Help me ask for a raise!
July 18, 2016 5:30 AM Subscribe
I need help with wording. I have worked with my organization for nearly 6 years. This fall I will have my annual review, and after this I will get a raise. We always get a small cost of living raise (2.5% roughly) but I also was promoted at the start of the summer to a more supervisory position. I will get a raise for this as well, but last time I got a promotion the raise was minimal. I never negotiated or asked for more, because others on my level were making similar. But this time I want to ask for more.
I have heard that a raise to a supervisory position like this would warrant 5-10%. I guess you could say I am "third ranked" in our division but our organization is much more collaborative and less hierarchical than how that sounds. I have read things about how to ask for a raise but it seems like the wording for these is always focused on how many "projects I've spearheaded" or how much "money I've made for the company". My job/company isn't really like that. It's a really small organization and we do consulting for special ed programs within schools.
My boss has never been transparent about these things; even during the review, he does not say, "you will get a raise of X". Instead, he says nothing, and I later go to the office manager and ask what my new salary is. How can I bring this up during the review? And how much is reasonable to ask for?
I have heard that a raise to a supervisory position like this would warrant 5-10%. I guess you could say I am "third ranked" in our division but our organization is much more collaborative and less hierarchical than how that sounds. I have read things about how to ask for a raise but it seems like the wording for these is always focused on how many "projects I've spearheaded" or how much "money I've made for the company". My job/company isn't really like that. It's a really small organization and we do consulting for special ed programs within schools.
My boss has never been transparent about these things; even during the review, he does not say, "you will get a raise of X". Instead, he says nothing, and I later go to the office manager and ask what my new salary is. How can I bring this up during the review? And how much is reasonable to ask for?
Best answer: You have to put a little squeeze on.
Put yourself together a 3-6-slide presentation (these slides can be only in your notes or your head, if actual Powerpoint would be awkward) that is basically a sales pitch for yourself and your accomplishments, and at the end of your pitch *actually say a number*. If at all possible, if you can get a hold of any general salary data, provide that information (you want to suggest, but not quite say out loud, that if you applied for jobs right now, you could get $X and isn't that worth not losing you to another job?).
All they can do is say no. If you don't say anything, if you sell yourself and wait for them to acknowledge your brilliance and offer you that money on their own, there's nothing for them to say no to...so they won't say anything. This is just the way of the world. Unless there is an extremely formalized escalation structure, which is traditional in a few industries but not most, spontaneous raises are almost always motivated by fear that you have a) seen that job posting from the competitor b) found out how much you are underpaid compared to your colleagues. If they have any reason to assume complacency on your part - like if you never bring it up - they're not going to spend that money.
There's a reason your boss never says a number. It could be that budgets are such that you get what you get and there's no room for negotiation, but...it's expensive to bring in a replacement for a good employee. If it comes down to it, they'll spend more on you before they spend it on some unknown new hire.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:27 AM on July 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
Put yourself together a 3-6-slide presentation (these slides can be only in your notes or your head, if actual Powerpoint would be awkward) that is basically a sales pitch for yourself and your accomplishments, and at the end of your pitch *actually say a number*. If at all possible, if you can get a hold of any general salary data, provide that information (you want to suggest, but not quite say out loud, that if you applied for jobs right now, you could get $X and isn't that worth not losing you to another job?).
All they can do is say no. If you don't say anything, if you sell yourself and wait for them to acknowledge your brilliance and offer you that money on their own, there's nothing for them to say no to...so they won't say anything. This is just the way of the world. Unless there is an extremely formalized escalation structure, which is traditional in a few industries but not most, spontaneous raises are almost always motivated by fear that you have a) seen that job posting from the competitor b) found out how much you are underpaid compared to your colleagues. If they have any reason to assume complacency on your part - like if you never bring it up - they're not going to spend that money.
There's a reason your boss never says a number. It could be that budgets are such that you get what you get and there's no room for negotiation, but...it's expensive to bring in a replacement for a good employee. If it comes down to it, they'll spend more on you before they spend it on some unknown new hire.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:27 AM on July 18, 2016 [1 favorite]
As far as actual words, you can either go with, "Right now, it looks like the market rate for this position, plus the value of my internal knowledge, is X" or "At this point in time, I think an appropriate compensation level is X".
posted by Lyn Never at 7:35 AM on July 18, 2016
posted by Lyn Never at 7:35 AM on July 18, 2016
How can I bring this up during the review?
By getting a competing job offer, presenting it, and seeing what your employer will do about it. Be prepared to take that competing job offer.
You're in a organization that has fixed revenue regardless of performance (and given school budgets these days, possibly declining fixed revenue). Hence, your value as an employee is more or less fixed, as has been reflected in your lack of salary increase outside cost-of-living. Your organization is likely built on the model of hiring people more motivated by the work than by the compensation (any manager that doesn't talk about compensation regularly is doing their job poorly). Because their revenue is not results-based, it is generally beneficial for the organization to hire a new employee at a cheaper rate than it is to give an existing employee a raise.
That's business. You need to view your organization as a business and find a new job. You can attempt to negotiate based on that new offer. I give you incredibly low odds of succeeding, but I also view it as the only chance of succeeding. The fact that your organization gave you a "promotion" without any consideration of compensation and the fact that your manager apparently views being paid as a fringe benefit of your job indicates solidifies this in my mind.
Go get a new job.
posted by saeculorum at 7:46 AM on July 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
By getting a competing job offer, presenting it, and seeing what your employer will do about it. Be prepared to take that competing job offer.
You're in a organization that has fixed revenue regardless of performance (and given school budgets these days, possibly declining fixed revenue). Hence, your value as an employee is more or less fixed, as has been reflected in your lack of salary increase outside cost-of-living. Your organization is likely built on the model of hiring people more motivated by the work than by the compensation (any manager that doesn't talk about compensation regularly is doing their job poorly). Because their revenue is not results-based, it is generally beneficial for the organization to hire a new employee at a cheaper rate than it is to give an existing employee a raise.
That's business. You need to view your organization as a business and find a new job. You can attempt to negotiate based on that new offer. I give you incredibly low odds of succeeding, but I also view it as the only chance of succeeding. The fact that your organization gave you a "promotion" without any consideration of compensation and the fact that your manager apparently views being paid as a fringe benefit of your job indicates solidifies this in my mind.
Go get a new job.
posted by saeculorum at 7:46 AM on July 18, 2016 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks all. Just to follow up if anyone is still reading this, I don't want a new job. I am already compensated very well in the field, probably better than any other offer I might find. Also the company is very small and seems to place a lot of value on finding good people and keeping them ( which is why I don't think they're likely to hire someone's else who could do the job for less, but I agree that they should be talking about compensation instead of it being a big secret/fringe benefit).
I guess I was just struggling with how to bring it up since I've never done it before and the "big boss" seems uncomfortable talking about it. I agree with you that he shouldn't be. Thanks again.
posted by chela at 7:58 AM on August 18, 2016
I guess I was just struggling with how to bring it up since I've never done it before and the "big boss" seems uncomfortable talking about it. I agree with you that he shouldn't be. Thanks again.
posted by chela at 7:58 AM on August 18, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
I would ask specifically in my review what to expect and go from there. Maybe it will be reasonable. If not, ask for what you think is reasonable citing your own work and responsibilities as well as how well the company is doing.
posted by AugustWest at 7:04 AM on July 18, 2016