8 Mistakes to Avoid When Asking for a Pay Raise

1. Avoid open negotiations

Not everyone can come to the leader and directly state their desires. Therefore, hints or even passive aggression are often used. For example, a person may constantly mention that he is hunchbacked for a penny.

But this whole arsenal is no good if you want get there. Because it is unlikely that you work in a club for puzzle lovers. Decide on a meeting and openly voice your wishes.

2. Choose the wrong time and place

Every company has internal regulations, regulations and so on. It's important to fit in.

Suppose an organization is engaged in seasonal work with a decline in earnings in the fall. From September to November, the firm does not have much profit. It is expected in the future, but not guaranteed. At the point of a financial downturn, discussing a raise is not always a good idea. But after the completion of successful projects, especially if the employee played a significant role in this, it is excellent.

It is also worth observing subordination. Of course, you can accidentally meet the CEO of a corporation in an elevator and try to discuss the issue with him. But it is unlikely that he himself will rush to decide the fate of a line employee. And if so, direct management may not understand such an attempt to jump over your head.

In a word, the issue must be approached with tact and calculation. Do not contact your boss corporate party or write suddenly in the messenger. These things are not talked about in a hurry. Schedule a meeting. At the same time, it is better to designate the agenda so that the manager does not worry. The laconic “We need to talk” sounds bad not only in romantic relationships.

Get ready, think over the arguments. A list of specific achievements can be drawn up on paper so that the interlocutor has something to rely on other than your words. Probably, the boss will take a break to think about resolving the issue. With such handouts, it will be easier for him. In general, don't discount the fact that the person knows you and how you work. Present yourself as an investment project in which it is profitable to invest.

3. Talk about a pay rise after a series of mistakes

Nobody is perfect, everyone are wrong. But pay increases for valuable employees. Therefore, if something went wrong, it is better to give yourself time to correct the situation in order to be on horseback by the time of the conversation.

Separately, it is worth noting that the argument "I miscalculated, but after the salary increase I will correct" is weak. Because making as little mistakes as possible is already part of the job responsibilities.

4. Operate with emotions, not facts

Discussing a pay raise with your boss is normal. But the employee must have convincing arguments why he deserves it. If he has taken or is ready to take on new work responsibilities, shows outstanding results and can confirm them with numbers, these are good reasons to discuss a change in earnings.

At the same time, emotional arguments are unlikely to help, they are less objective. For example, “Pashu like a horse” is a feeling that is not necessarily confirmed by deeds. The words “I spend most of my time working in the department” are also not strong enough: maybe the rest of them just do their tasks faster. Facts and figures work better than emotions.

You can prepare something like this:

• “Over the past six months, I brought in 15% more clients than before. And the average check grew by 5%.
• “Last year, I not only fulfilled my duties, but also helped with adaptation of newcomers. I liked these tasks, in the future I would like to continue. But I think it’s appropriate to talk about increasing earnings.”
• “After the dismissal of employee N, part of his duties fell on me. I can handle the load, but it's gotten bigger."

5. Emphasize needs, not merit

We decided that it is important to back up arguments with facts. But they should be about achievements at work, not needs outside of it.

Let's say it might seem normal for someone to ask for a raise because they took mortgagegot a baby and so on. But this is a personal choice of a person, the employer is not obliged to serve his decisions. Pay increases when the employee is beneficial to the company. Highlight this benefit.

6. Asking for too much

Of course, money is not superfluous. But sometimes the company simply cannot satisfy the wishes of the employee. So it is important to stay “on the banks” and ask for a real amount.

First you need to honestly assess your level and understand how much a specialist of such qualification can receive if he enters the free market. It should be remembered that this is a hypothetical income, which, if job change you either have it or you don't. But you will already receive some guideline for negotiations based on the results of your research.

At the same time, it is important to rely on the financial capabilities of the company as a whole. If on average people get 40 thousand, it is unlikely that they will give you an increase of up to 150. If this secret is carefully hidden within the organization, then you can see the numbers in the vacancies that it places.

Achievements that are confirmed by numbers will help determine a more specific amount. For example, if you began to bring in 15% more money to the company, you may also deserve 15% more salary.

In general, it is better to focus on a figure of 15-25%, because it does not cause dissonance: the employer can accept that you have become a quarter more efficient. But the request to double income usually looks strange: it is unlikely that someone suddenly began to solve twice as many tasks.

7. threaten to leave

It happens that a person finds a vacancy that is interesting to him, goes to interview and receives an invitation to work in another company. He informs his current employer of his plans. And he is persuaded to stay, offering new conditions. This situation is all right. If an employee is not satisfied with his place and he warns the manager that he is going nowhere, there are also no problems in general.

But they appear if the employee begins to blackmail the authorities with dismissal, but is not ready to leave. After all, if you agree to say goodbye to him or the company does not have the opportunity to change the conditions, you will either have to leave or beg to return everything as it was.

It seems that technically the situations differ little. But in the first two cases, a person really intends to change his place, this is not blackmail, but a designation of his position. The employer can proceed from this data. In the third (and the circumstances will surely come to light) it is an attempt manipulation. Nobody likes that. A normal leader wants to build healthy relationships in the team, where there is no place for such things. So, with a high degree of probability, he will simply prefer to part with such an employee. There is a risk of receiving a complete absence of salary instead of a salary increase.

8. Accept rejection aggressively

It happens that the manager cannot do anything right now or agrees to a smaller salary increase than the employee expected. This is not a reason for a quarrel. Negotiations to increase payments, like any other, can end in different ways. It remains to draw conclusions and think about how to proceed further - to leave or find out the reasons why the answer is just that, and correct the shortcomings. In any case, the authorities received the information and can return to the conversation at the most unexpected moment.

And spoiling relationships in a business environment is definitely not worth it. You never know how it will work networking. It is better to thank for the conversation, because it was still useful.