How I Asked for a Raise and Got It

Two years ago I was doing the job of the guy who left and being paid for the job I had. You know how this goes. More work, same pay, and a small voice saying be glad you have a job. I was glad. I was also underpaid, and those two things can be true at once.

The turn was not anger. It was a note. I started a note in my phone called proof. Every time I did some thing new, led some thing, or fixed some thing that had been broken for months, one line went in the note. No feelings, just facts. By fall the note had thirty lines and I could not tell my self the old story any more.

I ran three numbers. One, my pay as an hourly wage, to see what my time was really worth. Two, the market rate for my role, from job ads I read like a hawk for a month. Three, the raise I would ask for, in pay per year and in percent.

The gap I found was about 15 percent. Not the 40 percent some post on the net promised me. Knowing it was 15 and not 40 kept me sane in the room. I asked for 15 with proof, not for the moon with vibes.

I also ran the other sum, the one my boss runs. What it would cost to replace me. A finder, months of training and the risk that the new hire is not as good. My ask was cheap next to that list. That list is the real case for any raise, so make it, even if you never say it out loud.

I booked time and I said the plan in three lines. Here is what I have taken on since my last pay review. Here is what that work is worth in the market. I would like to talk about a raise to match it. Then I stopped talking, which was the hardest part.

I did not threaten to leave. I did not bring my rent or my bills. My costs are my problem, not my bosses. I brought the note, the market range and the ask. When the first answer was not a yes but a let me look, I said great, when can we talk again, and I set the next date in the room.

Two weeks later I had 12 of the 15, with the rest at my next review. I took it. A good first deal beats a perfect no deal.

I would start the proof note on day one, not month nine. I would also ask sooner, since the note had a full season of proof by the time I got brave. Brave late is still brave, but brave early pays more.

Last, I would have known my next move if it had been a no. A no with a date is a plan. A no with no date is a sign to look out, calm and slow, while you still like the place. Either way, the note and the sums are yours to keep. No one can take those back.

If you want to see what a raise is worth per hour, per month and per year, my raise calculator does that in one tap. Run it before the meeting. It is easier to ask for a number you can see.