SAN ANTONIO — You have probably noticed your bills have gone up and it would be nice to have a bit more money. Now is a good time to make that ask.
“Inflation has been running hot of late, really some of the highest levels in four decades and so I think there has arisen an expectation among many workers that their job should provide them with essentially equivalent pay raises,” said Mark Hamrick, an economic analyst with Bankrate.com. “It’s a ripe time to promote from within and essentially build strength from within the organization. It’s a great time for workers.”
Inflation provides a solid reason and hard numbers to justify a raise.
“If you say: “Look X inflation has occurred, so what I make now is compared to what it would have been last year, I’m actually making less money and as a result, I’m asking for X percent raise,’” said Andres Lares, a veteran negotiator at the Shapiro Negotiations Institute. “That actually makes it a little bit easier.”
The key is to be prepared with data to support the raise you want.
“There’s so many tools we have at our disposal to find what we call precedence,” said Lares. “What are other people getting paid in that role? What are other people getting paid geographically in the same areas?”
Data will help you make the ask with confidence.
“Nothing convinces like conviction,” Lares said. “If you’re not confident asking for a raise, certainly you’re a lot less likely to get it form your employer.”
Highlight your achievements, but also emphasize your coming plans.
“I think all too often we kind of look back and say this is what I’ve done recently, but if you put yourself in the employer’s shoes, it’s actually kind of a little bit less about what you’ve done in the past and more what you’re expected to do in the future,” Lares said.
Consider asking for more than just money.
“If you’re negotiating over multiple things at one time, for example, title, salary, time off, ability to work remotely, the number of direct reports, all of these things, you could negotiate potentially a lot more. What happens is then you start kind of trading the things that are most important to you with the least important to the company,” Lares said.
Always ask nicely.
“It’s not give me this or I’m leaving,” Lares said. “You could say: ‘Look, this is really important and based on where I am right now, how can you help me get there? How can we work together to get there?’ Still kind of a collaborative approach, but saying, pretty importantly, we need to get there.”
It makes it more likely your boss will go the extra mile to meet your request.
Yet, your organization may not be able to you a raise. The alternative is to begin a job search.
“I don’t think every enterprise, every employer is going to provide a pay raise equivalent to the recent steep increase in inflation,” Hamrick said. “For many people the way to find higher pay is to look for a new job. I think many people are resolved to find new work and to get higher pay. For many, I think they will be successful. We’ve seen recently a record number of job openings in our country in recent months.”
One may be a good fit for you.
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