Here's the most common mistake workers make when it comes to getting a raise

[clatoden99]

Asking for a raise is stressful. You have to get the timing right, figure out how much to ask for, and promote yourself without coming on too strong.

Despite all that, the most common mistake workers make is more basic: They don't ask at all.

According to a Careerbuilder survey, a whopping 56% of workers have never asked for a raise, and women are less likely to ask than men.

Meanwhile, the same survey found that two-thirds of workers who ask for a raise get one, and the success rates are virtually the same for men and women who ask.

What's holding workers back? It could be a combination of fear of rejection, fear of negotiation, and even fear of losing your job, which experts say is completely irrational.

If you can, it's certainly in your interest to face the fear and make the ask. An analysis by Salary.com found that professionals who negotiate their initial salary and renegotiate every few years stand to earn $1 million more on average during their careers than those who don't.

[ua_guy]

I think it really depends on the company you work for, especially if they already have performance evaluation policies in place, or a structured merit-based system. In large corporate environments, it's unlikely that you'll walk into your boss's office asking for a raise and come out with an extra 5-10%. More than likely, you'll be evaluated on your regular review schedule, with the max allowable raise somewhere around 0-3%.

In big companies, "jumps" in salary usually come from taking new positions, obtaining certifications to add a designation to a job title, i.e. "lead" or "senior". Big raises sometimes come by simply renegotiating salary with a different employer.

This is why it's important to negotiate hard getting in the door, a negotiation that a lot of people struggle with. Income trajectory from there is pretty flat except for standard raises, so that's why it's important to shoot high from the start. Also, negotiating isn't about meeting halfway for the sake of appeasement, and it doesn't always end with the counter-offer. That depends on the employer too--I've had employers tell me to take or leave what they're offering, and there's been a couple that I've wished good luck finding what they're asking for at that price.

The only time I've seen wild swings on a raise is in higher/ executive level positions, and most of those were spurned by offers from other employers. For example, c-level employee of company A goes and lands a job at company B who is paying them $150k more/year. Company A catches wind of this and stabs back, topping the offer of Company B, part of the excess as a grant that vests over the next several years in hopes of retaining that talent.

The other problem I see is most people are unable to substantiate why they are worth more than they are being paid. Especially younger employees-- "meets expectations" is not worthy of any raise, really. It means performance is what it is supposed to be, at the current rate of pay. Employees have to continually exceed expectations and have a good collection of talking points about how they are contributing much more value than their salary says they're worth to the company. That goes for any employee at any age level, really.

Folks might have better luck with smaller companies where strict HR policies don't dictate raise distributions or merit.

[Fishindude77]

I agree. Very few ever ask for a raise.

[ua_guy]

I agree. Very few ever ask for a raise.

Are there people you'd give a raise to, if they asked?

[Thrif-t]

Well I asked. In fact I asked last week for my annual review and cost of living raise that was supposed to be in October. They fired my boss in September and are not replacing him. I let it go when October rolled around. I work in accounting and November was our physical year-end so again I let it go because of all the extra work. December was a lot of vacation so in January when I got back I asked my now boss the CFO(who is doing the controller job and the COO job). He said we'd do it this week apologized, said he's been so busy. I feel for him I do but still this week came and gone and still no review.

I'm not embarrassed to ask for my annual review and raise, I'm mad. I think it's unprofessional for my organization to put its employees in this postion.

[greenskeeper]

these days there is no employer/employee loyalty....tread carefully or you'll be shown the door