How To Get a Pay Increase In 2021
Possibly one of the most awkward topics you will come across in your career is asking for a pay increase. How do you know when it is the right time? How do you know how much to ask for? How do you word this kind of request? How does this affect my work moving forward?
Coming off the back of one of the most abnormal shifts in career communications, with video calling being the ‘go to’ for the majority of business, it is now an even more daunting task to approach a pay increase discussion.
Through this blog post, we are going to visit this awkward topic, looking at how you can stay confident, put yourself in the ideal position to succeed, and achieve your ideal outcome during this conversation.
How to discuss a pay increase
Starting the conversation about a pay increase can be one of those situations where your mind blanks. The truth is the best way to start the conversation is when you very first take the position. Do your market research on the average pay for your position, assess what your current compensation is, and proceed with a salary expectation that is the most competitively priced you can be in the market, whilst still a happy step up from where you are currently.
It is sometimes tempting to market yourself way above your current salary, however knowing your true market worth puts you in the best position for successful growth and career progression throughout the company.
If you start a position above where the company feel comfortable paying you, there will naturally be a reluctancy to progression, making the pay increase discussion even harder. For example, if you take a counteroffer with your current company, you are now at a salary they were not willing to volunteer to you, truly ask yourself, where does this leave your progression in the future?
The more you set yourself up to overachieve, the further you will progress and cumulatively will have greater earnings whilst retaining a healthy work-life.
When to ask for a pay increase
The key to knowing when to ask for a pay increase is to set clear parameters when either first taking a position, or when receiving a pay increase.
If you set a clear roadmap of what you need to achieve and a timescale to achieve it you will be able to confidently review these parameters with your employer and asking for the pay increase is then an expected agenda of conversation.
The S.M.A.R.T acronym is a nice way to set out a target for a pay increase. This is the methodology in which you set a target that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. If you apply these variables to the targets you set with your employer to achieve your next pay increase, you will have concise data and evidence to indisputably achieve your desired pay increase. This can be applied to job roles with qualitative and quantitative measurables.
As a concluding thought, before your discussion where you present the data to achieve your previously agreed pay increase, create your thoughts on what a roadmap should look like for your next pay increase, thus continuing the career growth opportunity with your company.
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