When is the right time to ask for a raise?

When it comes to getting a raise, it is pretty much set in stone (in my industry) that this comes up at our yearly review. It may be different from industry to industry, but I figured to work a full year before I ever thought to mention a raise or signal my interested in “upward growth.”

I happened to be lucky in that I had my 1st review at about my 1 year anniversary of working at my job. I knew that I was a hard worker, and that I had been pulling more than my weight. I had plenty of ammo going into my review to back up my reason for wanting a raise. Once in my review, I was handed a number indicating my raise. The funny thing about the number was that it was about twice as much as I was hoping for. Not to mention that they had already tackled my “upward growth” question before I asked it by including a new promotional title next to the number. Both My boss and manager grinned at me as they both new how hard I worked and were truly thankful for it. I know this isn’t the usual experience, but my point is that you should always work hard so that you are prepared to defend you reasoning for requesting a raise.

Trust me…it feels good when you get your first raise.