Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is – Asking For A Pay Rise

Salaries are not matching inflation rates. In fact, they haven’t done so for some time. This is causing money hungry Brits to find desperate new ways of saving or earning cold hard cash. It’s a tricky situation where the rich are getting rich and poor are getting poorer. But a good struggle makes us all wiser and when you are backed into a corner you usually find new and innovative solutions to ongoing problems.

Are We Too Shy?

It’s within our British nature to naturally worry about what other people think. We can be quite reserved and shy when it comes to certain subjects and that list of ‘taboo’ conversations is growing bigger every day. Whereas our friends across the pond celebrate success and confidence to a sickening degree, we still duck and dodge confrontation or difficult face to face conversations wherever possible. Hell, we even double check emails to make sure they are not too ‘strong’.

There’s one conversation that we’ve all psyched ourselves up for in the past and then bottled out at the last minute – when we have to ask for a pay rise. For some unknown reason there’s a negative stigma attached to asking for a pay rise, when there needn’t be.

When To Ask

The key to getting a pay rise is all about timing. If you’ve recently completely some great work on a big project at work or have been noted as excelling in a particular area, take advantage of the spotlight and use it as leverage to raise a conversation about pay. You can take the angle that you feel with your recent performance you feel you have proven you can contribute positively to the company and feel this shows you deserve a pay rise. The next obvious time to raise the conversation is at your annual review. Annual reviews should work both ways and if you’ve been waiting for the review to raise this conversation, don’t let the opportunity pass or it won’t come around for another year.

The Science

This is a clever tip. You might want to arrange a meeting for after lunch time to speak about your pay rise. The reason for this is because after lunch, your colleagues will have more blood sugars in their system and this can make them more open to conversation and discussion.

How Much Should You Ask For?

Rather than pulling a figure out of thin air, it’s always great to go into a meeting regarding a pay rise with a clear reason as to why you want the pay rise or why you might need it. Mathematically work it out and present it to your manager. They will be impressed to see that you’ve considered the increase you’re asking for and this will make them more open to reviewing it. Be honest, if you just want more money to help pay for a mortgage or credit card payments, tell them. It’s also good to try and get a feel for what salaries your colleagues are on, or look for examples or other companies within your industry and region and see if your salary is meeting the average for that particular role.

Whether you want a pay rise to pay off credit cards, a new car or just to pay for your commute, this guest blogger would remind you of one thing – what you don’t ask for, you don’t get.