How To Ask For A Raise in 2022

In this video, I'm going to share with you a battle tested strategy you can use to ask and get the raise you want

But before I do, I need you to understand some things from the perspective of the employer

Many people have come to me to ask for a raise only for me to fire them days later. Why is that

Well, most people overestimate their value to the company. They ask from a sense of entitlement but fail to do the proper groundwork

And when they're denied a raise, they become bitter, which results in us splitting way soon after

Many people feel entitled and feel like they deserve a raise simply for existing

but they do not understand that in order to get a raise, you have to create more value than you get

You can never expect to give more value than you give. It's a violation of the second law of thermodynamics

As energy is transferred, energy is wasted in the process. This is why perpetual motion is impossible

If you're an employee, a business must make a profit from your labor. Let's say I'm selling two dozen donuts at $8 a dozen and generating $16 in revenue

How can I pay you $17? Hell, if I'm paying you $16 and only making $16, how can you $1,000, how can you $1,000

I afford the cost of the dough, the milk, and the sugar to make the donuts? How can I pay rent

As an employee, you need to be creating value in multiples of what you're getting paid in

order for the business to cover the costs of all the other expenses and turning a profit for the

owner. Most people don't realize this. If you ask for a raise at the wrong time or in the

wrong way, you're likely not going to get it. So that's why in this video, I'm going to teach you

how to ask for a raise so if the odds of you actually getting that raise are stacked in your favor

First and foremost, make sure you're bringing value to the company. I mean, really bringing it

We have a poster in our office with a quote on it from Self-Help author, Napoleon Hill that says the man who does more than he's paid for will soon be paid more than he does

If you want to be successful in life and continuously level up, that's the attitude and type of mindset you need to have

We had an opening for a creative director position for my ad agency that I knew there was a young man on our team who wanted it

Unfortunately, this man was a 529er. A 529er is someone who was standing by the punch clock at 5

529, waiting for it to turn to 530 so that they can go home for the day

Now, I like this young man. He was a good kid, pleasant, easy to get along with

Because I liked him, I really wanted to see him get the position. But I couldn't just give it to him

He had to earn it. Aside from being a 529er, he wasn't that great of a designer

and wasn't able to create the quality output I desired. That's my fault for having had hired him

However, I wanted to see the kids succeed. I enrolled him in numerous courses

I gave him books to read, say him the workshop so that his skill set would improve

and it just never did. At the end of every day, he was standing by that punch clock at 529

waiting for it to turn to 530 so he could leave for the day. He just didn't want it bad enough

Though he wanted the benefits of being the creative director, such as the higher salary and the notoriety that came with it

he wasn't willing to put in the extra effort required for him to level up and earn that position

In fact one day overheard him say to another employee that if he were to get the promotion he would put in the extra work and effort to help fulfill the vision I had for the creative department at that time That the wrong mentality to have and it ultimately didn serve him well

Because he wasn't committed to the role and wasn't proactive in his efforts to improve his skills

and grow the department, I found myself having to hire outside vendors to create the artwork

at the level of quality I desired. That made his position in the company redundant as a result

Now, if he had been the type of person who was obsessed, I mean really obsessed with a quality and he was heavily invested in spending his free time towards learning everything there

was to know about design and video production, I would have given him the promotion and gladly

paid him double while he was being paid then. But that wasn't the case. He simply wasn't

creating enough value. If you want to be successful in life and in business, don't be a 529er

Put in the work and do your best to create as much value as possible for your employer

Remember this, the money, the fame, the freedom that operate with autonomy. Those are all

byproducts of creating value. Find more ways to create more value. Become obsessed with mastering

the skills required to do your job better than anyone else. And if you do this, the promotion

the raise you want is pretty much guaranteed. If you're someone who's creating a lot of value for

the company and you know it, then you're probably in a good position to ask for a raise. However

whatever you do, don't ask for a raise during a time when the company is in a period of contraction

Do some research. Ask around and make sure that the company's revenue is strong and growing

If it's contracting, I can guarantee you that the company's owners and the folks on the leadership team are probably sweating bullets

Typically in a time of contraction, management will be looking for ways to cut dead weight. If you are a mediocre employee and aren't bringing a ton of value to the company, you don't want that attention on you because it's possible that when it's time to lay people off, they'll be looking at you

And you may be one of the unlucky few who finds themselves in the unemployment line with all the other mediocre employees

So step one, make sure the company is in a period of prosperity. If the company is doing well and you feel like you're qualified for the raise or the promotion and you're bringing your A game

you'll want to do some market research to find out what the median salary is for that position you're filling in your city

Again, the market determines what you get paid. You can do this by going to payscale.com and completing a short survey to generate a free salary report

This report will give you a range of what similar positions are being paid in your area, which you can use to help you justify asking for the raise

Keep in mind that the primary purpose for most companies is the turn of profit. That means that most companies are incentivized to pay you as little as possible

You want to make sure that your ask isn't too big and sounds unreasonable to your employer

