3 Things You Should Never Do If You Want a Raise

By Laura Browne, Author

If you want to get a salary increase, here are three areas you must avoid during your discussion:

1) Don’t Say You Need a Raise To Pay Bills
Your manager doesn’t want to hear that your rent is going up and your car needs new brakes. You need to focus on the business reasons you should get a raise not personal reasons. While your boss privately might be sympathetic to your money woes, that won’t get you a raise. Bosses don’t want to hear that you can’t handle your personal finances.

2) Don’t Hint That You Will Quit
Unless you are ready to walk out the door in the next hour, don’t hint that you might quit. Managers hate this and it could easily backfire. Even if you are looking for a new job, don’t use that as a strategy to get more money in your present job.

3) Don’t Get Emotional
If you get emotional, your boss will want to end the meeting and will be reluctant to discuss it in the future. If you are afraid that you might become emotional, you need to spend more time planning and practicing how to appear calm even if you feel upset.

So what should you do instead?
Talk to your boss about getting a raise in the same way you would discuss getting additional money for a project. Keep it non-emotional.

That’s not easy because salary is a very personal subject, but remember that it’s uncomfortable for your boss too. The more professional you are, the better it will be for both of you. And if you don’t get a raise this time, your business-like approach will make it easier for you to bring up the subject again so you can get the raise you want.

About the Author:
Laura C. Browne is a corporate trainer and author. Her books, Raise Rules for Women: How To Make More Money At Work and Why Can’t You Communicate Like Me? How Smart Women Get Results At Work are now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.