Negotiating a raise and I need some assistance with what to ask for...

Question

Here's the deal, back in November 2007 my company posted a "Lead" position in my department, which none of my co-workers wanted it because as many of them stated "I dont want to deal with the headache". I spoke to my manager and expressed my interest by submitting my resume and giving him ideas on what changes I could implement in order to make the dept run smoother. He indicated that I was in the "running" yet NO ONE else applied! Back in Nov of 07 I started going above and beyond the call of duty hoping to show him I was "the one" I gave him 2 months of Top Notch performance and basically became the go to person in our dept. By January 2008 I sat with my manager again and showed him a record of all my changes and how they have benefited us as a whole - he stated that there was no money in the budget but that I had "impressed" him with my performance and that we would touch bases again in March 2008. Between Jan and March we aquired about 7 new employees (at different times) and I trained them ALL. March rolled around and we met for my yearly performance evaluation, he sang my praises until he was blue in the face, which he also documented in my performance evaluation AND further stated in writing that I was "Top Candidate" for the Lead position so of course I say "Well speaking of Lead position, where are we with that" he tells me he can give me a title but that there was still no money in the budget. Long story short March turned to "Lets talk in May" then "Lets talk when you get back from vacation" (which was in June) Its now AUGUST and still NOTHING yet I am performing Lead position duties. Upon speaking with a Mole over in our corperate office I found out that my manager is dragging his feet because he recieves a bonus for every quarter he is under budget so Im like Hmmm! Now I have a meeting with him next Tuesday and I need to be prepared - what exactly should I be requesting I mean obviously more money but my mole says to be prepared to request other things incase he claims theres no money in the budget, such as paid lunches, company cell phone things of that nature. I presently make $43K the lead spot should have bumped me up to $48.5K how can I effectively negotiate to my benefit, because I AM BROKE!!! I cant afford a cell phone, I cant afford daycare and I work nights so when I get home at 7:30am I have to entertain my 2 year old until he gets tired around 12ish so that he can nap and I can sleep, luckily his dad gets home at 3 so his dad hangs out with him so that I can sleep till 6pm then to head back to work by 7pm - somethings got to give.... I feel like my boss is trying to pull a fast one.

Answer 1

First your personal situation is, as cold as it may seem, just that your personal situation and has nothing to do with your job or pay.

That being said, first ask for what you TRULY believe is fair - not more.  Talk to HR ahead of time, believe it or not they are a resource to you.  Then go into the meeting prepared.  Don't just ask for more money.  First, state your case, give specific examples of how you are already doing the work of the Lead position, Then ask for to be given the position and the appropriate pay   If there is no pay in the budget you must trust your manager and believe there is no pay in the budget.  But there may be other forms of compensation available.  Maybe more vacation time is available, maybe money towards health benefits.... believe it or not these items often come out of different budgets and can be available when pay increase are not.  But if you go into the meeting thinking your manager is trying to pull a fast one...you are in a loss/loss situation.  Trust is the only way to succeed.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I am a tad curious as to where you live and how you can be broke on $43k a year. I make about half that and survive just fine with money leftover after bills. Someone needs to learn to cut back and stop expecting their employer to cough up the dough because they're broke.

I understand you're looking for the raise but a $5k one? Whatever happened to just doing your job instead of always begging for a handout? And the fact you're intentionally sniffing out information suggests to me that while your work is good, you get far too into others' business to be deserving of the raise. Get your nose out of the boss' business and focus on your own.

In the meantime, learn to budget better and do your job. The squeaky wheel usually gets the grease but in your case, I think you're only acting like it's owed to you because you cannot be responsible with your finances and feel you're entitled for doing your job well.

Answer 3

Get a meeting with someone in Corporate about getting on an MBO (main business objective) program. If they don't know what it is, suggest it to them. A specific year end bonus as a reward for completing specific tasks over the course of the year. The tasks should be broken apart into single, team, department, and corporate and should have dollar values.

For example, the last time I worked for a large company, my MBO's were something to the effect:

1. Department under budget for the year

2. Implement "X" process and train all required personnel

3. Hire 3 new account representatives

4. Increase departmental revenue by 20 percent

5. Successfully meet company year end profit mark

Attach a percentage to each of these and at the end of the year, they will sit down and see how you did.

My MBO bonus was based on 28K and I achieved 85 percent of the objectives so my year end bonus was 23,800 on top of my normal salary of 63K.

Stress the fact that the successful completion of the objectives will result in increased revenue for the company significant enough to merit the year end bonus and thensome.

Its an idea.

Good luck to you.

**edited to add Y!A would not let me submit this answer with Dollar signs in it.  HEAVEN forbid I answer a money question and USE dollar signs?  What gives???**

Answer 4

slap him! No yell at him first! if he yells at you back, slap him, and shove him and then kick him! 3 steps dont forget. he should be on the ground. then grab near by object and throw it at him as hard as you can. then grab another one and then throw at him. If he is starting to scream for help or anything, then you start taking off your shirt and accuse him first of raping you. there you will win if you are a girl.

For guys you do the step until u are throwing the objects at him. if he is starting to scream just knock him out. (Guys will get a lot of resistance since it is male to male violence). Once he lost conscious you got to hit his family (most likely his weakness/ if not find his weakness b4 doing any of the steps). start threatening him and he will finally give in.

Warning: Chances of succeeding is very slim. but if you are a pro you can pull it through. you need a lot of prep before pulling of this stunts. Chances of succeeding goes up by 5% for each friend helping you out in your fight. so if you have 20 friends helping you out it is an automatic win.

Answer 5

~I couldn't be bothered to read all that but if you are trying to negotiate a raise, might I suggest you ask for more money?  Of course, if your dedication and performance are sub-par, that might get you fired.