Work in IT? Here’s how to ask for a pay rise.

Either ask for a review or 1-1 with your manager, or wait until the next scheduled one. I’d prefer one of my team to ask me for a chat about salaries rather than ambush me with a request, but whatever works with your company culture.

In terms of negotiating, use the following:

  • What have you achieved in your role in the business, and what benefit has that returned? Ignore your standard duties – that’s what you’re employed for anyway. If you do something that clearly makes/saves the business £100k pa, a few k raise is an easy decision.
  • What’s the pay grade for your job across your industry? If you’re good, I don’t want to lose you just because I didn’t pay you enough. Equally, be careful of earning over industry average – you’ll be stuck in a job.
  • Be aware of any mistakes or failures you’ve had. It’s no good shouting about the £100k project you managed if you also ran one that lost £150k.
  • Look at the financial status of the business. If the business is doing well and has turned a sizeable profit, highlight it. This not only shows that the business could afford to give you the raise, but that you’re savvy enough to understand the commercial world you operate in. If the business turned a loss, be very wary of asking for a raise.
  • Have a backup plan. Could you ask for an additional training course? A performance-related bonus instead of a flat raise? If times are hard for the business, could you suggest a post-dated raise, or extra holiday in lieu of pay?
  • Be aware that with a raise comes extra responsibility. Don’t make your manager regret their decision to invest extra money in you. If taking that raise means working an extra few hours a week and extra pressure to hit targets, do you still want it?
  • Play the long game. Don’t suddenly start putting in a few extra hours here and there a few days before you ask. Be consistently excellent long-term.
  • Be aware of the rest of your team. It’s potentially worth suggesting not just a raise for yourself, but a blanket raise for the team, or certain members. Do you want to be the one on £10k more than your team-mate?
  • Ultimately, make the decision easy to make for your manager. They’re going to have to justify it in their budget, and potentially go to ask their boss for the money to pay you anyway. They don’t want to regret their decision.
  • Finally. Don’t forget to actually ask for the pay rise.