How to Ask for a Raise

You've been doing more than your job description for a year. You've trained two new hires, picked up the project nobody wanted, and watched your rent go up twice. You know you should ask. Instead you wait for your manager to notice, and every review cycle you get the same three percent and a "keep it up."

Asking for a raise feels like asking for a favor. It isn't one. It's a business conversation about what your work is worth, and your manager has it with other people all the time. Here's when to have it, what to say, and what to do with each answer you might get.

To ask for a raise, book a meeting, state the request plainly, and back it with evidence: "I'd like to talk about my compensation. Over the past year I've taken on X and delivered Y. Based on that and what this role pays in the market, I'm asking for a salary of Z." Name a specific number, then stop talking. If the answer is no, ask what would make it a yes and by when.

Before you ask

Pick your moment. The best time is after a visible win and a couple of months before raises are decided. If your company sets budgets in the fall for January increases, September is the conversation and December is too late. Avoid the week of a layoff, a missed quarter, or the deadline that has your manager sleeping four hours a night.

Collect the evidence. Write down what you've done since your last pay change: results with numbers where you have them, responsibilities you've added, problems you solved that weren't yours. Three strong items beat ten vague ones. "Cut onboarding time from six weeks to three" is evidence. "I work really hard" isn't.

Know the number. Look up what your role pays in your city and industry on two or three salary sites, and ask peers or recruiters if you can. Decide on the figure you'll ask for and the figure you'd be content with. Ask for the first one.

Book the meeting and name the topic. "Could we find 20 minutes this week to talk about my compensation?" Naming it gives your manager time to check what's possible, which helps you. Don't spring it at the end of a status update or in a hallway.

Practice the first two sentences out loud. The opening is where people lose their nerve and start apologizing. Say it to a mirror, a friend, or your car until it sounds ordinary.

What to say

The opening. Get to the request in the first fifteen seconds.

• "Thanks for making time. I'd like to talk about my compensation."
• "I want to discuss my salary. I've grown a lot in this role and I'd like my pay to reflect that."

The case. Three points, briefly.

• "Over the past year I took over the vendor relationships, led the migration that finished a month early, and I've been training both new analysts."
• "When I started, I managed one account. I now manage five, including our two largest."

The number. Say it without a question mark.

• "Based on that, and on what this role pays in the market, I'm asking for a salary of $92,000."
• "I'm asking for an increase to $78,000, which is in line with the range for this position here in Chicago."

Then stop. Don't fill the silence with "but I understand if that's not possible." Let your manager speak next.

If you want a promotion with it:

• "I'm already doing most of the senior role. I'd like to talk about making that official, in title and in pay."

Closing the meeting:

• "Thank you for hearing me out. When should I expect to hear back?"

Practice dialogue

Here's the most common version: a manager who likes you and reaches for the budget.

What not to say

• "I'm sorry to bring this up." You're not imposing. Apologizing frames the request as a problem you're causing.
• "I need more money because my rent went up." True, and not your employer's reason to pay you more. Make the case from your work and the market. Your expenses are why you're asking, not why they'd say yes.
• "Jordan makes more than I do." Comparing yourself to a named coworker puts your manager on the defensive and puts Jordan in the middle. Use market data instead.
• "I'll have to start looking if this doesn't happen." A threat you're not ready to carry out costs you credibility. If you'd really leave, say so calmly and once. If you wouldn't, don't.
• "Whatever you think is fair." That hands over the whole negotiation. Name the number.
• "I've been here five years." Tenure alone isn't the case. What you've done in those years is.
• Accepting "we'll see" as an answer. It isn't one. Ask for a date.

Handling the common answers

"There's no budget." "I understand. Is that for this cycle or in general? What would need to happen for this to be possible, and when's the next point it could be approved?" Budgets get made by people. Find out when.

"Let me think about it." "Of course. Could we follow up next Thursday?" Put it on the calendar before you leave the room.

"You're already at the top of your band." "Then I'd like to talk about what moving to the next level takes. What would you need to see?" This turns a pay ceiling into a promotion conversation.

A yes, but for less. "Thank you. I appreciate it. Can we agree on a date to revisit the rest?" Take the increase and keep the door open. You can also ask about what else is flexible: a bonus, extra leave, a title change, a training budget.

A flat no with no path. "What would I need to do for the answer to be yes?" If there's no answer to that either, you've learned something important about how far you can go there. That's worth knowing, even though it stings.

They get defensive or annoyed. "I'm not unhappy here. I'm raising this because I want to stay and grow." Stay even. A manager who punishes a reasonable, well-prepared request has told you something too.

The follow-up email

Send it the same day. It creates a record and gives your manager something to forward.

Hi [Name], thank you for talking with me today about my compensation. To summarize: over the past year I [result one], [result two], and [result three]. Based on that and market data for this role, I've asked for a salary of [number]. We agreed to follow up on [date]. Thanks again for your support. [You]

Why this works

Most people never ask. In Payscale's survey of more than 160,000 workers, only 37 percent had ever asked their current employer for a raise. Of those who did, 70 percent got one: 39 percent received the amount they asked for and 31 percent received something less. The odds favor the person who asks clearly. The same research found those odds aren't equal for everyone, with people of color less likely than white men to receive a raise they asked for, which is one more reason to bring evidence and get the criteria in writing.

Leading with the request keeps the meeting from turning into a general chat about how things are going. A specific number anchors the conversation, where "more" leaves your manager to pick the smallest figure that might satisfy you. And evidence makes it easy for your manager to say yes, because they'll usually have to justify it to someone else. You're handing them the argument.

If the idea of saying the number out loud makes your stomach drop, that's the part to rehearse. The guide to being more assertive covers the underlying skill: asking for what you want without apologizing for wanting it.