It’s no question that we all could use a higher salary, and I’m sure we all think we’re worth more than what we’re getting paid. But what do you do when the economy isn’t so hot like in recent times? Companies are obviously downsizing, many are in a hiring freeze—is this the right time to ask your manager for a raise? It may not seem like it, but in some situations, it actually might be.
When companies aren’t hiring and instead laying off the expendables, that can only mean one thing: more responsibility for you. Just take a look at the work you’ve done over the past few years; have you been taking on more duties, assigned to more projects, asked to work later? If so, then these are all excellent reasons to bring up when asking for that raise. Be sure to jot it down and make note that some of these are responsibilities assigned to seniors in your workplace. Emphasize your value and how you have become an increasingly important asset to the company.
In addition to your increased responsibilities, you also need to do your own research of comparable salaries in your profession and regional area. Make sure you have a realistic range when asking for an increase—the last thing you want is to look like a doofus and ask for something unreasonable. There are a number of internet sites out there that will help you with this—in addition to the normal job search sites such as monster.com and careerbuilder.com—among them: payscale.com, salary.com, and glassdoor.com.
Other things to keep in mind when you are contemplating asking for a raise: make sure your boss is in a good mood—if he or she has had a rough couple of days, wait till next week; be cognizant of how your company is doing financially—if they’re hurting, you might want to wait a little bit; and be prepared to mention some other ways of compensation if your boss doesn’t feel like a raise is warranted—maybe ask for an extra vacation day, or flexible hours such as leaving early on Friday’s or coming in later on Monday’s.
Now reality’s reality, asking for a raise now may not yield as high as you would like—and it may be nothing at all—but it’s worth a shot if you feel you’ve got an argument for your case. Even if you get a little increase, it’s still better than what you were getting before. And if you do get that increase, we’ll all be relying on you to help stimulate this economy!
Alex Brown
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