How to score a pay raise

Just minutes before Steve Ackerman was scheduled to meet with his supervisor for a contract renegotiation, a co-worker walked up to him and asked if he was praying. Ackerman had been so focused on what he was going to say in the meeting that he'd inadvertently bowed his head and clasped his hands together. But Ackerman, an editor for LRP Publications in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., had prepared so well beforehand that he really didn't need to bother with prayers.

First, he'd conducted a search of competing salaries in his field through the state's Department of Labor statistics. Next, he contacted a trade industry group to learn what job wages were like nationally. Lastly, Ackerman wrote a five-page summary of his accomplishments, which also outlined progress made in the areas he'd been told to address during his last salary review. His research and thoroughness paid off in the form of a 10 percent raise.

"Show what you've done, show what you're going to continue to do, and if you can throw in some tangible proof of what you're worth to them, then you're set," says Ackerman.

Ackerman's plan differs greatly from my own tactic of getting on my knees and begging (similar to my approach to romance). My problems aside, here's what some career experts list as the keys to salary negotiations:

Choose the right time. "Be prepared to discuss the last raise you got," says Stephen Viscusi, head of the Viscusi Group recruiting firm in New York City and host of a radio talk show on careers. "If it was six months ago, then [asking again] is absurd. If it was a year ago, then that's more realistic. Don't ask for a raise first thing on a Monday morning or when your boss is in a bad mood."

Viscusi makes a good point about knowing the right time to ask for more money. An article in the October 1998 issue of Psychology Today states that Thursdays and Fridays are the best days to ask for a raise. Why? People are more open to compromise on those days because they want to finish their work before the week is out.

However, career counselors disagree on how much notice employees should give their boss when it comes time to ask for a raise. Viscusi believes that an early warning lets the supervisor prepare their case for why you shouldn't get a raise.

"It's better to just come in and state your case," Viscusi says. "It's better to catch them off guard."

Other experts argue that providing an advance notice lessens the risk of upsetting your supervisor. It also makes it possible for them to discuss your request with the other managers involved in the decision.

"The only time you should surprise your boss is on his or her birthday," says Charley Swayne, a lecturer in marketing at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis.

Prove to them that you deserve more. Viscusi suggests that you do a self-audit in which you list all the ways that you add value to the company. For example, you work long hours and you never take sick days. You should also be looking for things that distinguish you from other employees. Convincing your boss that you're worth keeping will improve your chances of getting more bucks, but that doesn't mean that you can ask for the world.

"Be realistic," says Viscusi. "There's been very little inflation recently, so a typical raise is going to be somewhere between 1 to 4 percent. Come prepared with a solid reason why you deserve a raise. Don't say that your rent went up or that you have to send your kids to college. Those are personal problems, not company problems. "

Know how much your peers earn. You can't know for sure whether you're underpaid unless you find out what other people with your skills are earning. Web sites such as Salary.com offer access to free salary surveys in various industries. Wageweb.com provides average salaries for more than 170 benchmark positions. Don't give up if recent salaries are not available in your field. In Ackerman's case, some of the figures he found were two years old, so he simply adjusted them according to the rate of inflation.

Don't give your boss an ultimatum. Swayne recommends not pressuring your employer for an immediate response on your salary request. He also suggests not using other job offers as a bargaining tool. An angry boss might just show you the exit door. Even if you get the raise, they'll never trust you again.

"I wouldn't do that unless you were seriously considering taking one of those offers," Swayne says.

Finally, don't be discouraged if you don't get the raise you asked for. Companies don't want their best employees to leave them, so sooner or later they'll have to compensate you.

"The first thing that most people do when they get turned down for a raise is to let down,"Ackerman says. "That's wrong. You need to work harder, so that next time you go in there, then you can show them that you did just what they told you to do. If you do that, then they have to give you the money."