When your annual review at work comes around, you should make sure you’re ready to vouch for your performance, as well as an increase in your salary. Here are five tips on how to approach the so-called ‘no-go zone’ of negotiating a raise.
Be Prepared
Those pesky time sheets and the projects you spent hours working on will come in handy eventually. During the year, ensure you keep any proof of your performance neatly filed away, as this will help you negotiate a raise and illustrate your good performance when it is time for a review at work. If you haven’t been keeping track of these documents, start today and use your calendar to mark off how much you have achieved.
Motivate your worth
Ever wanted to blow your own horn? This would be the perfect time to do so. Firstly, identify your worth and the value you add to the company, before articulating it to your employer. There’s really no sense in advocating for a raise in salary if you don’t have the faintest idea on how to measure your worth. A good start would be to gather all proof that sustains the argument of your worth, and then present it in a confident fashion. If you can prove that, at some point, you have either cut company costs, saved valuable time or increased profitability, rest assured, you’re in the running.
Do market research
Try and find out what the market is compensating for a professional with your particular qualification and experience. Mywage.co.za has a nifty salary-check tool for this. A good starting point for your research
would be to approach some external recruiters. They are more likely to have up-to-date market information on salary allocations for your specific region. As bizarre as this may sound, salaries often differ according to your location. In the wake of this, decide on a reasonable expected salary and propose it to your employer.
Lay down a single figure
Don’t think that you’d be offending your employer with your ‘high’ figure, especially not after your rigorous market research. If you lay down a range, the highest figure is likely what you deserve. However, proposing an estimated range gives your superior the opportunity to settle for less than what you have expected and, quite frankly, it will make you look like a milk-and-water professional. A single
figure, which is deserving and in line with your market research, would be in order.
Allow your superior to
prompt the negotiation Timing is everything. The only point at which a salary negotiation should come up, is when the superior prompts the negotiation. This is usually during the interview process, the performance
review period or just before you plan on leaving your current job. You do not want to give the impression that you are a money-grubbing individual, so wait for the appropriate time. As a result, wait for your superior to bring up the subject in a reasonable time.
Be nice about it, please
Remember that in a raise negotiation, you are merely communicating your value and worth as an employee to your employer. No need for you to show aggression. If you enter it with a positive and professional attitude, chances are, you’ll achieve positive results. Best of luck!
[Image by george-milton via Pexels]
