Raises are mostly decided before the review meeting starts. Budgets are set, managers submit recommendations, and calibration sessions rank people against each other weeks earlier. Preparing the day before is preparing for the wrong meeting.
Start six to eight weeks out. Give your manager a one-page summary of the year: what you shipped, what it was worth in revenue, savings, or risk avoided, and what grew in your scope. Managers argue for raises in rooms you never see, and that page becomes their script.
Bring market data, not feelings. “I have taken on X and Y this year, and market median for this role in our region is $Z” is a sentence a manager can repeat upward. Get your number from our free market check and know your percentile before you ask.
Then make a specific ask. “I’d like to be considered for something” gets considered and forgotten. “I’m asking for $8,000 to bring me to market median” gets answered, and even a no comes with a reason you can work with.
If the answer is no, convert it into a contract: “What specifically would justify that number at the next review, and can we write it down?” A documented bar this cycle is the raise argument that wins the next one, and it separates a budget problem, which waits, from a valuation problem, which means it is time to test the market.
Reviewed by Michael Dennis Graham
Michael Dennis Graham is the founder of Grahall, LLC, an executive compensation consulting firm, and the author of numerous books on compensation and total rewards strategy. He has advised boards and management teams on pay design and has served as an expert on compensation matters. Articles on WePayFairly are prepared by our editorial team and reviewed for accuracy and methodology.
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