Research shows that women are less confident than men when it comes to asking for a pay rise. There are lots of articles, and even books, that aim to build your confidence and give you tips on how to get that extra moula you so rightly deserve. Here are a few of my personal hints.
1. Do your research. We always want more money. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we deserve more money. Every person’s role and performance is different but a good starting point is to understand whether people doing a similar role to you at a similar level to you are getting a similar wage to you. Payscale and Glassdoor have some good data on this – you just need to enter your job title and a few other details to find out what your peers are getting. You could also have a look at some job vacancies being advertised by companies similar to yours to see what salary they are offering. This is purely a guideline and good evidence to back up your argument – but if your salary is in line with the average and you still feel you deserve more – go for it!
2. Think about your achievements. If you’re going to ask for a pay rise, you need to remind your manager why the company desperately needs you in order to function, when they could just hire someone else who won’t be such a pain in the you-know-what. Think back over the past year or so and list some of your key achievements. I don’t mean things that are basically saying ‘I did the job you hired me to do’ – you need to think of scenarios where you went over and above your call of duty. Something you should be doing constantly is saving any good feedback you get via email in a folder in your inbox. This will help you to find those key achievements and to show your manager that they didn’t go unnoticed by others.
3. Be calm and confident. If you’ve never asked for a pay rise before (and even if you have), it can be extremely nerve racking. Make sure you prepare what you’re going to say (the first two steps should help you do that), have an exact figure in mind that you’re going to ask for, and even write notes to take with you if you think it will help. Once you’re in a private room with your manager, speak slowly and calmly, be concise and try to exude confidence (not arrogance) even if you’re dying inside. The worst possible thing that could happen is hearing the word ‘NO’ and this is a pretty unlikely outcome. If you ask, it will should at least be considered, otherwise perhaps you should question how much your company values its employees.
So, these are my tips for asking for a pay rise, I hope they help! In case you’re wondering, yes I have asked before – twice! And this 3 step process defintitely helped. Let me know your thoughts in the comments 🙂
About the author
Babs Ofori-Acquah is a marketing & business development professional, and founder of Working Girl London – a blog and network for young working women. Babs blogs about everything from careers advice to the best fitness classes to where to eat and drink in the city. She aims to bring together a community of young, ambitious individuals who can provide support and advice to each other, and to introduce them to more experienced individuals who can offer ‘approachable inspiration’ for tomorrow’s leaders.
