Have you ever asked for a raise? Gotten it?

[Squatch]

Over the past year, I have busted my hump in this position, gotten promoted (without a raise), and always delivered results ahead of schedule. I find myself in the curious position that I feel that I can actually ask for, and get, a raise.

My only hesitation is that I don't want to come across as greedy, but I do feel this company has enough money to make my life a little more comfortable.

Anybody have any tips, horror stories?

[chicagojoe]

1. I asked for a raise once, of a specific amount,

and the boss said "Yes", without hesitation. I should have asked for more, since it was that easy.

[Modem Butterfly]

2. I have

I asked for a meeting with my boss, with whom I have a very good working relationship. We sat down and I pulled out evidence of how I had saved the company time/money/effort/stress and began my spiel. She gave me a 10% raise, but at review time the following spring, six months later, she only gave me a 3%, explaining that I had already gotten a substantial increase. She was right, of course.

Now my boss is in your position, of having done some big things and wanting some recognition. She doesn't feel that she will get a monetary raise, so I've worked with her on negotiating some intangibles, such as extra vacation, extra head count, and an increased bonus structure. She's supposed to sit down with the CFO next week, so we'll see how it goes.

[unblock]

3. get over the "don't want to come across as greedy" thing asap

if you're going to give an ultimatum (which i do not recommend), then sure, you better be reasonable. but as long as you're willing to be flexible and accept something lower, then it really costs nothing to ask for more.

you never know, you might get it. even if you don't, you might get more than you would have if you had gone in asking for less.

[Squatch]

7. I wasn't going to give an ultimatum, since I enjoy working here.

Unless I win the lottery, I don't plan on leaving this company any time soon.

[xmas74]

4. I made a presentation to my boss

I had every point written down, examples of my work, etc.
I pointed out to him that if they had to hire someone to do the same level of work that I do every day, they would pay much more than I was asking for.
I got the raise, no problem.

[StopTheMorans]

5. i have asked for, and have received, 3 raises in the past year

they've all been deserved. if you have a history of performance, and you can show this to your boss in measurable terms (i.e. how much more revenue you've generated vs. how things were before you took the position), that would definitely help too. it never hurts to ask, as long as you can prove that you're worth it (and they have the resources). good luck!

[sui generis]

6. it works better if you blackmail them

. . . just kidding.

Here's what you need to do to make your case:

1. document how what you've done has increased the bottom line to the company
2. enumerate the dollars
3. repeat and summarize

Tell them this is your career and while a promotion is a sign of advancement, a promotion in responsibility without a promotion in compensation is like demanding and getting a freebie from you. Tell them you've remained motivated in spite of the lack of a commensurate increase in compensation because you know that it takes some time to "settle in" and prove yourself, but you feel by now that you have done that and it's their turn to step up to the plate.

An asshole will say that you were hired to find ways to save the company money, it's your job and they don't need to pay you more to do your job. You need to be able to say that in the course of saving the company money and making them a better place to work / more efficient, more profitable, you have learned enough about their business to do the same for their competitor, who would be happy to pay you what you're worth.

A good boss will say, you're right, you deserve it, and do something about it.

[Squatch]

9. Thanks! That's good advice!

[NewJeffCT]

8. What type of person is your boss?

Is he or she a good person, or the sensitive type that could be easily offended (I can't believe Squatch was so rude as to ask for a raise at a time other than annual review time!!!) My wife just went through something similar though, and when she talked to her boss, he said it was the same job as she had before so there was no reason for her to get a raise or bonus, even though she went from supervising 2 people to 6 and from running part of a department to running a whole department.

Until my current company, I've always worked in good sized companies that were pretty formal about when you got raises (first full pay period of April... bonuses are paid by the end of February for tax reasons...)

[dr.strangelove]

10. I got a raise when I told my boss I quit last year.

A rival firm made me an offer, which I accepted. I told my boss that I was quitting. He asked me why and I told him it was an offer I could not refuse. He asked me what it was and I told him. He beat it. I did not expect that, but it sure was nice.

[meegbear]

11. Have a list of your accomplishments ready ...

show that you feel that your work justifies it. It already sounds like you deserve it.

