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Ask HN: What should I do to prepare for a meeting about my annual raise?

by JakeWesorick on 7/20/18, 4:22 PM with 57 comments

• by throwaway5752 on 7/20/18, 5:28 PM

  It has probably already been decided. You can articulate what you think is a fair raise for next cycle.

  You're getting some silly advice here that will make you seem a bit cocky at best, delusional at worst (do not produce a promotional packet for yourself). This is what happens: the company defines a budget, the budget is allocated across teams based on risks/prior success. The budget defines the pool of salary adjustments and that is the anchor. You can influence your share of that pool in this conversation, at best.

  If you want to get your manager to the right frame of mind, have this structure of conversation: first, if you are dissatisfied with your salary, say it. This is not a bluff, you have to be dissatisfied and have options elsewhere. Know what the pay at those options are, and be prepared to get bad news (either they don't think you are worth that, or cannot match it). If you are looking for incremental adjustments, know that COLAs are usually 2-3%, promotions are usually 5-10%, and merit is somewhere in the middle. Think about what you've done in the past year that has a lot of business value (if you did analytics that saved money or increased sales, or did important work on a product that won/retained customers). If you've shown professional development (leading a project, mentoring new team members) or improved the efficiency of an existing process (lower cloud costs, shorter duration) mention it and try to get a read if your manager remembers them and/or agrees. Since this is a form of negotiation be prepared to talk about how you want to build on last year's achievements/progress next year, and ask what you can work on that would help you achieve your salary/growth goals and help the team (what return your manager can expect from the increased investment in you).

• by kadabra9 on 7/20/18, 5:02 PM

  1. Data points. Data points. Data points. Go through and document, line by line, what you have done this year. Translate each line item into approximate value created for the company, whether in dollars or resources freed up. Chances are your manager will need to get any bump or promotion cleared with the powers above him, so make it easy by providing as much data as possible.

  2. Make a sort of mental script that goes over the data points from item 1 and why all those make you worth what you are seeking. Practice it. Not only will it help you articulate your ideas more clearly, it will also help calm you down a bit. Salary discussions and negotiations can be intimidating.

  3. Have a vision for what you can continue to add to the company, after you have received the raise/promotion you are seeking. Is there a specific project you can lead, team members you can mentor, etc. Demonstrate that you have a vision for yourself in the future at the company, to go with (hopefully) a strong list of achievements that have already added value.

• by toolz on 7/20/18, 5:04 PM

  Why would you want to be paid fairly? Aim to get paid what you want - not what some group of people decide is "fair". If you don't get what you want, that's not the end of the world, just gives you goals to strive for.

• by teeray on 7/20/18, 5:43 PM

  For your next annual raise, I suggest the following: start a work journal and make entries in it daily. Log the things you've done, the things you're waiting for (blocked on), the meetings you've had and how long they took. Use this as a guide to read from during your standups, if you have them.

  At the end of the week, look through the previous week's entries and conduct a review [1]. Create a separate entry in a weekly log detailing the accomplishments, things to improve, things that went well, etc.

  You can keep rolling these up if you prefer (monthly, quarterly, etc.), but I've found ~50 weekly logs pretty skimmable in the time leading up to a review. Keep in mind that the more rollups you do, the more work it will be, and the more likely you will be to stop logging altogether.

  While you may be able to capture some big accomplishments with an end-of-year brain dump, your weekly logs will expose the more subtle things: conflicts encountered, how you moved obstacles out of your way, the people you worked closely with, etc. Addressing these things in your review alongside your "hard" accomplishments will make for a stronger argument in your manager's eyes.

  [1] Cal Newport, in "Deep Work" (http://calnewport.com/books/deep-work/), has a good section on doing a weekly review as a means to increase the amount of deep work in your working day.

• by thinkingkong on 7/20/18, 5:19 PM

  You should understand in advance the way the company does raises. Typically youll have a (usually guaranteed) COLA which is small. From there salary is tied to peformance and responsibilities. Your manager should have already shared this with you and ideally youve been working towards making progress.

