ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

How to Demand For Your Target Salary Raise Without Getting Fired

Updated on February 19, 2013
jpcmc profile image

I'm a Catholic dad and husband. That's the most important part of me.

We want more of this.
We want more of this. | Source

Do you want to increase your salary? Of course you do, who doesn’t? The more important question is how to ask for for more from your boss! Some are too shy to ask while others are too bold. Regardless which one you are, consider these pointers before you pop the question to your boss. When done wrong, you might find yourself without work rather than getting a salary increase.

Highlight accomplishments

As a rule of thumb, think about the increases and decreases that you influenced.

Increases:

  • Manpower productivity
  • Outputs
  • Value to company
  • Sales targets
  • Security for the company and for the customers

Decreases:

  • Expenses
  • Downtime of service
  • Bottlenecks
  • Losses and damages

Are you significant in the company?
Are you significant in the company? | Source

Prove your worth

If you think you are indispensable, think again. The world is full of aspiring people equally talented or even better than you. I know that’s a harsh thing to say. But that’s the reality. Out there is someone who can do a better job. The only advantage you have is that you already have the position. To ask for a raise requires that you prove your worth to the company. Don’t be bashful in enumerating your accomplishments. However, be mindful not to come out boasting about them as well.

Document what you have done and share what you intend to do in the future. This way you can paint a clear picture of you as an asset to the company. Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself:

  • What have you done?
  • What positive impacts have you made to the company?
  • What do you intend to do in the future for the company?

Furthermore, prove that you made an impact to the company. Accomplishing your daily task is not even worthy of mention. Don’t even think of asking a raise simply because you are doing your job. Instead, focus on what else you have done apart from your expected tasks. Here are some examples:

  • Don’t brag that you accomplish your sales target
  • Instead, focus on how much more you have surpassed your sales target.


  • Don’t ask a raise because you help train your co-workers.
  • Instead, focus on how productive they have become.


  • Don’t ask a raise because you’re in financial trouble.
  • Instead, focus on how motivation can improve your productivity.

List your Responsibilities

Since you started work, list all the additional responsibilities given to you. Take note I underlined the word additional. The more responsibilities you have the more chances that your request will be heard and granted.

Proper timing

When your company is downsizing, it is not a good idea to ask for a raise. Chances are if you push them with an ultimatum of more pay or you’ll walk away, they’ll open the door for you to walk out. Even if you are important to the company and letting you go is not an option, asking for a pay increase at this time is not a good idea. Threatening the operations of the company is not professional and definitely inappropriate. Although this seems a likely opportunity to corner the boss for a salary bump, fight the urge and perhaps you’ll even get more than you expect in the long run.

Instead, pick a time when there are no drastic changes in the organization. When everything is relatively stable (if there is such a time) by all means ask for a pay upgrade.

Also, you might want to check if your company has a regular pay increase. Some companies have annual pay upgrades. Furthermore, there are companies who have performance evaluations with pay incentives attached to positive assessments. You may want to use these performance evaluation results to strengthen your case for pay increase.

Do your research on salary standards
Do your research on salary standards | Source

Do your research

Salary standard

Surely you want more than the usual. But before you ask exorbitant amounts, know what is the industry standard for your position. Moreover, take note of your additional competencies, experiences, accreditations and other professional. Every additional value-added credential you can include will help you justify what you want. Of course include only those that are relevant.

Financial health of your organization

You may have the right qualifications and the salary bump is justifiable but is the company financially capable of giving what you want? So check if financially the company can give it to you. Otherwise, you’re just wasting time (and perhaps creating a huge fuss).

Keep your focus!

Not everyone can demand a salary raise. So what do you do to earn your keep? Here are some some resources that can point you to the right direction:

How to Become an Extraordinary Employee and Get Higher Pay

Corporate Culture: How to Maintain Positive Relationships in The Office

How to Deal with Employment Setbacks

Know your company’s pay raise process

While some companies have regular increases, some don’t. So it pays to know the salary program of your company. This is essential so that you follow the protocols laid out by the company when asking for salary upgrade.

So where do you get this information?

Try checking your company manual or handbook. Do you remember the stacks of documents given to you when you first joined the company? Well, take out and read it.

Ask your HR department. You can always ask the HR Department on policies concerning asking for salary increases.

Just remember that you don’t stride down to your boss’ office and ask for a raise. There is a process and that you need to go through it. So set up a meeting if needed, write a formal request or do whatever steps you are expected to go through.

Prepare to negotiate
Prepare to negotiate | Source

Prepare for negotiations

Last but not the least is the need to prepare for negotiations. Although you have a specific amount in mind, it does not necessarily mean you will get it. So ask yourself what compromises you are willing to take. Perhaps a scheduled salary increased over a certain period of time can be put on the table. Also, additional incentives apart from monetary increase can be tossed in. Remember that a compensation package is not merely a discussion about money. So try to look into different avenues to get a win-win situation.

Asking for a raise can be unnerving. But when you know how and when to do it, it will be easier. Moreover, when done right, your chances of getting higher pay increases.

Quick Queries:

  • When was the lst time you asked for a salary increase?
  • What are you doing to earn the pay upgrade that you want?

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)