As of this week, I’ll have been working at my present job for a year. I know that I learned the job very quickly and do very well at it, but one of the common employee complaints (behind supervisors’ backs) is that the company does not give raises very often or for very much. This is my first job out of college, and I’ve never had to ask for a raise before. How do I approach my supervisor, and what should I say? Help, advice and well-wishes are all greatly appreciated! 
Generally, raises go hand in hand with your yearly review. Have you had one of those yet? If not, can you schedule one with your boss?
You shouldn’t have to ask for a raise if you’ve been doing a good job. And if it’s a common complaint that raises aren’t handed out very often, then dust off that resume.
Are you aware of any employee review processes the company has in place? Every place I’ve ever worked has done an annual performance review and based pay increases on the results. If you’ve been there a year, you’re due for one whether your company does them regularly or not. If your boss or HR doesn’t contact you about setting one up, approach your boss and request one, mentioning the idea of a salary increase at the same time. When you have the review, if you’re not offered a salary increase as part of it, request one. At the very least regardless of the outcome you should get a cost of living increase and if you’re an exceptional employee you should get a couple percentage points on top of that.
Do like my husband did - he was talking with his supervisor, mentioning that his one year anniversary was coming up, and it was time for a review, and my husband said it while rubbing his thumb and fingers together in the universal sign for money! His supervisor’s response - “All raises are handled in September.” So, come September, we’ll see what they put on the table.
Ditto the above: find out what your company’s annual review/raise cycle is. Then find out about the pay increase policy.
For example, my employer determines average raises for each department. It’s based on a combination of how well the company is doing and the cost of living. Each department head is then responsible for making sure the raises given average out to that amount. Who gets more or less than that average is determined by merit.
Our pay increases are given out in December, but they’re determined long before that (I think they start discussions as early as October). So don’t wait until you’re sitting in your review. Your raise may have already been determined.
The best way to get an above average raise is to make sure your manager knows all about the good work you do. You don’t want to wait till your annual review to bring up your contributions. Bring them up in your status meetings. If you don’t have regular status meetings, make sure to make a log of your accomplishments (some people wrap up the work with by listing them) and make your manager aware of them regularly.
Rarely does someone in my company really “ask” for a raise. It’s understood that it will be based on the factors above and asking makes little difference. Howevever, people do sometimes make cases for salary adjustments. The difference is that a “salary adjustment” can be made if your position has grown in responsibility. If your job description today has expanded from the job description when you started, you may have a case for a salary adjustment. (But that’s at my company–YMMV.)
If your company has salary grades, you should find out what yours is and where you stand in it. At my current employer and my two previous employer’s, it’s a lot easier to get a raise if you’re already towards the lower end of the grade. It’s much more difficult if you’re at or above the midpoint. If you find yourself in that position (probably not for someone who’s only been out of school one year unless you came in with a hell of an offer), you can lobby to get your grade level increased if your job responsibilities have increased.
Whatever you do, don’t use the format: I want $X because ABC company would pay me that, it’s the going rate.
Great way to necessitate a need for an interview with ABC. Just sayin. Keep it positive, know what the going rate is for your level of performance and for your tenure with the company, and pull that number out of the air–apart from this place you can get away without a cite in most cases. Focus on why you DESERVE the money, and not on being ENTITLED to it. It’s a fine difference, but it’s an important distinction.
Maddy is right on line. Find out how the raise system works. If you need to, schedule a one on one with your boss.
I used to manage a bunch of people. I’d get 5% a year salary increase (for instance) to dole out for all nine of them. If I gave Raph 8%, and he was highly compensated to start with, I had to give Bob (or someone else, or all of them) 2%. If I gave highly compensated Ralph 4%, I could give everyone else 5.5%. Although I worked at a firm that did reviews and salary adjustments all year long, honestly, I knew what everyone’s raise was when I got the budget - I just did last minute minor adjustments. But there was no room for off budget salary increases. If you came to me with ABC company will pay me that, the only response I could give was “great, let me know if you get the job.”