Asking for a raise?

flutteringinfl

FI is thinking about asking for a raise at work. He's worked at this place since December 2012, and in that time he hasn't had any sort of raise at any point. His base pay is pretty low, but usually that's fine since he gets overtime. Now, the big folks in charge are cutting down on overtime so his take home pay is going to be much lower, but even without that he would still like to ask for a raise. The issue is he has no idea how to go about it.

I've never asked for a raise at any of my jobs, so I don't know how to help. I suggested he contact one of his bosses via email and ask to set up a time to meet, which seems best especially since at his job, one can never guarantee when one will be able to be somewhere unless it's set up ahead of time. He is a hard worker and is constantly being tapped for special assignments and his work is acknowledged as among the top tier of all the other photographers.

He also needs to figure out how to ask for a raise without having to sign a contract. Generally this place asks for a contract of one or two years if they give you a raise, but he doesn't want to stay much longer if he can help it. We both plan to start looking for new jobs in 2016, once the honeymoon is done, though we don't know how long it will take each of us to find jobs.

Any advice? I think he has some good arguments for asking for a raise, but I can also see some arguments against a raise that his bosses would try to pull.

kvruns

Has he assessed the climate at work when it comes to raises? Are they ever given out, and if so, does he know why he hasn't gotten one?  Do they do formal performance evaluations or reviews?

he should take the time to outline the reasons why he is qualified for a raise - performance reviews, extra projects he is selected for, customer feedback. These will help him make his case to his boss and practice the pitch

What happens if you sign a contract and leave early?

southernbelle0915

I think the best way to ask for a raise is to make a fact/evidence based case for why he deserves one. Has he taken on more responsibility? Become a subject matter expert? Taken on more work? Taken on more staff? 

Usually just being somewhere for a certain amount of time isn't good enough. Bosses want to see ambition and reasons that justify more money. 

If I were him, I'd make a specific, bullet list of all the reasons I deserve a raise. And then I'd ask for a meeting with my boss to make my case.

ETA: And also, then they'll probably ask "so what do you think you deserve?" He should be prepared to answer that.

thisismynickname2

southernbelle0915 said:

I think the best way to ask for a raise is to make a fact/evidence based case for why he deserves one. Has he taken on more responsibility? Become a subject matter expert? Taken on more work? Taken on more staff? 

Usually just being somewhere for a certain amount of time isn't good enough. Bosses want to see ambition and reasons that justify more money. 

If I were him, I'd make a specific, bullet list of all the reasons I deserve a raise. And then I'd ask for a meeting with my boss to make my case.

ETA: And also, then they'll probably ask "so what do you think you deserve?" He should be prepared to answer that.

All of this! Especially the bolded. The things he has accomplished should be above the usual call of duty. A merit-based raise is generally not based on your ability to "just" do what you're paid to do anyway. 

Also, he should mention performance reviews if/when they praised him for exceptional work. That reminder is helpful.  

In another thread we discussed raises and cost-of-living increases. When I successfully got myself a 6% raise this year, that was considering my usual annual adjustment with COL and merit factored in was 3-4%. I asked for 10%. (Usually you don't get any more than 3-4, maybe 5% without actually getting a promotion in title.)  He should consider what's normal around his workplace and factor that in to his asking number so he's not asking too much, but also not asking too little. 

Good luck!

theartistformerlyknownas

Agree with PPs. You (general you/he) need to prove why you actually DESERVE more money - have you increased your skills? responsibilities? workload? has the COL in your area gone up so dramatically in ways that you can prove you should be compensated more? 

Saying "I should have a raise because I haven't gotten one in a long time" will never go over well, especially if business is weak enough to justify cutting hours.

flutteringinfl

Yeah, he definitely plans to cite the solid reasons he deserves one. As I said, he's often tapped for special assignments and his work (both the effort he puts into it and the results) is often praised publicly by his coworkers and bosses. And I'm sure he could come up with other reasons himself. I definitely think he deserves one, but we both want to make sure he approaches it with the right ammo.

novella1186

southernbelle0915 said:

I think the best way to ask for a raise is to make a fact/evidence based case for why he deserves one. Has he taken on more responsibility? Become a subject matter expert? Taken on more work? Taken on more staff? 

Usually just being somewhere for a certain amount of time isn't good enough. Bosses want to see ambition and reasons that justify more money. 

If I were him, I'd make a specific, bullet list of all the reasons I deserve a raise. And then I'd ask for a meeting with my boss to make my case.

ETA: And also, then they'll probably ask "so what do you think you deserve?" He should be prepared to answer that.

This. If I were to go in and ask for a raise, I would do this. I could say I've executed x number of process improvements. For example, I did x which improved efficiency by y amount for z process. This improvement impacts a, b, and c. 

X project I was given the lead on was accepted by y, and increased our market share by z%

These are all very solid, specific ways I brought value to the company. I give the company value, I have earned more value for myself, hence the raise.