Asking for a Raise? 3 Ways to Increase Your Chance of Success

The amount of money you earn at your job can directly affect your financial situation for better or worse. The more money you earn, the more flexibility you might have in your budget to take on expenses that improve your quality of life. And also, earning more can lead to more financial security, such as if your salary makes it possible to pad your savings account or put money aside for retirement.

About a year ago, data from Pew Research Center came out showing how Americans felt about their jobs on a whole. And while 67% were happy with their coworker relationships and 51% were satisfied with their day-to-day tasks, only 34% were happy with the amount they were paid.

If you're unhappy with your salary, then you have two choices when it comes to remaining in your current role. You can either walk around dissatisfied, or you can schedule a meeting where you negotiate higher pay. And really, the latter option is your better one.

But it's important to take the right approach to talking salary. Here are three things you can do to increase your chances of getting the raise you want.

1. Go in armed with data

It's one thing to complain that your $60,000 annual salary isn't up to par. It's another thing to prove that it's not up to par because you've done your research and found that the typical person with your job title in your geographic region makes $75,000 a year.

Data is really hard to argue with. So before you have that meeting to talk numbers, dig through sites like Glassdoor and Salary.com to get a sense of what your similarly qualified peers are earning. If you can prove that you're underpaid, it might get your company to reconsider your salary.

2. Talk up your wins

Your employer may not be so inclined to raise your pay if you're a run-of-the-mill employee who really does the bare minimum. But if you've done some great things on the job in the past year, say so.

It's an especially good idea to go into that meeting with numbers. Maybe your efforts in the IT department reduced system bugs by 20%, thereby increasing employee productivity. Or maybe as a sales manager, you brought in an additional $30,000 in revenue for your company last quarter. Pointing to specifics like these could get your employer into the mindset that your salary should match your delivered results.

3. Remind your employer about this crazy little thing called inflation

Generally, it's best to not take the sob story approach to negotiating a raise. Everyone has expenses, and pointing to your personal bills as a reason for a pay boost may not be successful.

However, if it's been a while since your pay went up at all, then as a last resort, remind your employer that inflation has driven living costs up by 3.2% over the past year, as per the most recent Consumer Price Index. So at the very least, your salary should increase by that same increment so that you're able to keep up with your ongoing expenses.

You shouldn't hesitate to fight for a raise if you feel you deserve one. These tactics could be your ticket to getting the boost you want -- and seeing your finances improve as a result.