How To Finally Get That Raise You Deserve as a Millennial

Let’s be honest, asking for a raise is scary, but it shouldn’t be. After all, if we’re worth more than we’re currently being paid, then we deserve to get paid more. However, the process still fills a lot of us with dread. It shouldn’t. As the saying goes, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get”.

According to a report by NBC, 80% of people who asked for a raise, got it. The problem is, that most people don’t want to ask or don’t know how to ask properly. So, let’s right those wrongs. Here’s how to finally get that raise you deserve as a millennial. 

Know Your Value

First things first, you need to know your value. Not only personally, but know your value to the company. What have you done recently, or since your last review, that has been above and beyond, or brought in money or customers for the business?

List everything you do on a daily basis. This might sound tedious, but you can compare this to your job description and see where you’re doing more than you’re being paid for, or where your skills have improved from basic to advanced – things like that. All of this is super useful during the negotiation phase. 

Show Evidence

Numbers and testimonials don’t lie. If you work with clients or other departments, make sure you save copies and screenshots of any positive things they say about working with you. I had a “good stuff” folder in my emails that I’d pull out at reviews when I needed backup evidence for raises and negotiating perks.

Another thing to bring is data. If you have improved conversions, and views, removed barriers to entry, or made the customer journey better, there will be stats for that. The fact that you’ve improved something by X% is much better and more compelling than just saying because of what I’ve done, processes have improved.

There’s also a good chance that your boss might not have read the reports, so having the numbers in front of you during negotiation is a good idea. 

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Talk About Money

There’s been a taboo around talking about money that was pretty much set up by the elites so that we didn’t realize we were being underpaid or unfairly paid compared to our peers. It doesn’t serve anyone other than the corporations and bosses to keep your salary to yourself. 

If you have clauses in your contract about not discussing your salary with colleagues (a red flag move to begin with!), chat with people in similar roles on LinkedIn or chat with your friends who work at similar levels. You can also use sites like Glassdoor or find current roles in your area and field that have the salary banding shown on them. 

You can use this as a bargaining chip and it helps you be more realistic with where you sit. Saying a certain pay rate is the market average for the town or city you’re in can really help your argument and show you’re not pulling a number out of thin air. 

Do Your Research

This goes hand-in-hand with talking about money and finding out about comparable salaries, but it also means that you can see what titles, levels, and responsibilities people at the next level have. 

Ask around the office to find out other people’s responsibility above you and see how much of that you’re doing. You might be up for a title change as well as a salary raise in some cases. It’s also important to find out what projects are on the horizon that you’re going to be involved in.

Showing you’re thinking about the future, displays to your boss that this isn’t an ultimatum and you’re thinking about your future specifically at this company. It also shows that you know your worth and how if you do go elsewhere, they’re going to need to hire and train for a gap in that upcoming project, potentially postponing it. 

Be Clear and Calm

This is so important. Asking for a raise is a simple business transaction. You make your case, answer any questions, show why you deserve a raise, and then your boss returns with their answer. If it’s a no, you can ask why. Ask if this is likely to change in the future. Ask if they can increase their pension contributions (it’s a tax deduction for them) or annual leave instead. 

Be clear and calm in your resolve – it shows that you’re professional and rationally thinking all of this through. Money is emotional, we all know that, but in this scenario, thinking about a raise in a logical way is your best course of action.  

Dos and Don’ts

Okay, let’s round out with a few dos and don’ts

Do

• Ask for more than you want. They’ll want to compromise, so start higher than you want and meet in the middle. 
• Give them notice of the meeting. Especially if it’s middle management, they’ll need to see if there’s any wiggle room for raises from a superior.
• Ask questions and set dates to revisit the raise if they can’t do it at the moment.
• Make notes throughout the process and email them to your boss as minutes of the meeting so nothing gets lost in translation.

Don’t

• Bring in personal or external issues unless it’s directly affecting your ability to do your job. Just because inflation goes up, doesn’t mean your wages have to rise (it should, but it doesn’t work that way).
• Interrupt them when they’re responding to your points. Stay calm and make notes.
• Feel too awkward to ask why – a lot of bosses say no and no one asks why, but the reason can be a great indicator of whether you want to stay at the company or not.