Knowing how to ask for a raise in the job you already have is a different skill from negotiating a new offer. There is no competing employer at the table, your manager knows your weak spots as well as your wins, and a badly timed request can sit in their memory until the next review.
This guide is for employees who want more pay from their current employer. You get when to ask, how to build a case your manager can defend upwards, how to pick the number, a word-for-word script, and what to say if the answer is no. If you are weighing a new job offer instead, negotiating salary on a job offer follows different rules.
When Is the Best Time to Ask for a Raise?
The best time to ask for a raise is before the budget is decided, not at the review where it is announced. By the time your annual review happens, the pool for increases has usually been set weeks earlier, and your manager can only share it out.
Ask your manager when salary budgets for next year are proposed, then book your conversation four to six weeks before that date. It is a normal question, and the answer tells you your real deadline.
| Signal | Ask now? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You just delivered a result with a number attached | Yes, within a few weeks | The win is fresh and easy for your manager to repeat to their own boss |
| Your responsibilities grew but your pay did not | Yes | A scope change is the strongest argument: you are already doing the bigger job |
| 12 months or more since your last pay review | Yes | A yearly conversation is expected, not pushy |
| Less than 6 months in the role | Usually not | Too little track record; agree on goals and a review date instead |
| Layoffs, a hiring freeze or a missed quarter | No | The answer will be no for reasons that have nothing to do with you |
| Right after a visible mistake on your side | No | Fix it first; ask once the next result has replaced it |
The manager matters as much as the calendar. A raise request lands far better with someone who already sees your work every week, so if that relationship is thin, spend a month building the working relationship with your manager before you ask.
Build Your Case: Results, Scope and Market Data
Your manager rarely approves a raise alone. They have to justify it to someone else, so your job is to hand them an argument they can repeat in two sentences. That argument has three parts.
- Results with a number: three to five outcomes from the last 12 months, each with money, time, volume or quality attached. “Cut month-end close from 8 to 5 days” works; “worked hard on month-end” does not.
- Scope: what you do now that was not in your job description when your pay was last set. New clients, a team you coordinate, a system you now own.
- Market data: what people with your actual scope earn. Use job postings that publish salary ranges, salary surveys from recruitment firms and peers you trust, not a single website.
Personal reasons do not belong in the case. Rent, childcare or a mortgage are real, but they make the raise about your costs instead of your value, and they give your manager nothing to repeat upwards.
Rules that work in your favour in Spain and the EU
In Spain, the collective agreement (convenio colectivo) sets a floor, not a ceiling. Article 26.3 of the Spanish Workers' Statute says the salary structure is set by collective bargaining or the individual contract, with complements tied to your personal conditions, the work you do or company results. Anything above the agreement is usually paid as one of those complements, so that is what you are negotiating.
Across the EU, the Pay Transparency Directive is changing what you can find out. Under the new EU pay transparency rules, employers must give workers, on request, their individual pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for people doing the same work or work of equal value. Asking for that information before your conversation turns a hunch into a figure.
In Latin America there is no equivalent right in most countries, so the market data has to come from published job ranges and your network. Check the official consumer price index from your national statistics office (INEGI in Mexico, DANE in Colombia) to know how much your salary has lost to inflation since it was last set.
- 1
Collect results
List 3-5 outcomes from the last 12 months, each with a number: money, time, volume or quality.
Week 1
- 2
Document scope
Compare your job description with what you actually do now. Write down every new responsibility.
Week 1
- 3
Gather market data
Collect published salary ranges for your scope and, in the EU, request the pay information you are entitled to.
Week 2
- 4
Set your three numbers
Target, opening ask and walk-away point, plus what you will do if the answer is no.
Week 3
- 5
Book and rehearse
Request the meeting by email and practise the script out loud twice.
Week 4
How Much of a Raise Should You Ask For?
Ask for a specific figure, not a percentage and not “whatever you think is fair”. A figure gives your manager something concrete to take to finance, and it anchors the conversation where you want it.
Prepare three numbers before the meeting:
- Target: the salary your evidence supports, usually the middle of the market range for the scope you actually have.
- Opening ask: slightly above the target, so there is room to meet in the middle without dropping below it.
- Walk-away point: the lowest figure that keeps you in the role without resentment. Below it, you switch to the plan B in the next section.
