How to Negotiate a Pay Rise
Having a pay rise is something which can seem to be rather rare these days. Many people no longer get offered pay rises or they have to work really hard to get one. If you are not automatically assessed for one each year or so, then it can be worth thinking of how you could negotiate your way to one.
Find out company policy
It is good to find out what the company policy is for pay rises and how they choose when to give them and who to. Look in your employment contract to find out about it. If you cannot find it there or it is not very clear, then speak to the people you work with. Find out whether they have had pay rises and what they did to be able to get one. It can be very useful to observe those who have had rises and those who haven’t to see whether they are doing something different with regards to their behaviour, that may explain it. Also ask them about their approach etc and see whether you can figure out why one got a rise and the other did not. You can learn a lot for this, but try to do it discretely as you do not want your boss knowing that you are looking or a rise until you are ready to speak to them about it. They might judge you based on this and may feel that it is not the right way to go about things.
Show your worth
It is important that you can demonstrate to your boss that you deserve a pay rise. How you do this will depend on the nature of your work, however, you basically want to make sure that you do your job as well as possible, efficiently and on time. That you treat others well and that you help out when needed. Also make sure that you arrive at work on time, work your expected hours or more and dress appropriately. It can also help if you are always polite and friendly and steer away from gossip, which can be difficult in some jobs. If overtime is needed then offer to do it and help out with everything you can from keeping the place tidy and making rounds of drinks to cheering people up and motivating them. Anything that you are doing to make yourself or others work harder and more efficiently will be worth trying.
Speak to your boss
Once you have started to show that you are enthusiastic about your job and want to work hard, then you should talk to your boss. It can be worth figuring out when they tend to be in the best mood. You may work closely with them and therefore know whether they are happier on certain days of the week, at certain times of the day or just when work is going well or whatever. If you do not work closely with them, it is trickier to figure these things out, but you may still be able to make a few observations. So pick the time that you approach them carefully. Explain to them that you feel you deserve a pay rise, remind them how long you have been working for the company and when you last had a pay rise and why you think you should get one. Remain polite and friendly and remember to smile!
Investigate promotion opportunities
It may be that the only way that you can get a pay rise is to get a promotion. You may know that this is the case or you may be told this when you ask for a rise. Either way it can be worth looking into what promotions are available. There may be vacancies within your department or you may have to look to move in order to get a promotion. You may need to do training courses first and if so, see whether you can apply to do them.
Move job or company
Many people will find that the only way to get paid more is to change their job or to change the company that they work for. It can be a shame thinking that you will have to leave your job to get more money, particularly if it is one that you enjoy. However, if you really need more money, then it could be the only way that you will be able to get it.
