How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

Society Business and Career
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i work really hard i always finish my work before deadlines… i need to talk to my boss regarding salary increase.. but i am afraid dont know why !! :bummer: please advice how to talk and get a postive response? how should i start the conversation?

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

Depends how long you have been working in the company and what your relationship is like with your manager ..

In my entire career life , I have had this experience just once where I was forced to ask for a salary increase ... Basically I got approached by another company and the job offer was very lucrative .. I didnt want to leave the employer but at the same time felt strongly that I was underpaid in the role ... So i waited for my appraisal results .. after I had a one to one with my manager I asked him for another meeting .. and thats when I spoke to him .. started with telling him positively about how I felt working for the company and what I had achieved in return ..

Then told him about the job offer and the salary details .. I said to him that I wish to remain a part of this organization clearly over the years I have put in alot of effort and now when its time to reap the fruit ( an established client base ) moving on is not really what I want , ideally I am looking for a better salary that will make me feel alot more valued in the organization .

My manager said , I cant just increase the salary coz a member recieves another job offer .. I told him upfront , its not about another job offer , I could have taken it silently and left this company ... but the fact that I am bringing it to the table coz my intention is loyalty with my current employer .. I may as well work in another company and become a competitor to you , but thats not what I want .. I want to ensure that I work in an environment where both you and me feel equally happy being in this contract ...

He asked me what I had in mind , I told him .. he thought for a bit and said its difficult to get a raise of 3K but will negotiate with the elders and see what he can do for me ... few weeks later I recieved the news that my salary had been increased by 75% of what I had asked for...

I think in many cases its your performance that should do the talking .. coz at the end of the day every employer is selfish and they will deem you very replaceable , unless your performance is so good that they really feel the need for you to be with them ..

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

Different companies work on this differently. If you feel strongly that you deserve an raise (and you work in the US), I would recommend getting yourself in the market and understand what offers are out there. Why? Because this gives a much better and realistic view of what you are worth and you are likely to be more confident when talking with your Boss. Secondly the process of "going to market" so to speak helps you keep your skillsets up to date and make sure that you are actually learning and growing the way that is needed. You dont have to bring up this fact (that you checked out other jobs), but do spend time doing it every once in a while.

In terms of talking to your boss, the best times are when you set your goals for the year - make sure you set your expectations clearly with your boss (promotion, raise, etc) and ask what is required to make sure you achieve those items so that you can keep track of those through out the year. In the end you are responsible for your own career and no one else is going to manage it for you.

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

Welcome back to the forums HMCQ , really good to see our oldest members around and hope to see more of your valuable contributions :)

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

thanks for the input … i strongly believe that i deserve a salary raise ..
Background:i am working as a credit analyst in a bank i have been here sinche sept 2010 and i was working in a same position in 2007-2009 i was laid off during recession perioed and then they called me back in 2010.

regarding my work:
i have worked on government holidays as well as stayed back to meet the deadlines without demanding overtime and continued this type of commitment through out the year (2011)
i have helped the other dept( head office which is in bahrain) by processing all the markets (middle east) work and completed this tough project on time during bahrain protest and also received appreciation email from bahrain.
i have worked for a special campiagn and also finished it on time.. i have also processed other cities work during the coworkers absence ( she was on maternity leave).And i always complete my work on time.
I have trained and always support my co worker. My responsiblity has been increased by including one more task which was supposed to do in bahrain ..just to save time… i happy with it because i love my work.. but i feel like
they are not paying me enough…we had appraisals last month in our company but i was not lucky :frowning:

are these achievments enough to ask for a raise? i am not asking for too much i just need a raise of 1500-2000aed pm

@hmcq : there are no jobs available in the market the situation here in gulf is still very poor =/

@Chicken_Biryani : i have a good working relationship with him he is also a pakistani but i have heard positive and negative feedback about him Allah knows the truth

so please advice

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

should i drop him an email like requesting for a meeting etc ?
i dont have any other job in hand right now.. so what should i do? like i dont know how should i start the conversation? like i need to talk to you regarding my current resoonsiblities .. does it make sense?? i am totally blank =/ this is my first time .. i have never asked for a pay raise before

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

no more answers !!

ok then...

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

Hey AB, don't ever shy away from requesting a pay rise, if you don't ask you won't get, and its the one that shouts the loudest that gets heard believe me.

If you are confident in your work and output you really should confront him, bosses are used to hearing this request all the time, and if he has any level of authority approving this he will certainly think about it, and keep you in mind whenever the next opportunity arises to distribute increments.

You have been in the business long enough to request an increment, go for it, the best way to ask is really get straight to the point, tell him you have requested this meeting (once you have met up that is) because you wanted to make him of aware of your concerns about your salary, tell him you have had no increment for xxx years and feel the commitment that you put in doesn't quite reflect in your pay packet at the end of the month.

tell him how much you enjoy your job, the company etc etc, would would kindly request that you are considered for an increment whenever the opportunity arises.

