Mastering the Art of Asking for a Pay Rise

Talking about money and finances can often feel uncomfortable, personal, or even taboo. However, discussing pay rises is sometimes necessary to meet your financial goals.

If you believe it’s time for a salary increase but feel unsure about how to approach the conversation, don’t worry. Use our tactics below to master the art of asking for a pay rise confidently.

If you think it’s time you see an increase in your salary but you’re worried about how the conversation might go, then set your apprehension aside and employ some of our tactics in the art of asking for a pay rise. 

Preparing for the Conversation

Preparation is the key to success, and can make you feel a lot more confident approaching the conversation.

Be upfront

When speaking with or emailing HR, management, or whoever the best person is to have this conversation with, be upfront about the nature of the meeting. Provide clarity by telling them that you’d like to find a time to discuss your pay, as this will also give them an opportunity to review processes and speak with others who will be involved in the decision.

Consider the timing

Choosing the right time to bring up the topic of a pay rise can be instrumental in getting it approved. Aim to avoid busy periods or times when tensions are high, and instead, wait for a calm couple of days.

You should also factor in the timing in relation to any projects you’re working on. If you have progress reports coming up, then it might be worth waiting until after this to sit down and discuss pay. By waiting for results, you’ll be able to include your most recent successes as evidence of your positive performance.

Showcase Your Successes

Now that we’ve mentioned evidence, let’s dig deeper into it. When asking for a pay increase, you should be able to validate the reasoning on why you believe that it is justified, and providing evidence is the best way to do this. 

Whether it’s progress reports, completed projects, or anything else that proves you have been successful in your role, the supporting evidence should be measurable and quantifiable to prove its value. This could be details on returns of investment, increases in sales revenue, customer retention, or whatever it is that your role is set out to achieve. As long as the results can be traced back to your work, they should be mentioned as part of the discussion.

Research industry standards

Knowing your value and the value of your role is a key part of asking for a pay rise. If you’re unsure as to how much of an increase you should be requesting, then set some time aside to research industry standards. 

You can do this by searching job ads pages and employment seeking resources or using Miller Leith’s salary guides as a way to see what the average income is for your occupation. Our salary guides cover a variety of industries, so take a look and see what other companies are paying employees in your position.

Practice in advance

If the thought of the conversation makes you nervous, then ask a friend or family member to role play the scenario with you. By doing this, you’ll be able to practise articulating your key points and handling objections, and your counterpart may be able to advise you on which areas could be strengthened before the real thing.

Day Of

When it’s time to have the real discussion, here are some ways to help you keep control of the conversation. 

Presenting yourself 

Body language is a powerful tool that you can use in everyday life, as well as in the workplace. Acts like maintaining eye contact, using an open posture, and employing active listening techniques are all non-verbal cues that can subtly showcase your confidence. Experts suggest that applying even just a few of these tactics in meetings helps to demonstrate power and strength.

Presenting your case

Meetings can easily go off track when one or all parties aren’t quite prepared enough. To avoid this happening, keep a physical or digital list of your agenda with you. This should be easy to read at a glance, and can include bullet points of the key things you want to talk about. If you find that you’re losing control of the situation, having a list beside you means that you can simply glance at it and make your way back to the next point of discussion.

When listing out the reasons why you believe that a pay rise is due, try to only include those that are directly related to your work. While personal circumstances and the rising cost of living certainly impact finances, it’s best to avoid using these as reasons to get a pay rise.

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and forget that, at the end of the day, this is a discussion, not a presentation. This means that you should expect two-way conversation about your progress and pay, so be prepared to have an actual conversation about it.

Handling objections

These types of discussions are rarely straightforward, and oftentimes require some level of negotiation to find a happy medium. If the outcome isn’t what you’re hoping for, then see if there is any way that the company can provide alternative solutions, such as additional annual leave. Remember that a ‘no’ now doesn’t mean the answer will always be ‘no’, so enquire about the possibility of reevaluating things in three or six months’ time.

Maintain a respectful demeanour, even if things don’t go the way you had planned. Your response to objections is a reflection of your character, both as a person and an employee, and you want your employer to view you as a true professional.

Next Steps and Contingency Planning

Many people enter these types of meetings expecting an immediate response, but that’s usually not the case.

Be willing to wait

Especially in larger companies where multiple parties and stakeholders are involved, you could have to wait to hear the final outcome. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t hear back straight away, as those in charge are likely having their own discussions on the matter, as well as reviewing budgets. When you plan a meeting about asking for a pay rise, you should be willing to wait for an outcome.

Follow up documentation

It’s always a good idea to follow up any type of meeting with an email summarising the discussion and any agreed-upon next steps. You should aim to do this immediately after the conversation while the discussion is still fresh in your mind. Sending this soon also gives the other parties time to review it and request any amendments that they see fit before too much time has passed.

The Right Role for You

At Miller Leith, we connect job hunters with employers, helping people all over Australia settle into the right role for them. If you’re on the lookout for a new opportunity, then take a look at the latest jobs available, or get in touch to find out more about how we can help you achieve job success.