As for a horror story, after a few years away from programming, I was given a programming job at my company, after a couple years of tech support. We were acquired by a larger company and folded into their development group. There were 20 developers, including myself, on a big project. We all worked together and did the same level of work.

I found out after my review (they did them for all 20 of us the same week), that I was a grade 3, which means I was considered a junior programmer and the other 19 were a grade 5, senior programmers. You're grade in part determined how much of a raise you got. Because of this, the guys in my group each got around a 5K raise. I got 1200. I was pissed. I tried to talk to the head of the development team, but he would blow me off (we never got along anyways). I found another job a few weeks later while on vacation and gave notice when I came back.

I learned the day I gave notice, my immediate super gave notice the week before. When we were talking, he said he was glad for me because he knew what was going on and said it was for the best. And it was. The product bombed and they sold the software to another company.

[Mr. McD]

12. More than a raise

I ask that my position be reclassified to a higher pay grade. I backed up the statements that the work I was doing was consistent with the guidelines for the higher pay grade, it was approved one year retroactive .:)

If you don't try you will never know. It's not about greed, it's about knowing your worth.

[RubyDuby in GA]

13. Here's how I got my raise

I work for an architectural firm doing administrative work. At the time, I'd been here about 4 1/2 years. The higher ups brought in a younger woman to be our office manager, despite the fact that I was qualified for the position and they could have hired within. Anyhows, after about a year, they decided to let her go...belt tightening at the firm, and I got "promoted" into that position. Since the position handles payroll, I got to see what everyone in the firm makes. I was furious to find out that I was making the same amount as our receptionist, who had been there two years less, and didn't do nearly as much as I did. Also, newly let go Office Manager girl was making $8,500 more than me. I sucked it up and busted my butt for two months, catching on quickly to the new things and generally making sure the office ran smoothly. Then I asked for a sit down with the principals. I asked to make what the position paid since I was doing the job very well now. They said they'd talk about it. Two months later, when I hadn't heard anything, I made a point to start interviewing around and let a few of the office gossips know it. The clincher was when I came in on a Friday in a business suit, panty hose and high heels and was gone for over two hours on my "lunch break" (our office is beyond business casual - we love our jeans). The following Monday, I got my raise.

[pansypoo53219]

14. i quit once

and went back and got a raise.

[Ivan Sputnik]

15. Is there such a thing

as a "promotion" without a raise?

[datasuspect]

16. what's a raise?

[TlalocW]

17. Horror story

On my first programming job, I was a contractor, and I didn't realize that contractor = piece of shit so my sense of humor wasn't always appreciated. After I was brought on as a regular employee, my new manager was great because we had the same sense of humor, and he actually believed in doing his job, and I modeled myself after him - meaning I told people no when they needed to be told no, which didn't sit right with some people. That guy got sick of being a manager so he went back to being our team lead programmer, and we were given another manager, who was basically a lazy wuss. Here's the fun sequence of events.

I went to the new manager during a hiring/promotion freeze to show him everything I had done that had basically revolutionized and cut in half (or more) the time needed for our group (and thus all groups) to get a new development out the door. He was impressed but said I had a "reputation," and if I could keep my nose clean and not get any complaints until the freeze was over in a couple months, he would give me the promotion/raise.

During the freeze, the team lead and I were documenting everything that the business analysts were doing wrong and blaming on us. We literally had a stack of proof an inch high. We presented it to the manager after the freeze was over, and he had to admit that all their complaints against us were invalid. The team lead left, and I stayed behind and asked him, "So the freeze is over. Have there been any complaints against me in the last couple months?" He looked confused and said there hadn't. "So as per our agreement will I be getting my promotion?" He hemmed and hawed and said something about my having a reputation. "Based on what we just showed you about the group that always complains about us, how much of that reputation do you think is valid now?" Not much, but there were still some perceived issues. "Well, there's always going to be perceived issues. Do you ever go and look into these like the team lead did when he was my manager?" I don't have time to go check out every complaint. "So basically you'll just take any complaint against me as the gospel truth because you're too lazy to do your job? I'm never going to move ahead as long as you keep doing that."

At that point, he told me the meeting was over, and I wasn't getting the promotion. Two weeks later, I found a better job and resigned, and my team lead went in and raked him over the coals for screwing me like that because of all the work I had done as well as he was going to have to train someone new to replace me.

TlalocW