How to Ask for a Raise: What to Say + Examples

1. How to ask for a raise

The process below works whether you're asking your first manager or renegotiating after years in a role. Most of the work happens before you speak.

1. 1. Research your market salary. Find the median and reported wage range for your specific occupation in your state, so your target is anchored to something verifiable.
2. 2. Document your accomplishments. Write down results from the last 6–12 months with numbers, dates and outcomes wherever you can attach them.
3. 3. Decide what you want. Pick one specific figure, plus the minimum outcome you'd accept.
4. 4. Choose the timing. Aim for a period of stability, ideally after a visible win and before compensation budgets are finalised.
5. 5. Schedule a dedicated conversation. Don't raise it at the end of an unrelated meeting. Ask for time and say what it's about.
6. 6. Explain your value. Lead with what the role looks like now versus when you started, and what you've delivered.
7. 7. Ask for a specific amount. State the number or range clearly, then stop talking and let your manager respond.
8. 8. Be ready to negotiate. Know in advance which non-salary items would genuinely have value to you.
9. 9. Follow up in writing. Send a short summary of what was discussed, what was agreed and the date you'll revisit it.

2. How to know if you should ask for a raise

A raise request lands better when something concrete has changed. Signals that usually support a request include:

• • Your responsibilities have grown beyond the job you were hired to do.
• • You can point to measurable results — revenue, savings, output, quality, retention.
• • You're effectively performing at the next level without the corresponding pay.
• • Your salary appears to sit below the market range for your occupation and state.
• • You've gained a licence, certification or skill the role actively uses.
• • Your performance has been consistently strong across review cycles.
• • A meaningful period has passed since your compensation was last reviewed.

Time served on its own is the weakest argument. Twelve months in a role doesn't entitle anyone to an increase — what you did during those twelve months does. If your main reason is that your pay looks low, verify it first: check whether you're underpaid against published wage data for your occupation and state before you raise it.

3. How much of a raise should you ask for?

There is no universal percentage. Any figure presented as the “standard” raise ignores how much pay varies between occupations, states, employers and levels. The defensible approach is to work out the number your situation supports, then check it against the market range.

The factors that actually determine a reasonable request are your current salary, the market range for the occupation in your location, your performance record, any responsibilities you've absorbed, your employer's internal pay bands, your industry, and whether the job itself has effectively changed into a different role.

• • If you're paid below the range: the gap to the median is your natural target, and it's the easiest ask to justify.
• • If you're paid around the median: your case rests on performance and added scope, so tie the number to specific results.
• • If you're already above the range: base pay may have little room. A bonus, expanded remit or a move up a level is often the more realistic conversation — see how to ask for a promotion.
• • If the role has genuinely changed: benchmark against the occupation you're now doing, not the one on your original offer.

Calculate What Your Raise Would Be Worth

Before deciding what to ask for, calculate what different raise percentages would mean for your actual pay. Enter your current salary and a raise percentage below to see the difference per year, month, week and hour.

Want to compare two salaries or project your pay over several years? Use the full Salary Increase Calculator.

4. When to ask for a raise

Timing rarely makes a weak case strong, but bad timing can sink a good one. Look for a moment when your value is visible and the money isn't already committed.

Good moments to ask

• • Shortly after a meaningful achievement, while the result is still fresh.
• • After you've absorbed substantial additional responsibility.
• • Before compensation and budget decisions for the next cycle are finalised.
• • During a performance review, if your organisation ties pay to that cycle.
• • When you have solid evidence your pay sits below the market range.

Poor moments to ask

• • Straight after a serious performance issue or a missed commitment.
• • During layoffs, hiring freezes or visible financial stress.
• • Without preparation, when you can't yet answer “how much, and why?”.
• • On a day your manager is clearly overloaded or dealing with a crisis.

When to ask for a raise at a new job

Early in a new role you generally have little leverage — the salary was just agreed. The exception is when the job differs materially from what was described: you're covering a vacancy, running work that was never in scope, or the level you were hired at doesn't match what you're doing. In that case, raise it as a scope correction rather than a raise request, and do it as soon as the difference is clear.

5. How to prepare for the conversation

Preparation is what separates a request that gets considered from one that gets deferred. Work through this checklist before you book the meeting.

• • Market research: the median and percentile range for your occupation in your state.
• • Accomplishments: 3–5 results from the last 6–12 months, with dates.
• • Metrics: numbers attached to those results wherever they exist.
• • Expanded scope: tasks, systems, accounts or people you now cover and didn't before.
• • Positive feedback: review comments, client praise, recognition you can cite briefly.
• • Your target: one specific salary figure.
• • Your floor: the minimum outcome you'd accept without revisiting the conversation.
• • Alternatives: what you'd ask for if base pay genuinely can't move.

Evidence beats effort. “I work hard” is unverifiable and every colleague can say it. “I took over the second territory in March and it's up 18% since” is a fact your manager can repeat to their own boss — which is usually who actually approves the increase.

6. What to say when asking for a raise

Keep the structure simple and the tone matter-of-fact. Five beats cover it:

1. 1. Open with appreciation and context for the conversation.
2. 2. Explain how the role and your contribution have grown.
3. 3. Present two or three pieces of measurable evidence.
4. 4. State the compensation you're asking for, clearly and specifically.
5. 5. Invite discussion rather than demanding an answer on the spot.

