It’s not greedy or entitled to ask for a raise. Assuming your manager is even a little bit reasonable or has any previous experience managing people, they know it’s normal for people to ask for a raise. Think of it this way: a raise is acknowledgment that you’re now contributing at a higher level than when your salary was last set. A raise isn’t a favor or a gift; it’s a way for employers to pay fair market value for your work and to keep you around, because otherwise you’re eventually going to want to find a different job that does pay you competitively. Here are a few ways to stay confident and get what you desire. 

Be Smart in Your Timing 

You’re going to approach your manager to request this raise, and assuming your manager is a human with normal human emotions, you shouldn’t ask to talk about your salary when they are having a bad day or nervous about impending budget cuts. On the other hand, if you’ve just saved the day with an important client or garnered rave reviews for a high-profile project, now would be a particularly good time to make the request.

Think About Your Company’s Salary Structure and Budget 

If you work for a company that generally gives raises once a year, pay attention to when that normally happens. In some companies, it might be around the anniversary of your start date. Others might evaluate everyone’s salary at the same time, like at the end of the fiscal year. Once you know when that happens, plan to commence the conversation with your boss at least a month or two before that formal process begins. If you wait until decisions on raises have already been made, it might be too late for her to get changes made.

Focus on Accomplishments Not Finances 

You might be asking for a raise because your rent went up or you want to save more for retirement, but that shouldn’t be part of your case to your boss. Your case should stick to the contributions you’ve made and your value to your employer. If your boss doesn’t give you a firm yes and instead says they’ll think about it or will get back to you, that’s fine too. A lot of managers won’t say yes on the spot, but if you get a “maybe,” make sure you’re clear on what next steps are. 

Finally, if your manager isn’t able to give you specifics about how you can earn a raise in the future, that’s a useful signal that if you want more money, you may need to leave in order to get it somewhere else.