How and when to ask for a pay raise?
- by Nico
When should one ask for a pay raise?
Will I know when the time is right for a pay raise? or should I just think "I deserve a pay raise for X and Y."
When would be a moment to ask for a pay grade?
For instance, if you are in a company that outsources to others, could it be the right moment to ask when they move you to a different physical workplace? Maybe a few weeks/months after you started working as a consultant at the client?
Should you ask for one after engaging new technologies or something you've never worked with before?
In short, should you ask for a raise for a "business motive" (they move you, they assign you new responsibilities), a "professional motive" (you are required to learn new languages or technologies), or a "personal motive" (you are having twins, your mother died and you need to arrange the funeral), or are all of the above potentially valid motives?
How should one ask for it?
Asking for a pay raise can be difficult for some people, how you deal with this? Do you just walk up to your manager and tell him "I need more money", "I think I deserve a pay raise"?
Do you suggest you might have other offers on the table?
Couldn't this be counterproductive if you actually really want to stay in the company you are in (because you like the environment, made a few friends, and like all the features they give you besides your pay grade; say: free sodas, parties, after-offices that happen pretty often, a ps3 you can grab when you are tired or want to chill out, courses, english classes, football games, etc, etc. [these would be my reasons not to leave]).
I mean, how would you ask for a pay raise, effectively, but without pretending to threaten to leave the company if you don't get it? Because you don't actually want to.
How would you deal with their answer?
If they tell you they don't think you deserve a raise, would you ask for their reasons, would you get furious and trash the room?
If they give you their reasons why they think you don't deserve a pay raise yet, would you discuss this with them or just take their opinion as factual?
What if they ask you how much more you think you deserve to be being paid? Should you have thought this before-hand, or expect them to set the new grade?
If they do agree to a pay raise, should you expect extra work to be thrown your way, or should everything remain the same, except your pay grade?