  If none of those things are in place then like other posts suggest, perhaps get a backstop and negotiate with other companies. Just remember the difference in salary might not make up for all other benefits. Just be honest with yourself about what you want / need.

• by ianamartin on 7/20/18, 5:31 PM

  Don't make it personal. This is a business transaction. So don't think or talk about it in terms of what you want or what you think you need or what you think is fair. That's going to lose the negotiation.

  Find jobs that are similar to what you actually do (not necessarily the same title or description) and get salary information about them. Pick a number that's in the range of what you can find and go with that.

  The conversation from there is simple: this is what I'm actually doing, and this is what the market pays for it. That number will either be in your boss's budget or it won't. If it is, the conversation shouldn't be difficult for either one of you. If it isn't, you can negotiate for things that might be available but not counted towards budget. Extra paid vacation, ability to expense some things, etc.

  If it's just not in the budget, though, you've accomplished a couple of things by keeping it a business transaction. 1. You've put your boss on notice that you know what the market value is for your skills and you've done it without having to play any mind games or go get some other offer to try and negotiate that. And 2. You've just done some of your boss's job for him/her. You've just given data they can use at the next budget meeting so say, "Yeah, this position is getting x amount from everywhere else. We need to match." 3. You've proven that you have an adult understanding of how these things work, which will be very much appreciated.

  If you let the conversation go personal based on what you feel like you want or need, this is a risky move, whether it's an initial salary negotiation or an incremental. If you say you need this or were hoping for that and the company can't match, you're a flight risk. You have very probably just priced yourself out of a job.

  Keep it business, appeal to market data, and play your personal feeling close to your vest and you can negotiate for as much as you want without painting yourself into a corner.

• by f_allwein on 7/20/18, 4:31 PM

  Check out this site - good starting point: https://fearlesssalarynegotiation.com/book/

• by dangerboysteve on 7/20/18, 5:25 PM

  Working hard, being punctual, never calling in sick, being respectful are all things a company is already paying you for. I know shocking. These are not qualities for raises, they are expected of you. What matters is your impact to the company and helping them make money. Build your talking points around the value you add to the company and it reaching its goal (make money). Also keep in mind, salary is only one point in compensation. Things like more vacation time, better benefits, pension/401K contributions, stock options, educational funds, having them pay for an annual conference(s) you want to attend. But much of this depends on the company you are working for.

• by staunch on 7/20/18, 5:28 PM

  "I really like working here. I really want to keep working here. And I think I've proven that I'm a very valuable member of the team. But to continue being happy working here I need to receive a raise of $n. Otherwise I'm going to feel like I'm not being fair to the financial future of myself and/or my family."

  Being direct and firm is really the only way. The threat of quitting is probably better implied than made directly. It feels less like a harsh ultimatum which might trigger a defensive response. You want them to understand that you're not upset at anyone, you're just doing what's best for yourself and/or your family.

  But it's important to realize that it's usually hard to get a significant raise without changing jobs. Most companies have a very hard time doing this even when it's entirely warranted.

• by Spooky23 on 7/20/18, 5:39 PM

  All of these answers are right and wrong. It depends on the company and how things are structured. I manage about 90 people in an environment where the main lever for compensation upgrade is promotion. About 5-10% can get promoted in a given year. IMO, 30% deserve more. You may be a superstar, but go unrecognized (in dollar form) because I have a position in a different title series or tied to a project.

  You need to have a clue about how decisions are made and where discretion lies. In some places, you’ll be assigned numerical ratings and HR pukes out a number. In other cases, a manager/director has discretion, in others you get a 2% raise for breathing for another year.

  In all scenarios, you need to be able to confidently talk about the value you bring today and tomorrow. The hardest part is knowing who to tell the story too.

• by flabbergast on 7/20/18, 5:09 PM

  Find another job first so you can ask for a reasonable pay rise and play it hard if needed.

• by lnanek2 on 7/20/18, 5:10 PM

  Well, you can put together a promo packet. Collect all your best design docs, pull requests, list out the feature you shipped, the people you mentored, the opportunities you won the company, the money you saved the company, feedback from your peers and managers, etc..

