3. 1. Review your current situation in your workplace
before you negotiate with your boss. What is your
current relationship with your boss and the other
individuals in your workplace? If you want to discuss
salary or a promotion, consider how crucial your
position is to the company and whether you can be
easily replaced by a new hire. For communication
issues, consider whether anyone else can
detrimentally influence your boss's opinion and
present a one-sided assessment (not in your favor) of
the situation.
4. 2. Research and prepare to justify your position in
negotiations. If you intend to discuss salary and
promotion issues with your boss, be prepared to
explain why your promotion would benefit your boss
or the company; you should also be prepared to offer
figures on the salary of other individuals with
comparable experience and the availability of similar
positions in other companies.
Promotion/Raise
5. 3. Approach your boss, if possible, following a
successful project or performance review. If your boss
directly manages your work group, he/she likely will
also have benefited from your success and this may
be more accommodating to your requests.
4. Offer a proposal that would be mutually beneficial to
both sides. This goes for both salary and promotion.
Accommodating the boss's perspective demonstrates
sincerity on your behalf and, in most cases, compels
your boss to "meet you halfway" with your requests.
6. 5. Speak in a friendly but firm manner and present
concrete facts to support your case. Instead of insisting
that your proposal be taken because of your overall
experience, speak directly about which experiences in
your past (with the company) show that you are
justified in making your request. Mention specific
incidents and how they specifically influenced your
ability to communicate or work in your workplace. You
do want your boss to feel constrained by your demand
to the extent that she would have no other option than
to object.
7. 6. Request that the agreement be recorded on paper or
e-mail, especially if your boss promises to take action
on your request in the future. Ask for a short letter or
e-mail explicitly stating the terms of the request and
your boss's agreement thereof.
7. Follow up with a formal thank-you note once your
boss has fulfilled your request. You can also present a
small token of gratitude to your boss during the next
appropriate occasion (for example, on her birthday or
Christmas). If you do not show sufficient
appreciation, you might jeopardize your relationship
with your boss and make future requests more
difficult.
