I asked my boss for a 20% raise, here's how it went

👟 Topic: I asked my boss for a 20% raise, here's how it went

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When we pivoted The Leap Sprint, I mentioned it'd be a mix of my personal projects and my tech career.

For today’s article, it's the latter.

Last week, I had one of the nerve-wracking 1:1s with my manager. And it wasn't because of any performance issues or potential layoff rumors.

I was nervous because I planned to ask for a 20% raise.

For reference, most raises range between 5-7%. Getting 10%+ usually means exceptional performance. I was asking for double that.

So yeah, I really needed to know my shit.

Short story — I got the raise.

Long story — here's how I approached it to get a "yes."

Salary negotiation comes down to two factors: company performance and your personal performance.

Company performance is easy to figure out.

Did leadership announce poor numbers at the quarterly town hall? Did any headlines come out about your CEO and CFO getting caught at a Coldplay concert?

If the answer to both is no, company performance is fine. Meaning, they most likely have the budget for a raise.

The second part isn't as easy.

How do you know if you deserve a raise?

I did two things:

↳ Weekly check-ins with my manager

↳ Noting my achievements in a brag list

This way, I stayed visible with my manager, understand how he thought I was doing, and gather concrete talking points for why I should get a raise.

On top of your personal brag list, you need to understand market rate.

What are other people at your level and role getting paid across the industry?

Don't worry, this doesn't take long. You can use sites like Glassdoor or Payscale to find anonymous salary submissions for your job title.

Or, do what I did, just ask AI to research for you.

Tools like Perplexity or Claude excel at compiling research from hundreds of sources in minutes.

After researching, I wrote out a script.

I had the benefit of our 1:1 being virtual, so I could have my talking points up on a second monitor.

But besides wanting to reference them during the call, I also wanted to plan for the potential "nos."

↳ What if they say "not in the budget right now"?

↳ What if they push back on my market data?

↳ What if they just flat out say no?

Having responses ready meant I wouldn't freeze up in the moment.

Now for the toughest part, actually bringing up compensation with my manager.

I won’t lie, I googled "how to ask for a raise" like a complete amateur.

But multiple sources pretty much said the same thing: send a message or email beforehand and ask to schedule a meeting specifically about compensation.

This way, your manager knows what to expect and isn't caught off guard.

So that's what I did.

I sent him a short message saying “Hey, mind if we talk about compensation during our next 1:1?”

He replied, “Sure.”

The call went smoother than I expected.

We started by talking about my performance for the year, which was all positive. Then we transitioned into salary.

I went through my script, explained the market data, and ended by giving a specific number.

Important note here: when asking for a raise, always give a number. Not a range. If you give a range, you can bet they'll offer you something on the lower end.

After I finished, I tensed up, anticipating some sort of no.

To my surprise, my manager responded by saying he agrees I deserve a raise, and he'd already put in the request to HR.

So, mission accomplished, I got a raise.

Well, kinda, I won't know the final number until HR sends the new contract, but he didn't think 20% was a crazy ask. Until then. fingers crossed I guess.

Most of us will have this conversation at some point in our careers. If you're considering negotiating your salary, here's the quick version:

↳ Check company performance first, no point asking during a hiring freeze

↳ Keep a brag list throughout the year, you'll forget your wins otherwise

↳ Research market rate using Glassdoor, Payscale, or AI tools

↳ Write a script and prepare for objections

↳ Give a heads up before the meeting, don't ambush your manager

↳ State a specific number, not a range

And if there’s one thing I cannot stress enough, the anticipation will always be way worse than the actual conversation.

That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this post, share it with a friend!

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See you next Tuesday 🤝

-Michael Ly

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