Asking For More

We oftentimes talk a lot about negotiating salary when there is a job offer, however, what about when we are staying in our current role? How can we make these conditions work in our favor?

If you have been in your role for some time, you do not necessarily need to wait for a raise to be given to you. Not being satisfied with pay is one of the top reasons I see clients looking for a new role. But have you asked for more?

Here is how to make our current conditions work for you.

• Collect Your Positive Praise and Feedback. Be sure to show up to this meeting prepared with positive praise and comments that you have received since your last performance review. Have any data/ metrics that you can attribute? Be sure to bring those as well.
• Be ready to discuss your value. That is, the value you intend to bring to your team and why paying you more is a win-win for the organization. Conduct research based on your industry, career level, location, and qualifications. This should produce some data providing an idea of the salary you are earning and requesting are fair and reasonable. Some points to consider when preparing yourself:
• How has your company or department directly benefited from your work? Get specific.
• Did your team play a role in increasing sales by X% recently? Did you bring in Y new clients? Is the team you oversee bigger than it was last year?
• Were you included in any important projects? What were they and what role did you play? Who were the clients? What were the outcomes?
• Over the past year (or the past week, month, etc.) when did you receive positive feedback? What was it? Are there any trends in the feedback you receive?
• Consider What You’ll Bring to the Team in the Coming Year (and Beyond). You are asking for this raise because you have demonstrated that you will go above and beyond in your current role, but your boss also wants to hear that you are in it for the long haul. They are not looking for you to leave in the next few months or even a year. It is imperative that you demonstrate not only what you can do in the short-term but the long-term as well and how that will positively impact the business. How do you plan to continue growing within the company if you do get this raise? Spend some time thinking about where you want your career to go.
• Think About Why Your Boss Would Want to Give You More Money. What’s in it for her or him? Would giving you the raise ensure that they have a stable person in the role? Would it mean that you could advance into a management role? Would your raise prevent the possibility of you leaving and turnover and the drawn-out costly application process? Would your promotion include you being more client-focused? Put yourself in your boss’ shoes. What are their priorities? What does success look like for them and your team/department? If you can tie your raise to reasons that are also good for your boss, that’s a win-win.
• Know exactly what you want. Are you asking just for a raise or more PTO, benefits, etc. as well? Be sure to show up prepared and ready to ask for exactly what you want. You may want to have a range or an exact number. I always spend time with my clients looking at the market value of the role so you’re basing your ask off of some data and preparing yourself well.
• Now, it’s time to schedule a meeting with your manager/ boss. Be sure you have a date on the calendar. This will also give you a goal in mind because now you can practice your ask!
• Practicing Your Ask. This is also the value of working with a Career Coach because you can receive the guidance necessary in practicing and learning how to negotiate. I set up practice sessions with my clients in the same way mock interviews are done. We record them and feedback is provided so you can watch them and practice further.
• Remember, be honest. Only take credit in your work where credit is due but do not sell yourself short, either! 

Negotiation is an invaluable career and communication skill. Once you learn how to negotiate for a salary once, you can do it over and over again continually aligning your value with your organization’s and ensuring you are being your worth. You can also utilize the skill in difficult professional (co-workers!) or personal (family!) situations to your advantage.