How to Ask for a Raise or Promotion During the Pandemic
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Is now a good time to ask for a raise or negotiate an offer during the pandemic?
Here's your money briefing for Monday, September 21st. I'm Charlie Turner for The Wall Street Journal. Are you worried about asking for a pay raise during these tough economic times? You shouldn't be.
You should really start by asking yourself the right questions. Chiefly, what is it that you're looking for? And that'll help you really go into the negotiation strong. But then beyond that, you should be asking your interviewer or your manager, you know, what are your biggest needs for the position? Open-ended questions that are really going to help you gather information that you can then use in your own negotiation.
Our reporter Catherine Dill talks about why you have more leverage than you might think. That's after the break.
With millions of Americans out of work and companies continuing to lay off people, it might not seem like the most appropriate time to ask for a raise or negotiate a job offer.
Who is the expert and what was discussed at the Wall Street Journal job summit?
But you might be surprised. Many companies still have the budgets for new hires and raises. Our reporter Catherine Dill has been talking with hiring professionals about this, and she joins us now. Catherine, thanks for being here. Thanks for having me. Katherine, at the recent Wall Street Journal job summit held online, one piece of advice that was shared was that negotiation isn't just talking about money. Why don't you explain that?
So according to Alexandra Carter, who is the director of the mediation clinic at Columbia Law School, negotiation is any situation where you're steering the conversation towards an outcome that you want. So that can be pay, but it can also be other work-related considerations.
What kinds of questions should employees be asking in these sorts of negotiations?
You should really start by asking yourself the right questions. Chiefly, what is it that you're looking for? And that'll help you really go into the negotiation strong. But then beyond that, you should be asking your interviewer or your manager, what are your biggest needs for the position? Or tell me about the last superstar you hired and what made them so great. Open-ended questions that are really going to help you gather information that you can then use in your own negotiation.
During negotiations, what kinds of things should you make a point to talk about? And has this changed at all from before the pandemic?
you should make a point of emphasizing your experience, be really clear about also about, you know, what drives you, what are you really passionate about? You know, be prepared with anecdotes that illustrate your experience so that they're not just lines on your resume. And, you know, certainly this was all true before the pandemic, but I think what's really important now is that people might be feeling that they have absolutely no leverage right now, but that's certainly not true. there are companies that still have the capacity to give raises, but they're going to people who ask for them.
Well, all right, then let's talk about money. How should you know how much to ask for?
How can you broaden negotiation beyond salary to get what you want?
Well, your ask should be, according to Ms. Carter, the highest number that you can credibly stand behind. So she says your ask should be optimistic, specific, and justifiable. And so there are tools, you know, there's Glassdoor, there's PayScale, there are tools online where you can get salary comparison data, certainly for your level of experience and job title in your region but this is a case where really it's a great idea to reach out to your network and have conversations with peers. It's just a case where human intelligence is going to trump any sort of online research you can do though the online research is helpful.
Well, what if the manager tells me that there's no room for a pay raise? Are there other alternatives?
Yes. You know, what's really key here is thinking about total compensation beyond just salary. Think about flex time. Think about increased vacation benefits or opportunities for learning, mentorship, training. And this is another case where it's great to reach out to your network and see what other things beyond salary, beyond just a dollar amount,
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