7 steps to negotiating a raise

You no longer need to be locked into the same salary.

There comes a time in almost everyone's career when they have to negotiate a raise. After all, the best way to improve your financial situation is to earn more money, and the two ways to do that are to get a raise or find a better-paying job.

If you like where you work, you'd probably rather stay there than find somewhere new. Negotiating a raise can be tricky, but when you know how to do it, you have a much better chance of success.

1. Find the salary range for your position

To find out how much you can really ask for, you need to know what the salary range is for your position. Fortunately, thanks to the Internet, this information is much easier to obtain than ever before.

Consult certain pay scale sites to find out the average salaries for your position. Make sure the sites you use also take your position into account. Salaries for the same position may vary slightly depending on where you live.

2. Write down all your successes in your current job

If your only justification for a raise is "I want more money," you'll get the typical response of "Sorry, it's not in the budget." You need evidence of your value as an employee. Depending on what you do, that might be:

• Performance evaluations
• Positive feedback from management, customers or clients
• Additional responsibilities you have assumed

3. Define your target salary

After researching the salary range for your position and reviewing your own performance, you can use this information to decide on a target salary. If you have the experience and the best results, you can aim for the top of the salary range.

While you don't want to ask for an outrageous amount here, it's a good idea to aim high. It's better to ask for more money and ask your employer to offer you less commitment than to ask for too little and lose thousands of dollars a year.

4. Think of other benefits you would accept as an alternative

There's no guarantee that your employer will agree to your request for a raise. Even if they do, you may not be able to decide on a number.

In such situations, it's helpful to have alternative benefits you can accept instead of money. Here are a few examples to consider:

• The possibility of working from home one or more days a week
• Different or more flexible working hours.
• More paid time off
• Storage options

5. Prepare what you'll say with simulated negotiations

The best public speakers often practice before a speech, and if you do the same, you'll be much more confident and prepared when you ask for your raise.

Start by describing what you're going to say to your manager. For example, you could divide your request into three parts:

• His achievements - Review the positive feedback and metrics you collected earlier to demonstrate your value.
• Your plans to help your employer - Explain your future plans for your company.
• Your request for a raise - Present the salary scale for your position and tell your manager that you would like to increase your salary to XXXX $ per year / hour.

Once you've prepared for this, you can organize mock negotiations with your friends and colleagues to help you feel more at ease. Make sure they give you some objections so you can learn to deal with them too.

6. Choose the right time for your meeting

Time is of the essence when it comes to getting a raise. If you meet your manager when he's under the gun, or ask for a raise after a series of layoffs, you're shooting yourself in the foot.

The ideal time for a raise meeting is when your company is doing well and after you've demonstrated that you're a valuable employee. For example, if you've recently taken on a larger workload or led a successful project, this would be the ideal time to talk about a raise.

7. Meet your manager

With all the preparation work completed, it's time for the moment of truth. Schedule a meeting with your manager and, when you meet, dive into the application you prepared earlier.

It's best if your manager immediately approves your request for a raise, but most of the time this isn't the case. Be prepared to avoid any objections you have. If they say there's no money in the budget, you can suggest alternatives you've thought of, or ask when there will be money for your request.

You may not get an immediate pay rise, but if you stick to your guns, you should at least have a clear idea of what your employer can do for you and when they might increase your salary.

What to do after salary negotiations

The objective of a salary negotiation is to obtain a raise or other benefits with which you are satisfied. If you do get a raise, make sure you use it wisely. You could:

What if you can't get a raise? If your employer seemed open to it, but simply wasn't able to respond to your request right away, you may want to give it some time and come back to the issue later. If they shut you down completely, or you feel you're not getting what you deserve, then maybe it's time to look for a new job.