Here's how to ask for a raise: book a proper meeting with your manager, not a chat in the corridor, ideally a month or two before pay decisions are made. Bring three things: a written list of what you've delivered since your last pay change, evidence of what the role pays elsewhere, and one specific number. Ask clearly in the first minute, then stop talking. Most of the work happens before the meeting. The asking itself takes about thirty seconds.
Below: when to ask (and when not to), how to build your evidence, how to choose the number, word-for-word scripts for the meeting and for every answer your manager might give, and what to do if the answer is no.
When to ask for a raise
Timing matters almost as much as the case. You want your manager to have both the reason and the budget to say yes.
Good moments:
- A month or two before pay decisions are made. In many companies, next year's pay budget is set before the review conversations happen. If you ask at your annual review, the money may already be allocated. Not sure when decisions happen? Ask your manager or HR: "When are pay reviews decided here?" is a perfectly normal question.
- Soon after a clear win. A project delivered, a big customer kept, a target beaten. Ask while people still remember it.
- When your job has grown. If you've taken on work that used to belong to someone more senior, trained new starters, or picked up a departed colleague's responsibilities, your pay should catch up with your role.
- When you've learned the market has moved. If similar jobs are being advertised for noticeably more than you earn, that's evidence. More on that below.
Bad moments:
- During layoffs, a hiring freeze or a bad quarter that everyone is talking about.
- Right after a mistake of yours is still fresh.
- When your manager is visibly overloaded: the day before a launch, in the middle of a crisis.
- In passing, at the end of a meeting about something else.
Build your evidence: the "raise file"
Start a document called something boring. Fill it with four kinds of evidence.
1. Results, with numbers where you can
What changed because you were there? "Cut average response time from two days to six hours." "Brought in four new accounts worth about £60,000 a year." "Built the onboarding checklist that every new starter now uses." If you can't measure it, describe the before and after.
2. How your job has grown
List responsibilities you've taken on since your pay was last set: people you train or manage, systems you own, meetings you now run, decisions you now make. Your job title may not have changed. Your job has.
3. What others have said
Positive feedback from customers, colleagues or senior people. Screenshots of a thank-you message count. You don't need to read them out; it helps to know they exist.
4. What the role pays elsewhere
This is the part most people skip, and the part that turns "I'd like more" into "this is the going rate".
- Job ads with pay ranges. Search for your role and level in your area. Several US states, including California, Colorado, Washington and New York, require pay ranges in job ads, so in those places live job posts are one of the quickest free benchmarks there is. Note the ranges for five or six similar roles and see where they cluster. You can browse open jobs on Provitude for current listings.
- Official statistics. In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by occupation and area (the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics). In the UK, the Office for National Statistics publishes the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
- Salary surveys and pay-sharing sites for your industry. Treat any single source with care; look for a range that several sources agree on.
- Your rights to information. The EU Pay Transparency Directive, which member states had to bring into national law by June 2026, gives employees the right to request information on average pay levels for people doing the same work or work of equal value. Check how your country has implemented it.
Choose your number
Go in with one specific number, not "a bit more" and not a range. If you give a range, expect to be offered the bottom of it.
- Base it on value and the market, not on your costs. "My rent went up" is true and understandable. Your manager can't take it upstairs as a reason. "The role pays £X to £Y in the market, and here's what I've delivered" is something they can.
- Aim a little above what you'd happily accept, within what your evidence supports. That leaves room to meet in the middle.
- Use an amount, not a percentage. "£41,000" is clearer than "an 11% raise", and it stops the conversation from anchoring on whatever the standard annual increase is.
- Know your walk-away point before you go in: the number below which you'd start looking elsewhere. You don't need to say it. You need to know it.
The exact words
Asking for the meeting
Send this in whatever channel you normally use with your manager:
"Hi Alex, could we book 30 minutes in the next week or two to talk about my role and pay? I'd like to share what I've been working on and where I'd like it to go. Thursday afternoon works for me if that suits."
Don't ambush. Saying "pay" in the invite gives your manager time to think and, often, to check what's possible.
In the meeting: the ask
Get to the point in the first minute:
"Thanks for making the time. Over the past year my role has grown quite a bit. I now look after onboarding for every new support hire, I've taken over the weekly reporting, and our response time has dropped from two days to six hours. I've also looked at what similar roles pay, and they're advertised at £40,000 to £45,000. I'd like to ask for a raise to £43,000."
