Fitness and Health
How to Ask for a Raise: A Clear Case, Not a Perfect Speech
A raise request needs a clear case, not a perfect personality. Prepare the work you have done, the value of the role and the specific decision you want your manager to make.
A good conversation may still end in no. The aim is to leave with better information and a concrete next step, not to perform confidence until money appears.
Use preparation instead of a confidence test
AAUW's Work Smart and Start Smart programme emphasises researching a target salary, highlighting accomplishments and practising the language of negotiation. It is a resource for advocacy, not a guarantee that every employer will pay fairly after one conversation. [1]
Deloitte's 2026 Women @ Work report also identifies pay and career progression among reasons some surveyed women consider leaving jobs. Its 7,500-woman sample spans fifteen countries and is not representative of all women worldwide. [2]
Your request still needs to be grounded in your own role and results.
Build a one-page case
Start with your role as it exists now. Has the scope grown? Are you handling more complex work, training others or carrying responsibility that was not in the original job?
List a few results you can support. Use real numbers only if you can explain them. “Reduced processing time from two days to one in the team log” is stronger than “saved the company millions” when you cannot show the calculation.
Include quality, reliability and new responsibility where revenue is not a useful measure. Do not undervalue work because it is operational or hard to turn into a sales figure.
Research a sensible target
Look for information relevant to location, experience, role and employer size. A glamorous title in another city may not be a useful comparison.
Use an employer's published band where available and compare more than one credible source. Salary websites can be based on small or mixed samples. Treat them as inputs, not a precise verdict.
Choose a target and know what else matters: title, responsibilities, hours, training or a review date. Benefits are not automatically an equal substitute for pay, but they may be worth discussing.
Ask for the meeting clearly
Try this original message: “I would like to discuss my compensation and the scope of my role. Could we set aside thirty minutes next week? I will bring a short summary of my responsibilities and results.”
In the meeting: “My role now includes ____. Over the last ____, I have delivered ____. Based on that scope and the information I found, I would like to discuss moving my salary to ____.”
Then stop talking long enough to hear the answer. You do not need to fill every silence with another apology.
Prepare for common replies
“There is no budget.” “When is the next budget decision, and what would you need from me before then?”
“You need to show more.” “Which two or three results would support the increase, and how will we measure them?”
“We will see.” “Can we set a date to review this and confirm what the decision depends on?”
“Your pay is already fair.” “Could you help me understand the band and how my current scope fits within it?”
These are original examples, not magic words. Adapt them to the power and culture of your workplace.
An original rehearsal checklist
Practise saying the request aloud once with your notes and once without reading every word. Ask a trusted person whether the result and request are clear.
Check that you can explain every claim. Remove personal comparisons that are not supported. Do not threaten to leave unless you are prepared to act, and do not invent another offer.
Keep confidential company or colleague information out of material you share outside the workplace.
Turn the answer into a next step
Afterward, send a brief factual summary of what was agreed, if appropriate in your workplace. Include any targets, decision owner and review date.
If there is no credible route forward, you can quietly compare other opportunities. Asking well cannot repair every pay system.
Your job is to make a truthful, well-prepared case. An employer's answer gives you information about the role and organisation. It is not a measure of your worth as a person.