How to ask for a raise: preparation, script, and the three answers you'll get
The raise conversation is decided mostly before it starts: by whether your manager already knows your value, whether you asked at a time when budget exists, and whether you name a number.
The talk itself should be short. Value, number, ask, silence.
Prepare four things
- Three outcomes from the last 12 months with numbers attached — revenue, hours saved, incidents avoided, scope absorbed.
- A market range from two or three sources for your role, level, and city.
- A specific number, not a range. Ranges get read at the bottom.
- Timing: before budget planning, not after. Ask your manager when that cycle is if you don't know.
The ask
Say this
“I'd like to talk about my compensation, and I want to be straightforward about it.”
“Over the last year I took over the reporting pipeline, cut the close cycle from nine days to five, and covered the analyst role for four months while it was open.”
“Based on that scope and what the market pays for it, I'm asking to move to $110,000. What would it take to get there?”
Then stop talking
The pause after the number feels much longer than it is. Filling it by negotiating against yourself — 'but I know budgets are tight' — is the most common way people lose the conversation they were about to win.
If they say no
Say this
“I appreciate the straight answer. Help me understand which part is the constraint — budget, level, or performance.”
“If it's budget, when does that reopen? If it's level, what specifically would need to be true for me to be at that level, and can we write it down?”
If they say 'not right now'
Say this
“That works if we can put a date and a set of criteria on it.”
“Can we agree to revisit in the January cycle, with the criteria we just discussed in writing? I'd rather work toward something specific than check in again in six months.”
If they say yes
Confirm the amount, the effective date, and when it appears on a paycheck. Then send a one-line thank-you email restating those three facts. Verbal raises get lost in reorgs.
Common questions
Do I need a competing offer?
No, and using one as leverage changes the relationship permanently. Only mention an offer if you would genuinely take it.
What if my manager doesn't control the budget?
Then your goal is to make them a strong advocate. Ask directly: 'What do you need from me to make this case upward?' and give them the numbers in a format they can forward.
Should I mention personal financial need?
Keep it out. Compensation decisions get made on scope and market, and personal need shifts the conversation toward sympathy rather than value.
Your version of this conversation
These lines are a starting point. Describe your actual situation — the person, the history, the outcome you want — and get a script written for it, plus the follow-up message.
Ready-made scripts for this
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