Fancy earning more money? Great! You just need to approach your employer about it first. It’s certainly not an easy conversation to have and it’s important that you ask in the right way. However, according to CV-Library data, average advertised salaries in Ireland increased by 3.6% in April, suggesting that employers are willing to push up their pay packets, for the right people.
If you’re not sure where to start, read on for our advice on how to ask for a pay rise.
Do your research
As a starting point, you need to do your research. This will enable you to gather all the evidence you need to back up your case. Do a search online to find out what the average pay is for your role. There are a range of salary review tools out there, or you might find it out by searching for similar jobs in your local area.
Build your evidence
If you find that you’re underpaid, or simply want a pay rise because you deserve it, now is the time to start a list of your successes. Remember, most employers reward their staff based on their performance. Therefore, start a document that outlines any key wins you’ve had from the past 12 months and consider how these contributed to your employer’s performance. For example, it might be that you’ve been writing strong email copy that boosted your client engagement levels, or have introduced a new report, which has worked particularly well.
Decide what you want
Now it’s time to think about the pay rise you want to ask your employer for. Never simply pick a number out of thin air and be realistic with your demands. After all, marching in and asking for an unrealistic £20,000 increase will just result in your boss laughing at you, or worse still, getting annoyed. Factor in any extra outgoings e.g. tax, national insurance and student loan repayments as these will impact your take home pay.
Plan what to say
As mentioned above, you should put together a short list of why you deserve a pay rise. This will need to highlight your recent key achievements. It’s no secret that talking about salaries can be uncomfortable, particularly if you’re requesting a higher one. But, by planning and practising what you want to say, you’ll stand a better chance of explaining why you deserve the pay rise.
Approach your employer
Once you have a clear understanding of the pay rise you want to ask for and what you’ll say, it’s time to speak to your boss. If you’re approaching them outside of your annual or salary review, you may want to start by sending them a short email outlining that you’d like 15 minutes of their time to discuss something. Ideally, you’d speak to them after the completion of a successful project and avoid if the company is going through a particularly bad spell. During the meeting, you can then put forward your case.
Final thoughts on how to ask for a pay rise
While asking your employer for a pay increase might feel daunting, with careful preparation it will be much easier than you think. Be wary of your employer trying to negotiate with you and do your research. With this information, you can start to build your case and take this information to them as evidence to secure the salary that you want.
CV-Library.ie is one of the fastest growing job boards in Ireland. It is a sister site of the UK’s leading independent job board, CV-Library, which advertises a range of roles, from sales, to IT.
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