Know Your Worth: 5 Tips for Negotiating Your Salary with Your Boss

Discussing your salary with your boss and asking for more money can be uncomfortable, but if you avoid it, you could negatively affect your earnings potential for years to come. The key to a productive and straightforward discussion is being prepared and keeping a logical mindset. Check out these five tips for negotiating your salary with your boss:

1. Do Your Research

To determine what salary increase you should be asking for, you first need to narrow down the comparable average compensation for professionals similar to you. Do your research and look into online salary comparison tools to see the estimated salary range for your geographical location, job title, industry, years of experience, and any other relevant factors. This will give you a basic overview of your current market value. 

2. Quantify Your Worth

Market value data is not enough on its own since it is an average of other professionals’ compensation – you also need to accompany it with specific examples of why your own past performance merits an increase. Quantify your worth by focusing on accomplishments that benefited your employer to make the most compelling argument that you deserve a raise. Reflect back on times in which you saved resources, increased productivity, or achieved anything that sets you apart. 

3. Develop Your Key Points

In order to be taken seriously when negotiating your salary with your boss, you must project confidence – if you don’t come across as feeling confident you are deserving of more money, they are unlikely to take you seriously. Present your reasoning in a self-assured manner by developing your key points and rehearsing them until they are ingrained and come out naturally, even if you are nervous. 

Prepare your opening, such as “It has been [amount of time] since my last salary adjustment, so I would like to revisit this discussion.” Then, you can state what you found through salary research for comparable positions, along with your quantifiable achievements. You can then close with a clear request on the increase you are seeking, such as “Due to my market value and my contributions to this company, I would like to request [salary figure].” 

4. Arrange a One-on-One Meeting

Salary negotiation is not a casual topic of discussion, so don’t bring it up to your boss suddenly. Arrange a one-on-one meeting with your boss and ensure they know the topic so they can be prepared. For example, you can say something like, “I would like to schedule a time to talk about my performance and salary” in your request. 

5. Keep the Tone Positive

Salary negotiation should not be considered a competition in which there is a clear victor. Rather, it should ideally be a mutually beneficial collaboration. When you meet with your boss to negotiate your salary, keep the tone positive. Avoid being accusatory or defensive, and make it clear that you appreciate the opportunity and have enjoyed your time working there. Even if you do not receive the increase you request and end up seeking employment elsewhere, you want to maintain a positive relationship for the future. 

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