After you state the number, stop. The silence feels long and it does useful work — it hands the conversation to your manager instead of letting you negotiate against yourself.

7. Examples of how to ask for a raise

Adapt whichever example fits your situation — replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details, and keep it in your own voice.

I'd like to set aside some time to talk about my compensation. I've been in this role for [time period], and I'd like to review my salary against the work I'm doing now and what the role pays in our market. Would [day/time] work for that conversation?

Over the past year I [specific result — e.g. cut processing time by 30%, took on 12 additional accounts, trained four new team members]. That work has gone beyond what my role originally covered, and I'd like to discuss adjusting my salary to [target] to reflect it.

Since [date], I've taken on [responsibility] in addition to my original scope, and [second responsibility] has moved to me permanently. The role I'm doing today is materially larger than the one I was hired into, so I'd like to talk about bringing my compensation in line with it — I'm targeting [target].

I've looked at published wage data for this occupation in our state, and my current salary sits below the typical range for the work I'm doing. I'm not raising this as a complaint — I want to stay and keep building here. I'd like to discuss moving my base salary to [target], which sits within that range.

I've now completed a year in the role. In that time I [result], [result] and took on [responsibility]. Given those results and the market range for this position, I'd like to discuss increasing my salary to [target] as part of this review cycle.

The scope I'm covering now — [responsibilities] — matches what our [senior title] role is responsible for. I'd like to discuss both the title and the compensation that go with that level, and what the path looks like if the change can't happen immediately.

8. How to ask for a raise when you're underpaid

Discovering that your pay lags the market is frustrating, and that frustration is the main thing to leave outside the room. Frame the conversation as a correction supported by evidence, not as an accusation — your manager frequently didn't set the number and may need to argue your case upward.

• • Benchmark your specific detailed occupation, in your state, not a broad job family.
• • Say where your salary sits relative to the range, and by roughly how much.
• • Pair the market evidence with your own results so it isn't purely a data argument.
• • Ask for a specific figure inside the range rather than “market rate”.
• • Avoid naming colleagues' salaries; it shifts the discussion away from your case.

9. How to ask for a raise after one year

One year is a common point for a compensation review, and it's a reasonable time to raise the subject. But the anniversary itself isn't the argument — what you did in those twelve months is. Build the case on results delivered, scope you've added, your performance record, the market range for the role, and where your employer sits in its own review cycle.

On how much to ask for after a year: the honest answer is that it depends on the same factors as any other raise. Someone who absorbed a departing colleague's workload has a very different case from someone who performed the agreed job well. Start from where your current salary sits in the market range, add the weight of what changed during the year, and take that to a single number you can explain in two sentences.

Practical timing note: find out when your organisation sets compensation. Raising it a month after budgets close often means waiting a full cycle, however strong the case.

10. How to ask for a raise in writing or by email

Writing works well when your manager is remote, when you want the request documented, or when you'd rather give them time to consider it before responding. In most cases the strongest approach is a short email that requests the conversation and signals the topic, with the detailed case made in person.

Subject: Time to discuss my compensation

Hi [Manager's Name],

Could we schedule 20–30 minutes this week or next to discuss my compensation?

Since [date], I've [key result] and taken on [responsibility]. I've also reviewed published wage data for this role in our state, and I'd like to talk through where my salary sits relative to that range.

Happy to work around your calendar — just let me know what suits.

Thank you,
[Your Name]

If you need fuller wording — a written counteroffer, a formal request, or a follow-up that confirms what was agreed — our salary negotiation email templates and examples cover those in detail.

11. What not to say when asking for a raise

• • “My rent went up.” Personal costs are real, but they aren't evidence of your value to the employer.
• • “Otherwise I'll have to leave.” An empty threat can be accepted, and it changes how you're viewed either way.
• • “[Colleague] earns more than me.” This makes the discussion about someone else's pay rather than your contribution.
• • “I'm the hardest worker here.” Unverifiable claims invite disagreement instead of a decision.
• • “Sorry to bring this up…” Excessive apology signals you don't believe the request is justified.
• • “I need an answer today.” Most raises require approval beyond your manager; a deadline forces a fast no.
• • “Whatever you think is fair.” Going in without a target hands the outcome to someone else's budget.

12. What to do if your raise is denied

“No” rarely means never. It usually means one of several specific things: not in this cycle, no budget right now, performance expectations that haven't been met, a pay band ceiling for your level, or a decision that needs approval your manager doesn't hold. Your job in that moment is to find out which one it is.

• • “What would I need to accomplish for us to revisit my compensation?”
• • “When would be an appropriate time to review this again?”
• • “Is this a budget question or a level question?”
• • “Are there other compensation options we can discuss?”

If base pay genuinely can't move, other elements sometimes can — a bonus, additional paid time off, flexible or remote working, professional development or certification support, a title adjustment, or a written promotion path with defined criteria. Not every employer offers these, so ask rather than assume, and get whatever is agreed in writing along with a date to revisit it.

If the answer stays no over several cycles while the market data keeps showing a gap, that's useful information about your options. Our step-by-step salary negotiation guide covers how to handle the compensation conversation when a new offer is on the table.

13. Frequently asked questions