Promoted but no talk of raise; how can I approach this?

October 9, 2017 11:32 AM

I have been at the position for less than a year and when the team was restructured, I was offered the position of manager of said team. While I am happy to be given the opportunity in such a short amount of time, there has been no talk of raise and I am unsure how to go about it.

The promotion came at a time of significant changes and the actual process of it, such as updating the title and transferring over duties and direct reports to me is still ongoing, as there is a lot of red tape that goes along with it.

I am happy with the new role, although things have been very stressful given the short amount of time I've been at this job, as now I have to navigate a "double field" of the technical aspect of the job, for which knowledge/learning is ongoing by nature, and managing others how to do theirs.

I have been announced my new responsibilities etc, but there has been no talk of raise at all.
I did make a rookie mistake, as I was taken aback by the offer, and I did not ask about a raise (if any) when I was offered the promotion, and my boss has said nothing at all about it. I was naively expecting them to address it after I accepted but although the change has been officially announced, no raise has been mentioned yet.

I have my weekly meeting this week with my boss and I think this is my opportunity to bring it up, except I feel unsure on how to do it.

My main hang up is that I don't want to come off as ungrateful, because the promotion happened so quickly and I greatly appreciate the confidence they are showing in me.

I will have my year review at the end of this year and that's typically when a raise would happen, but that would mean I would be doing a lot more (stressful)work for months, for the same money as before.

While I do find that unfair, I am not sure if I would be "entitled"(so to speak) to both a role raise and an end-of-year raise, but I don't want to rob myself out of that opportunity if that is the case.

Is there a way to approach this without sounding greedy or ungrateful? Unfortunately and stereotypically, I find money conversations very uncomfortable and I want to be as prepared as possible before having this conversation.

Is a raise typically expected if someone gets promoted to manager before the end of their first year with a company? And if I ask, and they tell me that the raise will come at the completion of my first year (in a few months), is this something to push back on or should I just wait?
I welcome any experience or insight you may have on this.

posted by ariadne_88 to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Alison at askamanager has discussed this several times.

Here is an older article about it, and a more recent one that has some applicable language.

In your case, you have lost some negotiating power since you're already in the job, but it's never too late to have this conversation. You need to reshape it in your head though - it's not "greedy or ungrateful", it's a standard business conversation you're having due to a standard business thing happening.
posted by brainmouse at 12:05 PM on October 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: A raise is expected with ANY promotion, so don't go about feeling weird or unusual about it. Honestly, you have every right to even be annoyed that your boss didn't bring up a raise as a matter of course when initially discussing it with you.

Re this: "...to both a role raise and an end-of-year raise, but I don't want to rob myself out of that opportunity if that is the case." From my perspective, ALWAYS negotiate whatever raise is most available to you, in isolation of future raises. Future raises are not guaranteed (unless you have it in writing / a contract). So negotiate this raise.

This would be my actual phrasing. "Hi boss. I'm super excited about this new role. I've been enjoying taking care of X, Y, Z new tasks. I realized that in the speed of this promotion, we didn't get a chance to discuss a raise. When would be a good time to talk about this?" You might even email this to them ahead of your meeting, if you're more comfortable with that. That might give them a heads up and an opportunity to talk to HR about their budget. It would also lock you into talking about it, as it's easy to chicken out when actually sitting in front of your boss (ask me how I know :) )

So when you do actually talk, you can say "So what were you thinking in terms of an increase to match this new role?" Since you're not super comfortable with negotiation/money talks, remember that you can always feel free to ask for time to think things over. WHATEVER he/she says, you have no need to answer in the moment. You can always say, "I'm so grateful for this information and for this offer, let me think on this for a day or so, could we talk again tomorrow?"

Typically, a 10% increase at least (in my field [design, tech]) is expected with any promotion/title jump. Once you've decided if you want to accept the presented raise, have a phrase you can repeat "Because of the expanded responsibilities and my expertise in X, Y, Z areas, a raise of X% seems appropriate. What do you think?" Have a script that goes "[Validation of what they just said or gratitude for the new role] + [assertion of what you think is commensurate with the responsibilities] + [request for honest feedback of what you just said.]"

Be prepared for how you'll handle it if they say they are not offering a raise. Personally, I think that is high bullshit and you should fight hard against that. Have a phrase you'd say, "I'm not comfortable taking on more responsibility without an industry-standard increase in pay. How can we resolve this?"

YOU CAN DO THIS. This is your career, your money, your life. You deserve the biggest increase you can get.
posted by Uncle Glendinning at 12:26 PM on October 9, 2017 [7 favorites]

Best answer: They are expecting more of you and not paying you any more - they are the ones in the wrong. You are not wrong for asking for the money you deserve. If they are confident enough in you to give you more responsibility, the time you have been with the company should not matter. In my experience, promotions between normal review cycles absolutely get a 10 percent raise at minimum. Just because you have an end of year review does not mean that your pay would change on January 1st, either. Many companies wait until after the review is complete and that ends up being Feb 1st or March 1st.
posted by soelo at 12:29 PM on October 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

Oh I just thought of a couple more things since this is like my favorite topic. Don't feel the need to explain or over-explain or apologize. Don't explain why you haven't asked earlier - that was their responsibility! Don't (over)explain why you deserve a raise. A great technique especially if you feel nervous - say your thing, then STOP TALKING.

Just state your case succinctly - the exact phrasing really doesn't matter that much - then wait for what they have to say.

If they disagree with you ("Ah, raises aren't standard with this promotion") you can just say what you said before again, maybe phrased differently ("OK, I hear what you're saying, however, my value to the company has increased in light of this promotion. Therefore from my perspective, a raise reflects this increased value. What do you think?")

If they say, "We'll discuss a raise during your yearly review" you can say, "Thank you, I am looking forward to the review as I want to continue to grow in this role. As I mentioned, I'm already excelling in this role and because of the increased responsibilities, an increase of 10% seems appropriate now, what do you think?" Also, listen to some Beyonce or something before the meeting!
posted by Uncle Glendinning at 3:16 PM on October 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

If they say that more money isn't possible, then demand more vacation days.
posted by bonobothegreat at 7:52 PM on October 9, 2017 [1 favorite]