Advice on how to ask for more money in the workplace

8 points by dottenad 12 years ago | 6 comments

Hi there,

I'm seeking advice on how to ask for more money in the workplace. I was recently given a raise that was less then desirable, even though I'm working on some of the highest valued projects within my company (and killing them, too.) I am a User Experience Designer in Seattle, WA. with 2 years experience. Any suggestions?

mcherm 12 years ago |

I would start with this:

First, research salaries in your area. In principle (practice never quite matches this) it's your SALARY that matters, not your RAISE. For instance, many companies give much smaller raises to employees who are already well paid for their job title.

But if you can find evidence (from GlassDoor, surveys, any source is reasonable) that your salary is below what would be expected for someone of your experience and skills (or is only slightly above average while you are well above average), then get together some notes showing this before you go talk to HR.

And don't go talk to HR. At most companies, they don't have the authority to set salaries. Talk to your boss. (At many companies your boss doesn't have the authority to change your salary either, but she DOES have the ability to go talk with those who CAN authorize it.)

Don't threaten (unless you are ACTUALLY seriously considering leaving). Just explain in a matter-of-fact way that you feel like your are achieving quite well, but you do not think that it has been recognized and reflected in your salary. If you have evidence that others in your city or state are paying better for the same role, then mention that. Then ask "Is there anything that you can do for me?" or better yes, "What is there that you can do for me about this?"

Then shut up. You WILL feel uncomfortable having this conversation. In fact, you probably should have practiced with your spouse or a friend so that you can sound smoother than you feel. Act like it's a perfectly normal conversation. But the truth is that your boss probably isn't comfortable with the conversation either (most managers aren't). So leave her hanging, and see what she says.

And be VERY open (you can even suggest this) to your boss taking some time to talk to people about it. Just don't leave it open-ended: set some reasonable deadline (2 weeks?). You can also be open to some creative solutions. Perhaps they can't change your salary, but they can offer you a bonus if you succeed at a major project. Perhaps they can't offer you a bigger raise but they might be able to give you some stock options. Encourage them to find some way to make you happier.

And after the discussion is over, be sure to communicate how you feel. If you think that they made a real effort to meet you half-way and you appreciate that, then say so. If they said there was nothing that they could do for you then let them know that you're not leaving (are you?) but that you are disappointed, and that you hope they will reconsider after you prove your worth on the projects you are now working one.

PS: If you find that your existing salary is actually a bit high for your current job title in your area, then you can still approach it, you just need to talk about the value you are adding to the project instead of the price that competitors pay.

dottenad 12 years ago | |

Hi mcherm,

Thanks for the advice.

I have come to a couple of conclusions, that I can either do like you said and have a frank conversation to say that I believe that I am achieving greater than my salary represents. Or that I can have a contract on the table with another employer, come back to my current employer, and let them know that that is what I'm worth on the market elsewhere. If they decide to match that number is wholly their decision, but at least I will have that piece of mind.

codeonfire 12 years ago |

If you want more money you have to go find a job that pays more money. High value projects get you better jobs somewhere else. The problem is you may not have any perspective on how your employer sees the situation. I suggest hiring someone to work for you even if you don't need to, like a maid or something. Experience the psychological roller coaster of trust/distrust and the utter unwillingness on your part to pay one more cent. Then I think you'll see that your boss's boss's boss by default wants to fire you no matter what you bring to the company. There is no one in your company, absolutely no one, that wants you to have more money or wants to give you more money. The only reason they gave you a raise is because there is a compensation department that is trained to look past the human aspect and psychopathic management and make a cold hard calculation of what $x dollars more per year will do to their numbers. The fact that those same cold, hard HR drones are also trained to make counter offers, if merely to screw over their competition, is the only minute chance you have of getting more money. So the point of this message is that you need to get out there and meet some people with money and forget about ever asking for more money where you're at.

mcherm 12 years ago | |

Wow, I get the sense that you had a really terrible experience someplace. I hope you get over it.

I do agree that there is a strong psychological component to the interactions with an employer over salary, and that it is good to keep this in mind when negotiating. But "forget about ever asking for more money where you're at" is demonstrably bad advice.

codeonfire 12 years ago | | |

It's not demonstrably. Asking for a raise you're not going to get after you just got one is going to get your name on all sorts of lists such "person unhappy with his or her compensation", "ungrateful employee", and "people that haven't learned the game yet." Is that worth an extra $1-2k per year if you can just get $10k more somewhere else? Even if a company did give a small retention raise the employee would just be docked at the next review time.