Inflation is the minimum, not the argument. If prices rose since your pay was last set and your salary did not, you are already earning less in real terms; recovering that is maintenance. The raise is what your results and scope add on top.
| Illustrative example | Figure |
|---|---|
| Current salary | 30,000 per year |
| Inflation since last review (check your official index) | Restores purchasing power, not a raise |
| Market midpoint for your current scope | 34,000 → your target |
| Opening ask | 35,000 |
| Walk-away point | 32,500 plus a written review date |
Every raise is calculated on the salary you already have, which is why the starting number you accept matters so much. If you are about to take your first job, negotiating salary with no prior experience shows how to set that base well from day one.
Finally, know your alternative before you walk in. Harvard's Program on Negotiation defines a BATNA, your best alternative to a negotiated agreement, as what you will do if you do not reach a deal. Staying and trying again in six months, moving internally or looking outside are all alternatives; knowing which one is yours keeps you calm when the first answer is not yes.
How to Ask for a Raise: A Word-for-Word Script
Ask in person or on video, never in a chat message or a hallway. Request the meeting by email so your manager is not caught off guard, but keep the email short and leave the figure for the conversation.
1. The email requesting the meeting
Hi Laura, could we book 30 minutes next week to talk about my role and my compensation? I would like to share how my responsibilities have changed over the last year and agree on next steps. Tuesday or Thursday afternoon would work for me.
2. Opening the conversation
Thanks for making the time. I want to talk about my salary. Over the last year my role has grown, and I would like my pay to reflect the work I am doing now.
3. Making the case
Since my last review, I took over the three key accounts that used to belong to the previous team lead, and I cut month-end close from eight days to five. I also onboarded the two new analysts. Based on published ranges for this scope, the market midpoint is around 34,000.
4. Asking for the number
So I would like to ask for an increase to 35,000. What would you need from me to make that happen in this cycle?
Then stop talking. The silence after the number feels long, but filling it with “I know it's a lot” or “even a bit less would be fine” negotiates against yourself before your manager has said a word.
5. Closing
Thanks for considering it. I will send you a short summary of what we discussed today so you have it when you talk to finance.
Send that summary the same day: your results, your scope, the figure and any date your manager mentioned. It is the document they will forward, so write it to be forwarded.
What to Do If Your Manager Says No
A first no is often a “not like this” or “not now”, not a final answer. Your goal is to leave the meeting with something concrete: a date, a figure or criteria in writing.
- “There's no budget right now.” Reply: “I understand. Can we agree that we revisit it in [month], and what results would make the case clear by then?”
- “You're at the top of the band.” Reply: “Then is the role I'm doing now still the role that band was set for? I'd like to look at whether the scope fits the next level.”
- “You need to show more first.” Reply: “That's fair. Could you name the two or three things that would make it a yes, so we can check them at my next review?”
If the salary truly cannot move, ask about what can. A written review date with a figure attached, a one-off bonus, extra days off, a training budget or a title that matches your scope all have value, and some come from budgets your manager controls directly.
Then confirm it by email: “Thanks for today. As agreed, we'll review my salary in March against these goals: [list].” A plan that only exists in a conversation is easy to forget; one in writing is easy to check.
If the plan's date passes and nothing happens, that is your answer. That is the moment your alternative stops being theoretical, and looking outside is a normal, professional decision, not a betrayal.
Your Next Step
Asking for a raise comes down to three moves: ask before the budget is set, bring results and market data instead of reasons, and name one specific figure followed by silence. If the answer is no, leave with a date and criteria in writing.
The list of results you build for this conversation is also the most up-to-date version of your CV. Keeping it there costs ten minutes, and the AI resume builder turns those results into bullet points you can reuse at your next review or your next application.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of a raise is reasonable to ask for?
A reasonable raise closes the gap between what you earn and the market rate for the scope you actually have, plus any inflation since your pay was last set. Ask for a specific figure slightly above your target, and have a walk-away point ready.
How often can I ask for a raise?
Once a year is the normal rhythm, ideally a few weeks before salary budgets are set. Asking sooner makes sense only if your responsibilities changed significantly or you were promised a review that never happened.
Should I ask for a raise by email or in person?
Ask in person or by video call, and use email only to request the meeting and to send the summary afterwards. A face-to-face conversation lets you read the reaction and answer objections, while an email request is easy to postpone.
Can I use another job offer to get a raise?
You can, but only if you are genuinely prepared to accept the offer. Used as a bluff, it damages trust and can leave you with neither the raise nor the new job.
Can I ask for a raise after six months?
Usually it is too early, unless your role has grown well beyond what you were hired for. A better move at six months is to agree on goals and a review date, so the conversation at twelve months starts from criteria you both accepted.