How to ask for a raise — 3 things to help your chances | ITK: Need to Know

When it comes time to ask for a raise, some employees may be intimidated or might not know the proper steps to take in order confidently and effectively get the pay increase they’re looking for.

Career coach Emily Rezkalla (@coachemrez on TikTok) is ready to prepare you for that moment with the best practices to use when asking for a raise. 

“This could be your first time asking for a raise, so you could be scared of the unknown, the unpredictability or even just where to start,” she said. “I’m going to give it to you straight. The worst case scenario is they say, ‘no.’ That’s very unlikely if you implement these three things.”

Three helpful tips when asking for a raise

Here is her three-step formula that will help you get a raise. 

  1. Write down why you deserve a raise

“Notice how I didn’t say, ‘want a raise.’” Rezkalla says. “You do deserve the raise. You just need to break it down into the why and why it’s going to benefit your manager.”

The best way to go about this is by breaking it down by time frame. By organizing your points this way, managers will be able to see growth in that time span — even if it’s only been a month. 

  1. Know how much money to ask for

In order to accomplish this, you have to do research on what the average salary for your role is. That number, combined with your current salary, is a good starting point for negotiations. Furthermore, you should also take into account what the standard percent of a pay raise is to help get a realistic expectation. 

According to Rezkalla, a good pay raise range is from 4% to 5%. However, she notes that if you want to be in this range, the reasons you wrote down in step one have to be great. 

“The higher percent you ask for, the better reasons and proposal you should have,” she says.

  1. Put your pay raise request in writing

“It’s very important that you have a written proposal in front of you that you can speak to once you get to the point of asking for the raise,” Rezkalla says. 

This is key as different managers have all kinds of communication skills. Having a written proposal also allows for flexibility when it comes to presenting it to your manager. 

Bonus tip: Follow up on the request

While this isn’t an official step in the formula, Rezkalla says it’s important to set a time to circle back on your request. 

“If they said ‘no,’ do not worry,” she says. “I’d like to think that it’s never a ‘no,’ just a ‘not yet.’ You need to make sure to ask your manager for the right feedback.” 

On the other hand, if you received the raise, then you can celebrate and take the points discussed throughout negotiations to set yourself up for another raise in the future. 

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