money Career expert: Here's how to ask for a raise
With wages rising, many workers may find it’s the right time to ask for more money. But even with The Great Resignation occurring, you still need to come prepared for your negotiation.
Kimberly Schneiderman, a Randstad RiseSmart career coach, detailed how best to request a raise on Yahoo Finance Live (video above). Here’s her advice.
Make sure you want to stay
Before asking for a raise, make sure you’re fully invested in staying on the job.
“Make sure that you're actually interested in negotiating a salary, that you like this job, it's somewhere that you want to stay, it's a company that you enjoy working for,” Schneiderman said.
List your accomplishments
Before you go into your boss’s office, come with a list of your past achievements, especially ones that saved your employer time and money.
“Those accomplishments might be related to the operational wins that you've captured over the last few years, any sales or revenue wins that you can lay claim to or at least be a part of cost reductions,” Schneiderman said.
Know the market value of your job
Forget inflation as a reason for a raise. What’s important — and what will convince your employer — is what other, similar jobs are paying.
“I would gravitate toward looking at the market value of the position that you're in,” Schneiderman said. “And that's really what's going to be the driver, not inflation generally, but rather the market value.”
“And the best way to go about that is to do that market research so you know what you're asking for and give them a value,” Schneiderman said.
Be specific
When you ask for a raise, have specifics in mind.
“You can say today I'm asking the company to raise my salary by X dollars or X% or I'm asking for an XYZ type of benefit to my employment here,” Schneiderman said. “Asking for specifically what you want really helps put things on the table and makes it very clear.”
Have a Plan B
If you can’t get a raise from your boss, you should still ask about other benefits.
“Maybe there's an education budget that you can negotiate, so that you can pursue learning and advancement of your own career skills,” Schneiderman said. “You can negotiate everything from personal time off to a car allowance or commuter allowance.”
Ella Vincent is the personal finance reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @bookgirlchicago.
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