How to ask for a raise: make your contribution easier to evaluate

A useful raise conversation gives your manager something concrete to consider: what changed, how you contributed, why your proposed amount fits the role, and what you want to happen next. Preparation cannot determine the answer. It can make the request clearer and the next step less vague.

Start with the original Raise-Preparation Worksheet included with this episode. It has space for your evidence, pay comparisons, calculation, opening question and meeting recap.

Build a small evidence portfolio

Imagine Jordan, a fictional operations coordinator. Jordan has improved a weekly report and now trains two colleagues to maintain it. “I have been working harder” leaves a lot unexplained. A short record of the result, the expanded responsibility and the supporting evidence gives the conversation something specific to work with.

For each entry, write what changed, what you personally contributed and where someone can verify it. If it was a team effort, identify your part accurately. Include the measurement period and any limitation that matters.

In our fictional example, the reporting task takes eight hours before a process change and three hours afterward. The difference is five hours of capacity each week. That does not automatically establish five hours of cash savings: the organization may use the time for other work. Explain the measurement and its meaning together.

Check the work before comparing the pay

A title alone does not establish that two jobs are comparable. Match the duties, level, location and industry as closely as the available information allows. Keep the source date, currency, annual or hourly unit, and mean or median label attached to the number.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics salary-negotiation guide illustrates how industry changes the comparison. Its May 2025 figures for computer systems analysts show these mean annual wages:

These are an illustration of industry context, not a benchmark for Jordan's different occupation. The figures do not determine a particular employer's offer or establish which point in a range belongs to an individual.

Understand the number you propose

Suppose, purely for this fictional example, Jordan earns $62,000 and wants to discuss $67,000. The annual difference is $5,000. Divide that difference by the current salary: $5,000 / $62,000 × 100 is approximately 8.1%.

That is arithmetic, not a recommended raise percentage. The reason for a request still needs to connect to the work, role and useful comparisons. Keep the full salaries on one consistent scale if you graph the example; label the difference separately.

Prepare a clear opening, then listen

Arrange a dedicated conversation. An original opening for Jordan might be:

> Over the past six months, I have improved the weekly reporting process and taken responsibility for training two colleagues. I have brought a short summary of those changes and the evidence behind them. I would like to discuss increasing my salary from $62,000 to $67,000. How do you see that request in relation to my current role?

The structure is contribution, evidence, request and question. Adapt it to your actual work and natural speaking style. Then leave room for the response. The Harvard Program on Negotiation's preparation guidance and AAUW's Work Smart workbook offer further preparation exercises.

Record the actual next step

If the request receives support, clarify the amount, approval process and effective date. Support in a conversation is different from an approved pay change. If the answer is “not now,” identify what is preventing a decision: missing evidence, role level, budget timing or another issue. Ask what would need to change and when it makes sense to revisit the request.

Afterward, recap the action, owner, review date and open question. A future meeting is not a promised raise. A factual note should preserve that distinction and invite corrections.

Before booking the conversation, write down one result you can support and one question you need answered. That gives you a concrete place to start.

Sources reviewed September 21, 2026. BLS figures are May 2025 data. Marcus Bennett is an AI-created fictional host. Jordan and the employee examples are fictional; no compensation outcome is promised.