At work I’m currently involved in a project that is going to save the company millions of dollars over the next several years. With involved I mean I’m doing everything, in what is a hugely compact schedule, working nights and weekends for over two months, in addition to my normal workload.
I’ll be done with this project in a few weeks, and my next evaluation is in about two months.
My wife, is saying that NOW (before the project is complete) is the time to ask for a a raise. I am absolutely underpaid in my current position (my own fault, I’m just not someone who speaks up - ever, and this appears to make people eager to roll all over me) so this “raise” is really about bringing my salary up to a reasonable level. It still means something close to a 40% raise increase, however. Substantial by any reckoning.
So, here’s my question to you, fellow dopers: Is now the right time to ask for a raise? Should I wait until the job is completed? (with the obvious weaker bargaining position that will bring), should I wait for my next evaluation, and essentially, at that point, hope they finally decide to pay what I am worth? (they haven’t done it for 7 years so I’m not so sure about just trusting them to do right by me.
Is asking for a 40% raise reasonable given the savings and value I’m bringing to the company, and given that what I’m asking for basically places me at a barely competitive level, salary-wise?
As I mentioned, I’m not someone who normally speaks out. I’m a quite, nervous guy, just thinking about going into my bosse’s office and asking for such a raise is making me feel faint. But you gotta do what you gotta do to get ahead in life, I guess.
Any advice?
Too many varianbles to answer specifcally (Are you salried or hourly? What basis do you have for thinking you are underpaid by about 1/3?)
In general, your company wants to make a minimum of 3 times what it pays you. If you make $50K per year, you should generate at least $150K in profit/cost savings/other value per year. Document what you do for the company and put a realistic annual value to it - “millions over several years” is not specific enough. Have your calculations and assumptions outlined in writing. Make it a sales presentation - you’re selling your value to the company. It certainly wouldn’t hurt if you could find data on what other companies in your industry pay for similar work.
In short, if you prove why you are worth more to the company than you are being paid, they will be more likely to act than if you just say “I deserve a raise”.
There are two components to your being underpaid, if I read your post correctly: you feel that you are being paid less than similar individuals in the company/industry, and you feel that the responsibility you have recently been given, and hopefully, the performance you will demonstrate, justifies your being paid more.
These are two separate arguments. Therefore, you should use two separate approaches. You need to demonstrate that you’re being underpaid right now, and you’ll also need to demonstrate, after you complete the project, that you have become even more valuable to the company. Ideally, to reach the salary point you feel you deserve, you’d need two salary increases, one pretty much right after the other. Not gonna happen, unfortunately. So you should aim for one large salary increase, and I would recommend waiting until after you complete the project, so that you’ll be able to present two reasons for that increase (underpaid anyway/look at how well I did on this project).
Unfortunately, since you’ve been underselling yourself, it’s hard, as it would be when anyone is selling anything, to jack your price (salary) up to market norms quickly. Your employer will probably be shocked, or at least feign it, when you ask for a 40% increase. Yet, if you ask for less and he says yes, you’ll be left wondering if you should have gone ahead and asked for the whole enchilada.
The fundamental question becomes, then: are you willing to ask for what you feel you deserve, and are you prepared to walk if you don’t get it? Salary negotations are a game of chicken.