How to negotiate a raise that actually sticks

A reader asked for a raise last year. She got $4,000. She was proud.

Until she found out her new colleague, hired the same month, was earning $12,000 more. Same role.

She made three mistakes that cost her the other $8,000.

Mistake one. She asked for a percentage, not a number. “A 5% raise” sounds modest. “A raise to $X” puts the real number on the table. Percentages hide the decision. Numbers force it.

Mistake two. She anchored on her current salary. Every raise calculation started from what she earned, not from what the role was worth. The market rate for the job was 20% above her current salary. She was negotiating from the wrong floor.

Mistake three. She asked what she “needed”. The right question is what the role is paying elsewhere. HR departments benchmark against external market rates, not against your personal circumstances. Your need for more money is not their problem. The market rate is.

Rule
A raise negotiation is not about what you need. It’s about what your role pays elsewhere. Walk in with the market number, not your rent increase.

Action for this week
Find the market rate for your role on Seek, LinkedIn Salary Insights, or Glassdoor. If you’re paid below it, that’s your anchor next time you ask.

Next week
The supermarket psychology that makes you spend 30% more.

Know someone underpaid? Forward this before their next review.

P.S. The average pay gap between “asked once” and “never asked” over a career is over $600,000. One conversation. Twice a decade.