Is asking for a raise out of the question right now?
Is asking for a raise out of the question right now?
With layoffs, hiring freezes, and budget cuts dominating the headlines, you may be wondering — is asking for a raise is completely out of the question for the foreseeable future? After all, how could we possibly think about trying to move up in our careers, when many of us are just grateful for employment during these turbulent times.
While I’m skeptical of generalizations that claim everything is on hold right now, I understand that it can be difficult to find the courage and motivation to advocate for yourself during periods of economic pessimism and uncertainty.
But before you throw up your hands and abandon all hopes for a raise this year, here are three steps that can help you maintain momentum during turbulent times and achieve your goals sooner than you think.
Refresh your market value
Have your responsibilities been steadily increasing over the years without a significant change in title or salary? Do preliminary findings reveal that your industry is paying a premium for employees with similar skills and backgrounds?
Taking a few hours or an afternoon to update your market value is a valuable exercise, especially if your compensation has been stagnant for a while. Having the latest information about your worth will prepare you for both planned and impromptu career-related discussions as well as clarify the types of opportunities you should be pursuing.
Shine a spotlight on your value
Do these requests sound like they will land someone a higher salary?
“If you pay me X more, I will take on Y more tasks.”
“I deserve a raise because my workload increased by Z% over the past year.”
Probably not. That’s because the most compelling professional negotiations are not transactional. Your job is to convince the other party that an investment in you is a smart investment in the project or organization.
How do you achieve this? Imagine your boss making a case on your behalf for your raise or a promotion. What specific data can you provide so your manager can complete the following?
I would like to request a X% salary increase for my direct report [your name] because…
Specific data points about your track record, expertise, and potential can help both you and your boss generate a win-win case:
[your name] achieved promising traction with product Z by signing on 50 new customers last quarter. I believe it makes sense for her to expand her area of ownership so that she can grow the rest of the product line.
Despite several challenging transitions this past year, [your name] kept focused and was able to lead her team to launch four successful products. I strongly recommend [your name] for the Senior Director role as she is more than equipped to expertly navigate her team through this crucial period for our company.
Even if it’s not the best time to present a case for more, consistently and regularly highlighting your value will keep you top of mind for leaders and key decision makers when new opportunities inevitably arise.
Advocate for the right work
Perhaps the most important step you can take is to advocate for the right work. If the recent layoffs are any indication, companies aren’t interested in simply rewarding employees for effort, performance, or loyalty. They are laser-focused on boosting efficiency and increasing profitability — and keeping the people and operations that will help them deliver these results.
This environment serves as an important reminder to work with intention and align yourself with the efforts of significance. Discuss with your boss how you can get involved with projects valued by both you and the company. This may require you to brainstorm ideas on how you can potentially replace, delegate, or phase out low-priority, poorly-defined, or redundant tasks on your plate:
“After managing project X for the past three years, I have developed many relevant skills that would enable me to contribute meaningfully to high-priority project Y. I would be happy to train Sarah to manage X’s operations going forward to ensure everything stays on track.
In order to build a meaningful track record, stop saying yes to the busy work and non-promotable tasks so you can be associated with more valuable areas of responsibility and ownership:
“While I’m happy to share feedback on the program’s administrative details, I believe a better use of my time would be to manage high-priority project Y which has the potential to help our team meet its revenue goals for the quarter.”
Take the time to invest in yourself by developing the skills and areas of expertise that will be relevant to the future needs of your business or industry.
“I would like to enroll in an exciting new Stanford Continuing Studies leadership course ‘Navigate the Workplace: Managing Up, Down, and Across’ so I can learn some helpful skills and tools to successfully manage the increasingly complex needs of our organization.”
In addition to setting yourself up for the next raise or promotion, being strategic about the work you take on can result in even bigger, long-lasting rewards including increased job security, sponsorship, visibility, and access to advancement opportunities.
Conclusion
Not sure how to advance professionally when times are tough? Take a page out of a business leader’s playbook — stay informed about your worth, emphasize your value, and focus on the high-impact efforts that can take you to the top. If you play your cards right and regularly follow these steps, you will not only make a positive adjustment to your paycheck, but to your overall career trajectory as well.
New Course Announcement:
This spring, I am teaching a new course at Stanford Continuing Studies — Navigate the Workplace: Managing Up, Down, and Across. This course is designed to help professionals, managers, and individuals responsible for direct and indirect reports skillfully manage up, down, and across to attain business impact and career success. This course will feature engaging lectures, interactive discussions and assignments, real-world case studies, example scripts, and 1:1 office hours. Students will come away with a specialized and highly applicable set of leadership skills to establish a positive and meaningful career and legacy. Please feel free to email nita1@stanford.edu if you have any questions.