One of the most important factors for determining your wealth is how much you earn, so getting a pay rise is very important.
Your lifetime's earnings can vary significantly depending on your annual income, so you want your pay to be as high as it can be.
Wage growth has slowed significantly in recent years, so it may take a savvy negotiation to bump up your wages a decent amount.
Here are three ways to get a pay rise at work:
Do well at your job (& prove it), and ask for the pay rise
It sounds very obvious, but unless you show through your work/skill that you're worth a pay rise then there is less chance of it happening.
Your employer might not be tracking your performance closely and they may not proactively give you pay rises even if you deserve it. You should bring your own proof that you've done well such as key performance indictor reports, client feedback or other records you can show of your work.
After you've gathered your evidence you should ask your boss for a meeting and outline why you're worth more because of X. All they can do is say no.
Market research
One of the best things you can do is research and compare your experience and position to others being advertised on Seek Limited (ASX: SEK), Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN) and various other employment sites. Recruitment specialists and colleagues could also be sources for comparing your pay.
If you can show that the market average is higher than what you're currently being paid then you may have a key selling-point for your pay rise request, however don't threaten to quit, as that would be counter-productive during the conversation.
Stick to the facts in the meeting, prove to your boss why you deserve a pay rise – not just because you need more money for personal reason XYZ.
Move job
If you've done your research, had the chat and you didn't get a pay rise, then it could be worth considering moving jobs. Definitely don't make the switch without having something concrete lined up first though. Security of income is imperative.
Studies these days show that workers, on average, get pay rises quicker by moving job to job rather than sticking with the same employer. Loyalty seemingly doesn't pay it seems, just like with energy bills.
Foolish takeaway
Good luck getting your pay rise. One of the best things you can do with your pay rise is to pretend in your budget that you didn't get it. If you don't allow lifestyle inflation then you will just be saving more money to build wealth.
