you do not get a raise. It makes you look cheap and your boss just might turn around and say, "Then why don't you quit?"
5. Do not fib about better opportunities. It could backfire.
   
   

Do you have a great appraisal story or tips you used to get a good pay hike? Leave us a coment and let us know.