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

Hey, hope your well. I know the feeling and it can’t be explained… trust me once you open your mouth the nerves will be gone.
I asaked my boss “can I have a word please” he said yeah sure, I was so nervous I felt the blood rush to my face and my heart started beating fast hahahaha silly I know then I calmed down after a second or two
I spoke to my boss end of December and said more or less in these words “****** I was wondering if I could have a pay rise” he turned around and goes “yes you can, how much were you thinking” I was like I don’t know lol can you believe that I hadn’t even thought of how much I wanted…
Any way I told him what I was thinking raising my current salary by 2.5K and he said we will talk… we spoke two days later and he said “your new salary will begain in the new year” DONE :biggthumb:

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

Yep if you do not ask , how would you know that you will get it or not.
How to ask for a raise ? order the book and read it.
Link to the book.
I never had to ask for a raise in my life. If it was not given to me when I deserved it I would go and start looking for another job. I always got good offers then when I resigned they will start negotiating , but then I told them that no I am not black mailing them , if the things do not work out with my new job I will call them , Alahumdulillah I never had to call them. I am pretty flexible and compromising so
If I ask for a raise it will be like that famous joke .
Me "Mairee tankha baraha-o warna "
Him “Warna kia ?”
Me. “Warna isee tankha pay kaam karoon ga” :smiley:

To TLK yes I read this joke in bachoon key dunia. :silly:

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

I would follow the above advice. It is pretty standard to ask for a raise as long as you know the market and what your colleagues are doing. Meaning its harder to ask for raises if your company is laying off people left and right :).

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

It seems like we desis are unnecessarily embarrassed about asking for a raise.

I was in this situation two years ago and agonized over how to talk to my boss. I was naive enough to think that if I did a good job and exceeded my goals every year, I will automatically get a raise. That never happened. So I sent my boss a meeting invite and explained my reasons for asking for a raise. I was amazed at how easy it was.. she heard me out and said, ok, I'll process your raise with HR. And that was it.

Sometimes the hardest part is summoning the courage to ask for what you want. The rest is easy :)

And as someone said above, it's a good idea to talk about salary hike during your performance review.

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

^ agreed with the above post ... sometimes we just dont ask !

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

I just ask my dad. :cool:

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

thanks guyz for ur input i really apreciate.. i actually have two issues to deal with
nr 1- timings … my offc doesnt suit with my husbands timings my job starts by 8:30 -5 his starts by 11-7 so he is really suffering bz of me i dont have a car and we cant finance a car now as i recenlt got married took a new home and all the stuff .. i need to talk to my boss if he can change my timings :rolleyes:
i know i am expecting/asking too much from the employer ..

nr 2-salary issue

so idont know what comes first actually :hayaa:

i am confused should i talk to him my salary first .. if he agrees then ignore the timing issue ( if he increases my salary i ll be able to afford a car) if he says no ! then should i put a next issue infront of him ok now please consider my 2nd request ?? what should be the way !!

OMG i am such a freak :afshi:

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

@LucyMay… very true (first line) :hinna:

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

Apple, I am assuming you are in the US. As such I would recommend starting your conversation with the most important issue to you (which seems to be the timing). Remember anytime you raise things like these, there is always a possibility the Boss would take it negatively. Unless you are talking about a significant increase in your salary, I don't see how that would allow you to buy a car (a 10K increase over a year with 26 pay periods, post tax is relatively small). You can of course raise both issues together (which may actually be easier for your Boss as he may then be willing to give up one for the other and you will know what is more important for him).

One way to do this is setup the time with him and talk with him about the time issue and then follow up with the fact that you want to grow in the company and would like to see where he thinks your career path is headed and timing, subtly suggesting, that part of your concern is the fact that you want to also make more money (or the PC way to put it - I am interested in understanding how I improve my career both in terms of the roles I am and somewhat importantly financially ). It just makes the financial aspect be little less in your bosses face and prevents him from been defensive. This though can be taken as a longer term thing by your boss so he can setup a plan for you to grow, so you may want to preface all this by talking about your work and how you have been getting great reviews and how you are taking on more responsibility. Hopefully he will just ask you if you are looking for a raise and then you should be able to say Yes and what type/amount (cause he will ask that most likely) - always give a % increase vs. $ amount.

Hope that helps. In the mean time I would also look outside your company just to see how much you are really worth in your role.

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

thanks hmcq… will follow ur advice and will talk to my boss today INSHALLAH :hinna: and r you sure its ok to talk to him regarding both issues together??
PS i am in dubai

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

acha tu kahani mai twist ye hai k ..
from past few days i am trying to catch my boss but he was so bzy in meetings and trainings...
i made my mind k aj tu baat ker k he rahongii aar ya paarr
but i got a call from him early in the morning ..and he presented a bonus cheque that its for you ( ALHUMDULLILAH ALHUMDULLILAH) .. i was so surprised and said sir for me !! he said yes we are giving it to you and2 more ppl but please dont discuss this thing to anyone else in the office as nobody got bonus ... i said ok thank you so much and the thing was runing in my head k should i talk to him now regarding a raise or not but ..i didnt and left the office.

ppl advice .. what should be the next best step??
so should i talk to him regarding a raise or not?

i dont want this to sound greedy

mera mou'n bund kerne k lye tu nhi bonus ??

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Re: How to talk to the boss regarding salary increase

***copying it from my blog:

***Mysti: I think u still should talk to him. Bonus checks are just bonus checks.. raises are permanent
Makd:i agree with mysti
**diamond321:**I think you have a right to know why you did not get a salary increment this year your HR should tell you what went wrong in your performance .Ask for reasons for not giving your pay raise rather than asking for a pay raise.

BONUS is mostly linked with company’s over all performance.

**Apple:**thanks mysti .. i just dont want this to sound greedy .. like u know what i mean !!

i need to go to his office in few mins to giv him the receiving .. should i say rigtaway .. or wait for few days??

our HR is in head office which is in bahrain… i know you are right!!
last week my collegue ( who sits in another branch and working on a same designatio as me) has asked for a pay raise … ( she was earning less then me ) after chasing for a long time she finally got a raise (equal to me now).
she told me about this and since then insisting me that you should also talk to him you’ll get it u worth it .. but i m so confused …

as i stated above .. i dont want to appear greedy or needy i know its a desi thing / mentality :hinna:
plus i have written all my achievment of last year .. should i giv/show it to him?

need advice