Then stop talking. The silence will feel long. Let your manager fill it.
If they say: "There's no budget right now"
"I understand. Can we agree what would need to be true for this to happen, and when? I'd like to set a date to revisit it, maybe at the start of next quarter, so it doesn't just drift."
Then ask whether anything else is possible now (see the next section).
If they say: "I need to check with HR" or "Let me think about it"
"Of course. When do you think you'll know? I'll send you a short summary of what I've shared today so you have it for that conversation."
Send the summary the same day (template below). Your manager may need to make your case to someone else; make it easy for them.
If they say: "You're not quite ready yet"
"That's useful to know. What specifically would you need to see from me to say yes? If we agree on that now, I'd like to check in on progress in three months."
Write down exactly what they say. Those criteria are your next raise file.
If they ask: "Are you looking elsewhere?"
Be honest and calm. You don't need to threaten:
"I like it here and I'd like to grow here. That's why I'm raising it with you first."
Only mention another offer if you actually have one and would actually take it.
If they say yes
"Thank you, I really appreciate it. Could you confirm the new salary and the date it starts from in writing?"
Get it in writing, with the effective date. "From next quarter" has a way of becoming "from the quarter after".
The follow-up email
Subject: Thanks, and a summary of today
"Hi Alex, thanks for talking today. As a quick summary: since my last pay review I've taken on onboarding for new support hires and the weekly reporting, and our average response time has dropped from two days to six hours. Similar roles are currently advertised at £40,000 to £45,000, and I asked for a raise to £43,000. You mentioned you'll speak to HR and come back to me by the 15th. Thanks again for your support."
If the answer is no
A no today isn't the end of the conversation. Three things to do:
- Get the criteria and a date (scripts above), and put the date in your calendar.
- Ask about things other than salary. A better title, a training budget, extra leave, a bonus tied to a target, or more home-working days. Remote days are often easier for a manager to give than money. (What job posts actually offer on remote and hybrid work.)
- Check the market honestly. If the gap between your pay and what the role pays elsewhere is large and your employer won't close it, the most reliable raise may be a new job. Browse open jobs, and when an offer comes, here's how to negotiate it.
Mistakes to avoid
- Asking by email only. Use email to book the meeting and to summarise it, not to make the case.
- Apologising. "Sorry, I know it's a bad time, but…" tells your manager the request is optional.
- Comparing yourself to a named colleague. "Sam earns more than me" turns a conversation about your value into one about Sam. Use the market instead. (In the US, the National Labor Relations Act protects many private-sector employees who discuss pay with each other, so talking about it isn't the problem. Making a colleague your argument is.)
- Threatening to quit when you don't mean it. You might be taken up on it.
- Asking without a number. "Can I have a raise?" invites the smallest possible yes.
- Leaving it to the annual review. By then, the decisions are usually made.
Rehearse it out loud
The first time you say "I'd like to ask for a raise to £43,000" shouldn't be in front of your manager. Say your opening three or four times until it sounds like you. The pitch timer is handy: aim to make your case in under 60 seconds. If your evidence is thin, start building it today with the STAR story builder and ask in a few months instead.
Frequently asked questions
How much of a raise should I ask for?
Base it on what the role pays in the market and on how your job has grown, not on a standard percentage. Choose one specific figure a little above what you'd accept, and have evidence for it.
How often can you ask for a raise?
Usually once a year, around the pay review cycle, unless your role has changed significantly. If you've been told no, agree a date to revisit rather than asking again unprompted.
Should I ask for a raise by email or in person?
In person or on a video call. Use email to request the meeting and to summarise what was agreed afterwards.
What should I say when asking for a raise?
Summarise your results and how your role has grown, mention what the role pays elsewhere, then name one specific number: "I'd like to ask for a raise to £43,000." Then pause and let your manager respond.
What's the difference between asking for a raise and negotiating a salary offer?
When you negotiate an offer, the employer has already decided they want you, so you have more leverage. When you ask for a raise, you're making a case to someone who has to justify it internally. Evidence and timing matter more. Our guide to negotiating salary covers the offer side.