How Do I Confront My Manager for a Raise/Promotion
Published
Author: Matthew T. Grant, PhD
Matthew T Grant, PhD
Minister of Enlightenment
A Q U E N T
Question
I have been in my job for about 2 years as a Marketing Assistant straight out of college. I would like to confront my manager for a raise/promotion, however I want to present some hard facts regarding how much a person in my position should be making. Do you have any recommendations for sites that I can look at to present this info?
Answer
There are certainly resources out there - Salary.com, for instance - that can give you good salary info. Likewise, a few years back Aquent and the AMA published a salary survey for marketing professionals , that may still be helpful.
At the same time, when negotiating for a raise (not “confronting,” as you put it), I don’t think that compensation figures are going to be your strongest suit. I would instead begin by reminding your manager how valuable you are to the department. Talk about what you’ve done and, more importantly, the impact you’ve had. How have things changed, for the better, in the two years that you’ve been on the job? How have you grown as an employee? What new responsibilities have you assumed?
Then paint the picture of how much more you will contribute as time goes by. Let your manager know how important it is to you to be part of the company and its growth. Finally, talk about your career aspirations specifically in terms of the benefits they will bring the organization.
Of course, once you’ve made your case, you will need to ask for more money. Knowing what others in your position can make, and how much you would like to make, will guide you here, and help you come up with a reasonable number.
At the end of the day, your manager doesn’t care what other people “like you” make. Your manager wants to know what you’ve done for him/her and what more you can do. If you’ve adequately demonstrated your value and your potential, he or she will be much more inclined to compensate you in a way that will both motivate you and keep you growing within the organization you.