Whatever approach you choose to secure your next pay rise, you need to negotiate. If you are expecting a 10% pay rise, you should ask for an 18% rise & then negotiate with your boss/ employer. If your job role is critical, if your underpaid or your role would be hard to fill if you left, then you be in a more powerful position to negotiate.

Avoid writing a pay rise/ raise letter or email, unless you have to. A face to face discussion is best for these situations. While some write a pay rise or salary increase request letter, we recommend you ask for a meeting with your immediate manager & discuss it in the meeting. On rare occasions, to justify why you deserve the pay rise to more than your immediate manager, you may be asked to write a pay rise or salary increase request letter.

Many companies review everyone's salary on a yearly basis. Asking for a higher pay rise at your yearly review is fine, provided you deserve it.

Evaluate what you are worth in the market place through newspaper ads, associations, colleagues... etc. This can be used as a benchmark for how much you should ask for.

Make weekly or monthly notes of your achievements & how the company &/ or its clients have benefited from your achievements. This is one of the best justifications for a pay rise.

If you deserve a pay rise, ask for it, even if your boss/ employer says the economy is not that good ... etc. and don't give up, even if they are not giving anyone a pay rise.

If you are confident that you deserve a pay rise, be persistent, but be reasonable & professional. Do not your manager into making a quick decision.

If there are a combination of negative factors such as bad economy, high unemployment in your field or industry and/ or your performance is not that good, you should delay the request or at least don't be persistent until the factors improve.

You can practically ask for a pay rise at any time of the year, but the best times to ask are; after the company announces its good financial results, before next year's budget, after you have secured another job with a competitor or after you have completed a major project.

Sometimes, if you don't ask for a pay rise, you won't get one, so don't hesitate to ask.

It is usually quite simple to ask & if you haven't received a pay rise recently, your boss is probably expecting you to ask for one.

A pay rise can be in the form of salary packaging. It can be a company car, laptop, additional insurance, cell or mobile phone.... etc.

If you ask for a pay raise & you are not successful, ask your boss what will qualify you for a pay raise in the future & what the timeframe is. Follow up with him/ her within the timeframe given to you.

When you are successful in getting a pay raise, it is a good idea to thank your manager.