Many articles or tips on getting a raise hinge on the wording or being willing to quit your job. These may produce a minimal raise, but in my opinion, these tactics are not the successful foundation of long-term raises and promotions.
A better strategy for raises is to build habits, that when continued over time, make your skills so valuable, that you are offered top raises and promotions to keep you from leaving for a competitor. What are some of the habits of top performers? Exactly what you’d expect:
- Get to work a little earlier and stay a little later.
- Focus and diligence on getting work completed.
- Proactively take-on more responsibilities before you are paid to do them.
- Complete certifications, trainings, and degrees to maximize your qualifications.
- Join industry associations to learn and network for opportunity and learn your worth.
- Become the most valuable person on your team, department, office, and company.
- Request a meeting with your boss periodically to see if there are other things you can do to become a better employee (outside of a normal performance review).
Consistently building and performing these habits will move you toward being a far more valued employee. Top-ranked employees are far more likely to be granted the highest raises and the fastest promotions. Large corporations commonly make a list of their top 100 employees to mentor and advance within the company. Are your current work habit more similar to the top talent that is developed and protected or the replaceable workers that are only seen as an expense to be minimized? Are you more of a workplace warrior or the first slacker to be let go in a layoff?
As you become a top-ranked employee, you also become a target for your fellow employees who, by contrast, you are making appear as poor employees. So be ready for them to make false rumors about you. In order to weather these attacks, it is up to you to go out of your way to try to keep rapport with all of your fellow employees, as best you can.
A tactic to get a raise, even if it works once, will be an insignificant amount of money compared to a continual ratcheting of promotions and raises over your career from becoming a top performer. It is my advice that you focus on productive and valued habits and not tricks.