As a conscientious employee, you continually seek to develop and grow your professional skills and knowledge throughout your career. For this reason, you may find yourself in a position where you feel your current skill level is no longer being matched by your salary. Negotiating a raise can be a tricky topic, and many professionals avoid it for fear of sounding demanding or creating an uncomfortable situation. However, most people find it necessary at some point in their careers. Over the next few weeks, we’ll discuss some tips for getting the salary you feel you deserve without damaging your professional relationships.
Do Your Research:
The very first thing you should do before asking for a raise is gather information. Start by researching the typical compensation for your type of position. Use the internet to gather a basic salary range as well as an expected salary path (e.g. how the compensation may increase with experience or knowledge). Take into consideration variations that may result from your industry or particular company. Knowing whether your salary is above, below, or spot on for your position can help inform how you approach the conversation.
You may also want to investigate the duties that are typically included in job descriptions for your type of position. If you find that you are doing more than is generally expected, you may want to use this to support your request.
In addition to researching your position in general, make sure that you are well informed about the current financial position of your company. Asking for a raise when the company is doing poorly can change the conversation significantly. If the company is in serious financial trouble, you may want to avoid the conversation all together and wait for better timing. If the financial issues are not as severe, you may still want to ask for a raise. However, you’ll need to approach the conversation with the situation in mind; let your employer know you are aware of the situation, and then justify how increasing your compensation may help the company.
Stay tuned: next week we’ll continue the conversation and discuss one of the most important aspects of negotiation—speaking with clarity and confidence. Want a head start? Sign up for our monthly newsletter and receive a free 21-page e-book, Communicating with Clarity and Confidence, a Corporate Speech Solutions original! Just visit us at www.corporatespeechsolutions.com to sign up today.
If you want to sharpen your communication skills and polish your speech, you might benefit from the services of a corporate communications coach. Let our team of corporate speech-language pathologists help you reach your professional potential through strong communication. Give us a call at 212-308-7725 or visit us on the web at www.corporatespeechsolutions.com. Don’t live in NYC? No problem! Our services are Skype ready, so CSS can help you improve your communication from anywhere in the world.