This Is The Best Way To Ask For A Raise, According To Two Successful Female Founders

Here at Amodrn, we’re all about the girl power. We’re a female-founded company (you can find out about our founder Bianca’s journey here), with an all-women writing team — so it’s safe to say we’re reppin’ the XX chromosome pretty well.
We know we’re not the only ones, though, which is why one of our goals is to help other women pursue their career dreams or start their own businesses, too. So this month, we’re introducing a new feature called “Girl Talk,” with the intention of answering your burning biz questions. We’ve tapped some of our favourite lady bosses to give advice, feedback, and insight on the complicated questions you might be wondering about. Have a question you’d like answered? Email [email protected] and we’ll be picking the most asked questions to be answered in a future story!
Today we’re talking about those dolla dolla bills—and how to make more of them. Anecdotally, women find it more challenging to negotiate a raise, or even just a fair starting salary, for a plethora of reasons. Of course, there’s the gender wage gap working against us: Female full-time, year-round workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men. And often, women feel more uncomfortable talking about money than men, and it affects our bottom line long term; research shows that men are four times more likely to ask for a raise than women.
It can be anxiety-inducing to even begin thinking about asking for a raise or promotion at work—but if you’re good at what you do and think you’re being undervalued, you need to ask for what you want.
Co-founders of the female-centric business website Above the Glass Danielle Yadegar and Heather Serden recommend a multi-step approach to asking for a raise or title change. “It all begins with you. Start well ahead of the actual ask, we are talking like a year before. Setting benchmarks and personal goals at the beginning of year will help create the path to being deserving of a raise.”
Keep track of your progress throughout the year, they note, so when the time comes to have that conversation you have tangible proof of your growth and value. Once you feel you’ve got enough evidence to make your case, write out an outline of why you’re deserving of a raise and what exactly you want, so you can present it to your boss during your pitch.”
Then, go for it. “Go into the ask with complete confidence and know exactly what you’re looking for. If you want a monetary raise, know the dollar amount you are looking for. If it is a title change you seek, then know exactly what you want it to be,” says Yadegar.
Of course, you could always go with an alternative route if you’re not the type to keep detailed, thoughtful notes on your personal progress. Liza Glucoft, the mega-successful producer behind most of your favourite wellness feeds, put it this way: “I’ve read all the rules: present your case, wait one year, show how valuable you are, but really, you’re the most valuable when someone else wants you and the current employer might lose you. Basically, if it applies to dating, it applies to the workplace.”
Can we get an amen? Glucoft notes that having leverage—another opportunity at a different company with a title bump or raise—is the best way to get what you want, because either way you’re going to see a pay increase. How to present your case? Glucoft recommends going in with humility, but honesty: To your boss, say, “So I wanted to talk to you because I’ve recently been offered XY position at XY place. Obviously, I’m so grateful for everything here and I love this company and it would be my first choice to grow here, but the other position is a significant salary increase (or is in another location or wants to call me SVP).” Trust me you’ll get everything you want, and your boss may even surprise you.”
Alright girl, you ready? Time to make your plans and get that raise you deserve!