Another post about negotiation salary? Indeed. Why? because I have more and more people asking me the question again and again. While I can not give you the silver bullet to get a 50% salary increase – although believe it or not, I have seen this happen – I can prevent you from making the most common mistakes. In this first post of the series, I want to address a critical aspect: Timing. When to ask for a raise? 100% guaranteed that the time is not at the end of the year during your review. But “Claude, this the time HR has set to talk about this type of topics”. So where to start?
- HR is not your friend. All HR departments represent the interest of the company. No exception. Of course, if there is an opportunity to benefit the employee and the company at the same time, HR may choose that option. But if it is between you and the company, the company wins. With this in mind, do you believe that HR set up specific times for you to cost more money to the company?
- Know the rules to break the rules. Do you know when budgets are set in your company? Do you know when managers review you and your peers and decide on salary increases? Hint, it is much earlier than you think, and when you ask for an increase, it is typically after it has been discussed, and you missed your window.
- Every day is payday. A negotiation starts usually before you think it starts, and it never really ends. Every day you show up to work, is your chance to ask for a raise. Just remember that there are many ways to ask. Sometimes you can be explicit, sometimes you can show your worth, sometimes you can bring your manager to say it, sometimes you can have others advocate for you. The more touchpoints you have, the more you are likely to get that raise.
Based on this do you think it is too late to ask for your raise? Maybe too late to get it tomorrow, but probably the right time to get it in 6 months or a year.
The Black Negotiator 