Asking for a Raise

Present your case affirmatively with data to back it up that you can put together.

Don't be aggressive, don't threaten to quit or present other avenues you might have IMO. As an HR person, while those would work short-term for someone in a position like yours, I would always treat them like they had one foot out the door after similar stuff since being proactive in hiring avoids issues like this one you're trying to (wisely) capitalize upon.

Assuming you've got a supervisor between you and your personal to petition for the raise, I'd try to get them on board with it to - supervisor agreements are gold for such things.

That's some pointers from the other side of the table. (I've never bothered with requesting raises personally, always been a wimp on asking)

Offer to have a meeting to discuss your role in the company and how you're excited to have a much larger role. Bring up your pay because it's a legitimate issue. ALSO, most importantly in my mind, tell him you'd like to have a meeting like this one every year so both you and your boss can be on the same page. It's now something scheduled and planned for and it will enrich your relationship with your boss. Remember, those who fail to advocate for themselves lose the respect to advocate for others. I am very honest about how I advocate for myself, because that gives you (the boss) confidence that I can represent my clients with equal fervor.

Last summer someone quit and they decided I would take on all of her job duties. I had a brief meeting with the higher-up and explained that I felt I deserved an increase in salary since my work had quite literally doubled. Raise received. I don't think it should ever be a problem if you have a real reason for it and explain it logically and reasonably.

If your company is in a good position financially then it shouldn't be that difficult I would imagine, especially if you follow some of the advice already given. I was in a niche position myself when my co-worker retired last year and I inherited ALL his job responsibilities. I asked for a raise and got it but it was only like $5,000 a year which I certainly wasn't pleased about. I saved the company that much alone in travel expenses by automating and turning a bunch of manual, in person shit he did into electronic versions. Guy was like 80 and barely touched his computer.

Good luck! If you don't get a lot of responses here might want to try the What do you do? thread in Grown Up Forum.

Spend a year with these acquired clients under your belt before you take action. Demonstrate that you're invaluable. After that year has passed, you have some data to back yourself up. If they are a no go, look for another job. Getting an offer from another company is a win situation for you as you'll get paid more at a new job or your current company will pony up to keep you.

Alex_sl said:

I've been at my current company for three years and I've worked my way into a niche position within the company. With this skill set, I've been handling a decent amount of particular clients while my counterpart in our NY office handles the rest. Well, she's leaving the company next week and I'm inheriting ALL of her clients that fit this criteria now - one of which is one of our top clients and stakeholders in our software platform. We're a European company, so asking for raises usually doesn't result in anything. We do have yearly raises that hover around 3-4%. With this situation, I feel I have quite a bit of leverage because if I was to leave at this point, they would be in a tough spot.

My question is, what's the best way to ask for a raise in this situation? I don't want to come across with too much of an "or else" tone because I think that would be detrimental. I've never found myself in a situation like this, but with me inheriting all this work on top of my normal workload, and the fact that all future clients in this niche would all be defaulted to me, makes me think that this is a good time assert my position and ask for more compensation.

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Dude, you're already doing it wrong. You're making excuses, and you're concerned about their feelings with the "or else" comment. Or else is a very real reality assuming you actually have value. Fuck all these companies that praise people who work 50-60 hours a week, and pile on the responsibility, but then say no raise when it comes time to pony up. Every single significant salary increase I've gotten minus the last two has come from moving jobs.

The last company I worked at stopped all raises, and fired 30 people. Being a system admin I could see all employee salaries, and unsurprisingly the executives all got 20-100% raises PLUS large bonuses..... The sad reality is even if you're worth more raises are about politics and emotions, not ability for most people. Sure you're boss may think you deserve a raise, but many times I see them just cringe at the fact that they have to concede you have some sort of control over them by having value at all.

If you don't fight for yourself nobody will, and pretty soon you'll realize you're fucking 60 years old working at the same shitty ass place barley making more than you were when you started.

EDIT
Just for clarification you do need to layout your worth, how much you've saved or brought into the company and all that jazz, but be direct. Don't worry if they think you're going to quit. That's a good thing in my opinion. Are you ever worried about paying your bills if they never cancel the service? Do you worry about replacing shit when it's still working?

Yo boss, I'm poor. Hook me up. Gas ain't gettin any cheaper.

Set the building on fire.

Post on facebook about how you keeps it real and they ain't respectin ya at dat place so if they can't cough up some mo of dat green then you are going to call 1 800 HEBREWS to get a lawsuit up in here.

Get some dirt on your boss and/or company. Everyone knows blackmail works wonders!

I would go theSwimming With Sharksroute /nod

Vaclav is exactly right. My wife runs HR for a major staffing firm. Any decent company will take your request seriously if you present it well and to the right person. Like he said start with your supervisor.

Alex_sl said:

But I like my position becauseI rarely work 40 hoursand I have quite a bit of flexibility with my schedule.

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This right there is going to be your hardest selling point. Doubling your workload when you already don't work 40 hours on a salary paid job. How many hours a week is your boss putting in? If it's more, you're gonna be out of luck. No one wants to hear the guy who is working less than everyone, cry about how they have to do the same amount of work as everyone else now.

If you hit them with the or else statement. Be ready to leave. Cause that's gonna tell them to get your replacement ready. I think the best thing to do is what someone else mentioned, handle the work load for a bit, if the hours are insane, then go to them with that, a month or 2 down the road, be like, 70 hour work weeks are hell and I'm breaking down... get me help or a raise!

Alex_sl said:

I'm none of those things. I know I have worth and I was shopping around for other positions before this even happened. But I like my position because I rarely work 40 hours and I have quite a bit of flexibility with my schedule. More income is really my only motivation to leave this company. If I can stay there and get the cash, I'm all about it.

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It's not about what you are... It's what you're doing. You're telling yourself things like "I don't want to pressure them with an or else", and "I don't want to leave because my work is flexible and and I don't have to work a lot.". My personal anecdotal experience speaks otherwise, and unless you truly believe you're worth more and articulate why without backing down then you're not going to get anywhere. Honestly I don't think it matters because I agree with Corndog. Unless you're doing a damn good job of hiding the fact that you don't work forty hours I think you're going to have a hard time selling them at all.

I didn't read the whole post, but I've found... don't be a pussy. Yes, you look to the owner for guidance, but you need to feel that you're actually worth more than they're currently paying you. But then again, shop around for other options if they stone wall you for asking.