How to Ask for a Raise

Editor's note: If you have a pressing business-etiquette question for Miss Conduct, please send her an email.

In some offices, your relationship with the boss is so good all you have to do is say, "Hey, I need a raise," and you'll get one. But in most cases, where the workplace isn't that informal, etiquette can guide you through a successful negotiation.

The etiquette of asking for a raise is exactly like the etiquette of asking for anything else -- say, salt at the dinner table. The only difference is that in typical offices, the "salt" is hidden (not to mention hoarded), so you may have no idea how much everyone else is getting or how much is available.

Indeed, since "salary" is a word that derives from the salt allowance given as payment to Roman soldiers, the analogy is even more apropos.

Set the Table

First of all, money is a measure of value, and since value is fluid, timing is everything.

You wouldn't ask for the salt at the dinner table when your boss is in the middle of a conversation, his hands are occupied and his mouth is full -- so keep the same in mind for a work context. Approach your boss to open negotiations at a time and in a setting that places your boss at ease, preferably when he is flush with a new contract and already thanking you for a job well done in getting it.

Timing is also important in a broader company context. Again, like a dinner-table request, you must ask for salt while it's still available -- not after it's too late, when the shaker is empty or your food is cold. Ask while the moment is right -- not right after the company releases bad earnings numbers.