Asking for a Raise: How to Prepare and What a Raise Is Worth

What It Means

Asking for a raise means requesting more pay from the employer you already work for, usually in a planned conversation with your manager. A strong request rests on evidence: what you've delivered, what your role pays in the market, and what you're ready to take on. Harvard Business Review's guide on the subject calls preparation critical, since it's how you arrive at a figure you can defend.

Try It: See What a Raise Adds Each Month

Slide to a raise percentage. The salary is an example; change it to yours. Hourly assumes a 40-hour week and 52 paid weeks.

Current yearly salary ($)

Raise: 4%

New yearly salary$57,200

Extra each month$183

Extra each year$2,200

New hourly rate$27.50

Before taxes and deductions, so the change in take-home pay will be smaller.

How People Say It at Work

"I'm going to ask for a raise at my review."
"I've taken on a lot more since I started, and my pay hasn't moved."
"Can we talk about my compensation?"

The Breakdown

Worked example. Sam earns $55,000 a year. After running a project that cut costs, Sam looks up the role in CareerOneStop's Salary Finder, sees the local median, and asks for 4%.

	Now	With a 4% raise
Yearly	$55,000	$57,200
Per month	$4,583	$4,767
Per hour (2,080 hours)	$26.44	$27.50

What the result means. A 4% raise here adds $2,200 a year, or about $183 a month before taxes. Seeing the figure as a monthly amount helps you decide whether a bonus or other benefit offered in its place is a fair swap. The numbers are an example, and a raise isn't guaranteed.

Steps, from Harvard Business Review's advice

Collect evidence of what you've contributed: savings, finished projects, results, praise from customers or senior people.
Research pay for your role to set a reasonable target. CareerOneStop's Salary Finder gives low, median and high pay for your area from BLS data.
Pick your timing: just before you take on new responsibilities, or right after you finish a project well.
Rehearse out loud, with a friend or a recording.
In the meeting, stay calm and respectful, lay out your contributions, then talk about what you want to take on next.
Leave out grievances, threats and comparisons with colleagues.
Have a Plan B, such as a bonus or more flexible hours, and if the answer is no, ask what it would take to get to yes.

Good to Know

CareerOneStop's Salary Finder uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data, and it shows pay for your area alongside your state and the nation. Buhata's suggestion: if your employer has a set review cycle, ask HR when raises are decided so your request lands before budgets are fixed.

FAQ

When is the best time to ask for a raise?

Harvard Business Review suggests timing it to changes in your work: just before you take on new responsibilities, or right after you've completed a project successfully.

What should I say when asking for a raise?

Lead with what you've contributed, give the figure you're asking for and how you arrived at it, then say what you plan to take on next. HBR advises a tone of mutual respect and against opening with a complaint or a threat.

What if my boss says no?

HBR suggests having a Plan B ready, such as a bonus or flexible hours, and asking what it would take to change the answer. Write down what they say and agree on when to revisit it.

Do It in Buhata

Notes (Premium) and Calendar

Keep a running list of your results in Notes (Premium), and put the date you'll ask on your Calendar with a Reminder a week before to prepare.

Open Buhata

Related Terms and Categories

Salary negotiation
Discussing pay and other terms with an employer before you accept a job offer, to reach a starting salary that fits the role and your skills.
Performance review
A formal look back, usually once a year, where a manager rates how an employee's work measured up to the standards set for that period.
One-on-one meeting
A regular private meeting between a manager and one person who reports to them, used for check-ins, feedback, problems and career growth.
Total compensation
The full value of what an employer pays for your work in a year: base pay plus bonuses and the employer's spending on benefits such as insurance and retirement.
Managing up
Working deliberately with your boss to get the best results for both of you and the organization, by understanding how they work and what they need.
Self-evaluation
Your own written assessment of your work over a review period, which your manager reads alongside their view during a performance review.

Work, career and remote life

Sources

Harvard Business Review, "How to Ask for a Raise" (2015); CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor), "Salary Finder"; CareerOneStop, "Salary Finder Help Page"

Last updated October 1, 2026.