Here are five ways to help you get a year-end raise

Here are five ways to help you get a year-end raiseHere are five ways to help you get a year-end raiseIts the fourth quarter of the year and at many workplaces that means one thing year-end reviews are coming up. This is a golden opportunity to leverage your hard work all year long into a pay raise for the coming calendar year, but thats easier said than done.Most larger employers will use this time to issue a static, across-the-board raise, or sometimes to even take benefits away, depending on how the company performed over the year. Meanwhile, smaller companies might not have any end-of-year review process in place at all.Either way, a little preparation can go a long way to ensuring that youre able to make the most of this year-end opportunity to make your case and land a raise.1. Schedule a year-end reviewThe first step to getting a raise is toask to ask. You obviously cant just swing by your bosss bro and casually ask for a salary bump. You want to first ask for dedicated time d evoted to discussing your performance and compensation.I like to frame it as asking for a meeting to discuss your future at the company. Its your way of signaling to your boss that you want to learn, grow, and advance. But its also a way of setting a serious tone. Most importantly, it gives your boss time to prepareherself.You can do this in person or via email, and I recommend taking the initiative to suggest a few times, preferably at the end of the week. That way, however things go down, youll both have a whole weekend apart to do some individual reflection.2. Prepare your caseManagers at larger organizations go to great lengths to formalize the review and raise conversation in part because it makes it mora difficult for you to advocate for yourself. Dont expect them to roll out the red carpet for you to make your case.Come prepared with a list of your achievements and accomplishments from the past year. Did you save the company money? Did you increase retention and reduce turnov er? Help maintain a happy, productive kollektiv? Raise funds? Reduce costs? Keep clients and customers happy?Make sure to explain how you went above and beyond the call of duty. Real talk just showing up and doing your job doesnt warrant a raise. You need to demonstrate with stories and metrics, whenever possible why youre deserving of somethingmorethan your base salary.Dont forget to know thy audience. Frame your achievements in terms of what matters most to your boss in particular. What are they most concerned with? Play into their hopes and fears about the team today and tomorrow. Because what yourereallytalking about when discussing the future of your position, is the risk your employer faces if you are dissatisfied enough to leave.3. Make a specific askDuring your review, expect to get feedback on your performance in plus-rechnen to providing your own take on the matter. Assuming the majority of your employers feedback is positive, nows the time to make your big move.Even if they offer a standard across-the-board raise, be prepared with a specific ask of what youre looking for moving forward. Higher pay? How much? Be specific. More vacation days? How many? A commission structure so your pay is more directly connected to your productivity?Whatever it is, tailor your ask to what matters most to you and what might be easiest for your employer to give a little on. If the budget is super tight, flex time and the ability to work from home might easier things for your employer to give on. Have a few prioritized asks in mind to specifically present to your employer. If youre top priority gets flatly rejected, dont be discouraged. Pivot to your next priority.4. Be pleasantly persistentWomen demonstrating assertiveness like the assertiveness it takes to ask for a raise are up against unfortunate double-standards. Were more likely to be seen as selfish or pushy than our male counterparts who exhibit the same exact behaviors. Is this fair? No way. But knowing the bias were up against means you can take all the precautions possible to mitigate these unfair double-standards from costing you your raise.So yes, it makes sense to be especially attuned to appearing as pleasant as possible when asking for more. Smile. Lead with your intent, which is to continue to be a proud team player. Use we and us often to point to the collective benefit of finding an acceptable way forward for everyone.Be persistent and firm with your ask, but while keeping as calm and warm a demeanor as possible.Should we have to do all this? Of course not. But when it matters most, you might as well play all the cards you can in our imperfect, biased world.5. Follow up in writingIf your boss agrees to some of your requests, or if they defer and say theyll get back to you, make sure to follow up in writing to document the conversation. Email them with a synopsis of the conversation you just had, as you perceived it. Its amazing how the same exact conversation might be percei ved differently by two different people. Wrap things up with a preview of next steps, including when you expect to talk about this next.If you get consistent, solid nos in response to your requests, the next best thing to ask for is a plan of action. Can you request that the issue be revisited in 3 to 6 months? Can you leave the conversation with a clear plan on the expectations you must meet in order for a raise conversation to be on the table again?Whatever your employercangive, make sure to get it in writing by following up via email after the conversation.Cut your lossesAnd if your employer truly isnt giving you any sense of what your future at the company might look like, or what a path to promotion and advancement might entail, it might be time to cut your losses. Your path forward just might be into a new office next.If you want even more details on mastering the art of negotiation, get mystep-by-step negotiation course, complete with interactive exercises to prepare you to s lay your next negotiation conversationhere.This article first appeared on Bossed Up.