The Best Way to Negotiate a Raise

You love your job, but you can't make ends meet.

Or your job fits you well, but you haven't had a raise in a very long time. Or your bosses love the way you're handling more responsibility, but they're not saying it with money: If so, it looks like it's time to negotiate.

Hold on, though. It's really just time to prepare to negotiate.

Just as painting a room takes just a couple of hours with a roller -- but only if you spend a half day with masking tape ahead of time -- so too the quality of negotiations live or die in the preparation.

As you approach the question, look to what the pros do before they acquire a company, invest in a new financial instrument, or move to another firm. They find out everything they can ahead of time, but not just about their partner in negotiation -- about themselves, too.

In short, you'll want to know everything that might affect the stance of your negotiating partner.

Do Your Research

That starts with your job performance, but might well include issues such as how your compensation compares to your colleagues', how well your company and your working group are performing, and how recently your boss got a raise him or herself.

It's easiest to begin with your performance, and most effective if you can chart it in comparison to that of your colleagues.

How much have you increased company revenue or productivity? If you don't have that sort of job, then what measure of progress can you demonstrate -- preferably with a nice visual -- to show how you have added to the corporate welfare?