How to get a pay rise

Corinne Mills, career coaching specialist at Personal Career Management says “your boss may also have to persuade their boss or HR to give you a pay rise, so it needs to be based on sound business reasons. Given how expensive it is to replace staff, often organisations will try to find a compromise rather than lose a good member of staff”.

Corinne’s tips for getting a pay rise:

• Choose a time to speak to your boss when you’ve got their undivided attention and when the team/organisation appears to be doing well
• Demonstrate that your job has grown in responsibility and that your pay needs to reflect this ‘bigger job’
• Or show what an asset to the organisation you are with lots of examples of how you made or saved the organisation money, improved quality or averted disaster
• Benchmark your salary internally with people in similar roles and externally in your industry. Use job adverts, agencies and salary surveys to obtain research
• Prepare answers to potentilal objections
• Convince them that you do not want to move but a pay rise of x amount would be appropriate

Other points to note:

• Don’t expect to get it when companies are asking people to work for free
• Keep a record after the meeting that you have requested this
• If the company says no ask for a review date to follow it up

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