Payrises are hard to come by in today’s climate, however if you don’t ask you don’t get! Here at the MoneyTowers team’s Top Ten Tips for getting a pay rise.

1. Persuasion

You can’t force your boss to increase your pay and trying to be forceful can potentially damage your working relationship. Instead, be tactful and let him know the ways that you have helped the company out – maybe through cost-cutting or efficiency measures – and use this as a base for why you should get a payrise. It also pays to do your research. Look out for job adverts for similar jobs to yours and use this as a base for how much you feel you should be paid.

2. Be realistic, but aim high

Start high because you can then both come to a compromise in the middle. If you open the bidding too low, the pay increase you might receive will be tiny. If you start relatively high, if you are going to receive a pay rise it will likely be for more money. However be realistic. If your opening payrise gambit is too high, your boss may be less likely to offer you any rise in pay.

3. Use the right tone

Avoid threats and ultimatums. Try to keep your tone reasonable and friendly. Let your boss know that you understand his position and how he needs to keep costs down, however try and work up a mutual understanding so that you can reach a compromise.

4. Extra Perks Instead of a Pay Increase?

Job recompense is not just about the money. Particularly in the current climate, pay may be frozen. If a pay rise is out of the question, are there other perks of the job that would benefit you, for example a good pension deal, flexible working hours, health care, a car allowance or better overtime rates?

5. Anticipate Your Bosses Pay Rise Concerns

Try and anticipate any counter-arguments for why you shouldn’t get a pay rise and come up with justifications for why you are worth the extra money. Attempt to align your answers with what your boss wants to hear – if your boss believes they are of the same mindset as you and you both have the same concerns and goals, they are more likely to give you a pay rise.

6. Create Several Options

If a payrise is out of the question, ask your boss if there are any other options. Brainstorm together in the discussion to see if there are any alternative solutions that would suit both you, your boss and your company.

7. Be Objective

Give objective facts about your work and how you feel it has affected the company positively. Don’t bring emotion into the argument. People are far more likely to agree to your payrise proposition if your argument has a firm basis in the truth. Do your research and find out what people in similar jobs are on and use this as a bargaining chip.

8. Backup Plan

If your boss’s answer is a flat no, what is your backup plan? It is a good idea to have a backup plan in min so that you know what to say and do if you receive a straight no regarding your payrise.

9. Prepare Yourself

Ensure you know your facts about your performance and understand your arguments well. A well argued case will more likely result in a pay rise than a case which is argued weakly with the key points lost in the presentation. Don’t waffle and make sure you’re your key points are made in a clear and concise way. If you are confident and know your subject well, people are more likely to be swayed by your argument for a pay raise. Take care not to come across as over-confident because if you come across as arrogant or cocky, you will be more likely to get people’s backs up and therefore are less likely to get the pay increase.

10. Learn from the pay rise meeting

Learn from your experiences, whether positive or negative. After your meeting, take 10 minutes to evaluate what areas of the meeting went well and which bits didn’t. Even if you didn’t get the raise you were after, you may just have been a victim of circumstance – so if you fail to get the pay rise, it may not have been with how you conducted yourself in the meeting. Conversely, if you do get the pay rise, there may still be things you can improve on. Taking 10 minutes to evaluate your performance will ensure that next time you need to negotiate, be that a pay increase or otherwise, you will have improved on your past performance.

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