5 Ways to Advocate for Getting a Raise at Work

Most would agree that asking for a raise at work is a daunting task, and nowadays a lot of companies simply aren’t even offering appropriate compensation for their hard-working employees at all. So what are you supposed to do when you feel like it’s time for your boss to pay up for all your hard work? Before you consider leaving the company altogether, here are some tips you can use to advocate for yourself when asking for a raise!

Use the Data to Your Advantage – You know you deserve a raise…now you just need to make your boss know that too. Fortunately this is a much easier task when you have concrete numbers to back you up. For example, did you exceed your sales goal in the last financial quarter? Or maybe you single-handedly grew the company’s social media accounts by 200%? The numbers will do the talking for you.

Research Market Rates for Your Title – Most workers nowadays are being underpaid compared to what their labor is actually worth. To prepare for your review, do a bit of research on what other people with your title are making on average where you live. Additionally, some companies intentionally give their same-title employees different starting salaries in order to save money in the hopes that they won’t notice or think to ask about it.

Be Smart About When You Ask – If your company does employee reviews at a specific time every year, then you don’t have much to worry about here. However, if your company is like many others and doesn’t offer raises at all, this will apply more to you. Take into consideration how the company has been performing over the last six months or so. For example, did they just go through a round of layoffs and budget cuts? If so, now probably isn’t the best time to ask for a raise because you already know what the answer will be. On the contrary, if the CEO just raved about how well the company is doing in the last all-hands meeting, use that to your advantage!

Show Initiative – Unfortunately your boss likely won’t care much if you address them using the (totally reasonable) concerns of the rising cost of living in your city. They simply won’t want to give you a raise unless they see something in it for the company. This is where it’s important to show initiative by stating where you could help the company grow and which skills you’re learning to help you get there.

Know Your Worth – If at the end of the day you’ve tried all of these tips and your boss still won’t budge on paying you what you’re worth even when you know the company is in a great spot financially, it might be time to start shopping around for other job opportunities!