Asking for a raise

amother

Sat, Jun 25 2011, 8:35 pm

Can I ask for a raise if my company is not doing so well but can afford to raise my salary? My responsibilities and contribution to the company have remained the same. I do office work-my work load is the same. My company has not been doing all that well, things have gotten a little slower but they pay others more and I know they can afford to pay me at least a couple of dollars more per hour. Does one always have to have a list of how the company has prospered by them working there or some such thing to prove ones worth to the company when asking for a raise????? Or can I ask just because I feel I'm worth more and they can afford to pay me more? How often can one ask for a raise???? If my boss says no, I'm not ready to leave so then do I look really desperate and foolish-so is it better not to ask???

yummymummy

Sat, Jun 25 2011, 8:51 pm

I don't see why you can't speak to your boss about a raise now. You can point out how long you've been working for the company, how well you do your job, etc. and see how he responds. If he says the company is not doing well and it's not possible right now, you can say that you understand and would it be ok to revisit the issue in x number of months? Make sure to mention in your conversation that you enjoy working there - you don't want him thinking he's going to have a disgruntled employee on his hands now. Good luck!

ora_43

Sat, Jun 25 2011, 8:56 pm

I think you'd be better off framing your request in terms of what you've accomplished and what the industry average is, than in terms of what they can afford.

I don't think you need to have some special accomplishment that led to concrete earnings for the company, though. More like, "Over the past X years I have gained valuable work experience, and management has been pleased with my performance," something like that.

Mrs Bissli

Sat, Jun 25 2011, 9:08 pm

I don't see any harm in asking for a raise. But you'd better have a GOOD convincing reason why you deserve one. This can be the fact someone who is doing a comparable job/similar position to yours is getting more (you need to be pretty certain your colleagues are indeed being paid more, AND their workload/responsibility are comparable to yours), or if you have tangible contribution you made (solved some tricky situations, worked more efficiently than others, trained/mentored new joiner/juniors etc. ) Having said that, working for a same company for a long time, per se, doesn't really work as the primary reason for asking for a raise. (You know what they say in the business world--if you want loyalty, hire a dog.)

You'll need to consider HOW MUCH raise you're asking for. It's up to your boss to use the company's poor performance as an excuse not to give you a raise. You can either persevere (if you think you're massively underpaid and are quite certain the company can afford to give you some raise). Remember this is a negotiation. If you can't get the cash raise today, you can show flexibility in asking for a lump-sum bonus at year-end, or alternative perks like extra time off, or off-site training etc.

Good luck!