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A friend asked me for some advice this week and said this was helpful. So maybe it will be helpful to you.
Some tips on asking for a raise when you are young and not male, a thread:
Some tips on asking for a raise when you are young and not male, a thread:
One major thing about asking for a raise is understanding your employer's expectations of the pay grade above you so you can demonstrate that you will easily handle and then exceed those expectations. You need to know where the goal posts are.
If your work has a performance framework, use that. If you have KPIs, use those. If you have no idea what the pay level above you is doing and whether you could do it, you need to ask your employer, "what do I need to do to operate at the level of $x?"
Once you know your employer's expectations, be specific about the ways in which you are currently exceeding them. Gather specific examples of good practice, and use a format like "situation/complication/result" or the STAR method to explain them.
Explicitly identify where you are operating at the higher level. For an employer, it's nice to be able to give a raise to someone with potential but it's essential to give a raise to someone operating above their current level, otherwise they'll find a job elsewhere.
Align examples with the performance framework, your KPIs, or any other documents your employer uses to guide what you do on a day to day basis. You could even align examples with the organisation's mission/values or strategic plan. Use data to measure outcomes if you can.
In terms of making the ask itself, it can be uncomfortable and women are often put in a difficult position because appearing "demanding" reflects more poorly on women than men (
) but there is a balance and you can find it.
) but there is a balance and you can find it.
So let's talk about expectations again, this time your expectations. Make your expectations clear to your employer (you can even say "I expect that in x years I'll have a ___ role"). Remember that, assuming you are a good performer, your employer wants to meet your expectations.
But, unfortunately, many non-male-identifying people find it more difficult to state their expectations in the workplace and other forums, so it is more difficult for your employer to understand and meet those expectations if you don't explicitly state them.
Remember that - particularly in these trying economic times - there may be a reason your employer does not offer a raise other than your performance and you don't need to take it personally. I say this with the objective of maintaining your sanity more than anything else.
kewl. thems my thoughts. some are backed up by research, some are informed by my experience recruiting people and some are just things that make sense to me.
Maybe this thread is helpful to you and maybe it's not, but either way, you could take a moment this afternoon to reflect on something good you did at work or in your life and pat yourself on the back for it :)