For example, let's say you're an HR manager and your salary report shows that the average

base salary for an HR manager in your area ranges from $49,000 to $95,000, with a median

base salary of $68,752 and you're making a base salary of $50,000

Don ask for That too big of an ask The goal should be to try and get you closer to the median base Now I wouldn sell yourself short either I would suggest asking just a little bit

north of the median salary with expectations that they're going to counter with a slightly lower

offer. So if the goal is to get you to $65,000 from $50,000, that's $15,000, I may ask for $70,000

You're more likely to get the raise if you're closer to the median salary because the employer

knows that if they were to replace you, that is why they would likely have to pay

their new employee. And they don't want to have to train them and walk them through all the stuff

of onboarding. It's just too much work. So why not just give you the raise? Smart businesses

understand that they need to remain competitive by offering larger compensation packages in order

to attract and retain a strong labor force to help them perform the functions of growing a profitable

business. If you've already proven yourself a valuable asset to the company and you're able to

present that value to your employer in a way that's reasonable, it will help you with getting the

raise. In addition to the salary report, create a list of the things that you've done to generate

value to the business to present to your employer. It's best to put a dollar figure for each

item on that list and get it high enough to where it more than covers the salary you're requesting

and then some. For example, let's say that you implemented a new HR process, which reduced

the turnover rate with new hires by 35%. The cost to hire and train a new employee to standard

is approximately $21,000 per employee, and you hire approximately 10 new employees every quarter

and half quit after training. In a year's time, you were able to retain seven new employees that you

would have otherwise lost. Seven times $21,000 is $147,000, which more than pays for your salary and then some

Actually, I'm not even sure about the math here, but that makes sense to me. The point is

show them as many things like that as possible. The goal is to make it a no-brainer to give you the

raise you're asking for. If you can show them that your effort save the company several hundred

thousand dollars, you've demonstrated that you are a tremendous asset to the company and

would actually cost the company more money to not employ you than to give you the raise that you

want. So be a person that actually creates value for the company. Check. Make sure the company's

doing well and not in a period of contraction. Check. Do the research to determine your market value

Check. Create a list of things you've done to generate value for the company that more than

covers your salary. Check. Now the absolute most important thing to remember from this entire

video is how to ask for the raise. You don't want to make demands. You don't want to make veiled

threats. You never want to appear as a threat to your employer. By doing so, you forfeit any and all

trust you had with them. If that trust is broken, it's nearly impossible to repair, especially if they

feel like you can leave and take clients or trade secrets with you to a competitor. For me

I'm an American. I do not negotiate with terrorists. If someone threatens me or tries to

use leverage against me, I've already made the decision to let them go. Now, I may say

Thank you for bringing this to me. Give me a week or so to review this and let me see what I can do But in my mind I already made a decision to let you go It may be by the end of the week or three months down the road As soon as I can find someone to either replace you or assume your responsibilities I can guarantee that you won

be working with us much longer. You want to keep things warm and fuzzy. Speak with humility

When asking for a raise, you should say something to the effect of Mr. or Mrs. Boss. I thoroughly

enjoy working here and I can see myself being here for many more years to come. I wanted to thank you

for giving me the incredible opportunity to be a part of the team and the growth opportunities

that you've afforded me. I believe in your vision for the company, and I want to play an

important role in helping you accomplish your goals. This year alone, I've been able to save

the company several hundred thousand dollars by implementing new processes within our human

resources department, and I feel like as we continue to grow, I'll be in an integral part

in helping you attract the right people to help us realize your vision for the company. However

as the company continues to grow, I like to continue to grow alongside it. Right now, I'm earning a

salary of $50,000 per year, and I'd like to earn closer to the median base salary for similar

positions in our area of $70,000. What value would I need to create for the company in order

to earn the raise that I'm seeking? Boom, shut up and don't say a single word until they answer

Most people do open to this point. They do the market research. They generate the salary

report and create a list of items where they've added value to the company. But where most people

screw up is how they ask. Don't demand anything. Don't be threatening. Simply

ask and let them answer. Provide them the salary report and the summary you created presenting the

reasons justifying your raise. If they don't give you a raise, they will tell you what you need to do

to get the raise. And now you have clear targets to hit. Hit those targets and get the raise

I had a young woman who executed this perfectly and her boss increased her salary from $40,000

per year to $60,000 per year. That's a 50% increase in her salary. The most important thing

to remember is how you ask. Make sure the numbers work in your favor

Make sure you're a person who gives more than you get. If you are, I promise things will work out in your favor

Give this a try and let me know if this works for you in the comment section below. My goal for this channel is to help equip people with the knowledge required to break the shackles

of their limited beliefs and empower them to live exceptional lives. If you're watching this video right now, remember you have unlimited potential

Don't let anyone tell you any differently. You were made in the image of God

You have the divine in you and you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. It won't be easy

It's going to be hard as hell. But with enough grit and perseverance, you have the power to turn your dreams into reality

If you want to see more content like this, please subscribe and please share this video with someone who needs it

I'm Bobby Hicks, and I hope this video helps you achieve more in your life