A perfect storm has been brewing and now is an absolutely fabulous time to be asking for a raise.

WHY?

A number of ingredients are impacting. First off, inflation is rising and the job market is strong. Take a look at the latest unemployment figures and job demand and you’ll see this rings true. YOUR best defence against the rising cost of living is to set yourself up with a payrise. Asking without proving you’re worth it won’t bear the benefits you are hoping for, so make sure you’re fully across your value. Therefore, make sure you really know why you’re an asset and then champion for yourself.

WHAT DO YOU ASK FOR?

Off the bat I will say that ‘only you know what you’re worth’. Yes, benchmarking can help. BUT you must be in control of the narrative of why you are worth it. Then you MUST have a carefully thought out gameplan. I was discussing job interview progress and job offers today with a senior public servant. They said that when they went to an interview they leant on their most recent experience with an agency where they’ve worked for a number of years. As we were discussing their value, they saw quickly they had undervalued their earlier experience and sold themselves short.

SO, TAKE THE TIME to really know and understand your value over a number of years and roles and that will hold you in better stead. I suggest always asking for 10% more than your top number. When asking make sure you can back it up with strong evidence that you are worth it. There is nothing worse than an empty ask!

IF YOU KNOW YOUR VALUE AND HAVE A STRONGLY DEVELOPED BRAND you will do better. Like I said before, if you have an empty ask and the other person has no clue that you deliver the value you do they will most likely say no, not right now. That’s definitely not what you want to hear. Be sure to architect your strong story and value so that when you do ask it’s a no brainer.