  Although I agree with jaequery, if you really want a raise the sure fire way is to get another job offer and have your current company match or take the other offer. The biggest raise I've gotten at a company without that is $10k, but changing jobs can gain you much more.

• by TamDenholm on 7/20/18, 5:02 PM

  Ideally, go and interview at other companies, get an idea of the market, you may even unintentionally find something you're interested in.

• by rootusrootus on 7/20/18, 5:03 PM

  Ask for more responsibility. Put your manager on the spot and get them to tell you how you can take the next step in your career. But you need to be ready to actually do it. Just asking for more than a cost-of-living bump for no particular reason is not likely to get you much unless you are underpaid significantly (from HR's perspective) for the position you are in.

• by vbtemp on 7/20/18, 5:06 PM

  1. Have you defined your value statement? What qualities you bring to the table, and what you have developed over the previous year that make you more impactful and invaluable at your current company. That is your starting point for discussing a raise.

  2. Determine what would make you feel good (i.e., a what salary increase would make you feel short changed and resentful, and what would make you feel good and valued and fairly compensated). Take that number and use that as your baseline.

  If what comes in is under that threshold (at which you feel fairly compensated), you can discuss the raise again with the manager and how you feel it doesn't reflect your increased value. If this does not bring your salary to the lower end of your fair-compensation threshold, it's time to look for a new job. Otherwise, unless you're able to not let it bother you too much (I can't do this), resentment builds and it's best to look for an exit.

• by encoderer on 7/20/18, 5:34 PM

  Usually an engineer in large company doesn’t need to prove their work had business impact, only that they did what was asked and did it well. But if you can identify the work that you’ve done that did have positive business impact, talk only about that.

• by chrisbennet on 7/22/18, 1:06 AM

  I don’t ever recall asking for a raise except once where there was an agreement to raise me to market in 6 months if things worked out (or I would go).

  You can bust your hump for a 3% bump or just go work for someone who does value you and get some multiple of that. I called it “giving myself a raise”.

  As the sales guys like to say: “Your W2 is your review.”

  I suppose if you wanted to be proactive, let your manger know that no raise or a very small one is sending the message that you have no future with the company. It’s not a threat, it’s just business.

• by duxup on 7/20/18, 5:36 PM

  How is your relationship / communication with your boss (assuming he has some input on the decision)?

  Lots of good posts here but I find a good relationship with your boss and co-workers can be big factors.

• by sloaken on 7/20/18, 9:59 PM

  Nothing gets you a good raise like having an offer for another job.

• by southphillyman on 7/20/18, 5:42 PM

  The problem with asking for a raise is it usually needs to be approved by a separate HR/payroll department. I can't even really think of a time where someone that I know got a sizable raise without either taking on more responsibility (ie: promotion) or using an offer as leverage. The sad reality is most companies would rather waste thousands of dollars recruiting, hiring, and training new employees instead of giving that money to the employee they are replacing.

• by jaequery on 7/20/18, 4:58 PM

  its really not rocket science.

  before asking for a raise, always apply to other jobs and have something to leverage off of by looking around and applying to other companies. name your price higher than what you are getting now.

  if they accept your offer, you can now go back to your company and name a price in a take it or leave it situation.

  if they accept, great. if not, atleast you now have other alternatives to fall back on.

• by arikr on 7/20/18, 5:22 PM

  Read a few books on salary negotiation.

  Try Negotiating Your Salary by Jack Chapman.

  Fakespot says that Fearless Salary Negotiation by Doody is loaded with fake amazon reviews, so I might give that one a miss.

  And, read "Never Split the Difference" by Voss.

• by B1narySunset on 7/20/18, 5:00 PM

  Just straight up tell them you want more money and if they say no then leave.

• by codeonfire on 7/20/18, 4:54 PM

  Nothing. You have no bargaining power since you already work there and depend on your job for your livelihood. If you want more than your 0-2.5% raise then just go find another job.

• by dustingetz on 7/20/18, 5:20 PM

  Awkwardness is okay