How to ask for a raise
Ask for a raise by booking a meeting, bringing one page of evidence (new duties, results with numbers, pay data for the role), and naming a specific figure. If the answer is not yet, ask exactly what would get to yes and by when, and put it in a follow-up email.
You picked up a departed teammate's clients six months ago and never got a pay change.
Why it matters: An evidence file and a script turn a nervous ask into a business case.
Steps
- Pull your brag file and list duties you took on and results with numbers.
- Find the pay range for your role and level in public wage data and job posts.
- Time it before budgets are set, or right after a visible win.
- Book a meeting titled pay review, rather than raising it in passing.
- Open with your results for two minutes, then name the figure you are asking for.
- Pause and listen.
- If the answer is not yet, ask: what would I need to show, and by when can we revisit?
- Send a short email the same day summarizing what was agreed.
Stop and call a professional if
- you learn that colleagues doing the same work are paid more and suspect discrimination: an employment lawyer or your state labor office can advise
Common mistakes
- Making the case about personal costs instead of your value.
- Leaving without a date to revisit.
- Waiting for your manager to notice.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: How to ask for a raise
What to say
Ask for a raise by booking a meeting, bringing one page of evidence (new duties, results with numbers, pay data for the role), and naming a specific figure. If the answer is not yet, ask exactly what would get to yes and by when, and put it in a follow-up email.
What to show
- Pull your brag file and list duties you took on and results with numbers.
- Find the pay range for your role and level in public wage data and job posts.
- Time it before budgets are set, or right after a visible win.
- Book a meeting titled pay review, rather than raising it in passing.
- Open with your results for two minutes, then name the figure you are asking for.
- Pause and listen.
- If the answer is not yet, ask: what would I need to show, and by when can we revisit?
- Send a short email the same day summarizing what was agreed.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if you learn that colleagues doing the same work are paid more and suspect discrimination: an employment lawyer or your state labor office can advise.
Check question
What belongs on your one-page case?
Answer: New duties, results with numbers and pay data. Value and market data are what budget holders act on.
Your checklist
Saved only in this browser.
Quick quiz
Three questions. Your score is saved only in this browser.
Related skills
Sources
- US federal labor statistics occupational wage data, 2026. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .