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Asking for salary increase

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by nd_it

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I currently work for a manufacturing company as a Systems Admin that has a great work enviroment and staff to work with. I work an a small IT department, so I basically have to know all skills of the trade. I am just getting my feet wet in the IT world (about 2 1/2 years now), the salary I receive is significantly less then someone of my same stature in the same geographical location. The company as a whole pays lower salaries to the employees but compensates for better benefits and quarter profit sharing.

My delima is I am currently pursuing certs for MCSE and CCNA and my company is paying for training for my education in for those certs, but I haven't been guarenteed that I will receive an increase in salary. I have proven myselfas someone that benefits the company from my reviews upper management has given me. How to approach my manager about getting a salary increase after being certified and putting the time in to do so?

Thanks.

4 replies

by tom

Hello,

What I tell my mentoring clients about salary increase is that they must be able to clearly spell out what their contribution is worth to the company, and how their involvement improves the client's condition. Then after you spelled out what you bring to the table, you can juxtapose your expected salary against that value, so now your boss can see the return on investment. Many IT people mistakenly believe that companies pay for certificates. In my experience they pay for value. If they can perceive value in employing you, they are willing to invest. Otherwise you become just another expense, and smart executives want to cut expenses.

Cheers

Tom "Bald Dog" Varjan
tom@xisit.net

by lordinfidel

1. When was your last raise. This will be a big factor if you get an additional one. Especially if you just got one.

2. Have they let you know what your position cap is?

3. What financial state is the company in?

4. Knoweldge and Value tothe company should dictate what you make. Not necessarily time.

If this is the first time you have asked for a raise and you have never negotiated with them before, then this is your 1 oppurtunity to negoitate a raise.

You need to use it wisely though, because you only generally get 1 shot at negotiating a pay raise. It's not something you can do every year.

I would send out some feelers. Ask for a performance review. If by time you get your cert it is your anniversary date. Startpulling some regional salary stats.

If you don't get what you want, you may have to start interviewing. (A sneaky way is to come in once a week wearing a nice shirt and tie, let it leak that you have been shopping around to see what other's pay. But also state that none of the companies you have seen are as nice to work for as your present company)

by nd_it

Thanks for the advice.

My last raise was approx 9 months ago. The company is doing finacially well. Our rate of growth is about 20% a year. Even though I work as the "Computer Guy", over the last year I have gotten a good feel of some of the other operations inside the company even though it is not involve me directly, I deal and talk with most everyone here on a daily basis, so my knowledge of how the company operates from both a business and production stand point has increased. I have done some research in some of the regional salary stats for my experience, certs, and location. Since HR says the base salaries on regional stats, I was going to use that toward negoatinng a raise. The stats that I have seen are higher than what I earn now.

by generalist

If the company is paying for the certifications and has better benefits and such, you might want to wait until you have said certifications before you even consider asking for a raise. It may be that the company is waiting until you are certified before it plans on giving you a raise.

It may also be that nine months is a little bit too soon after your last raise, especially since you are going for certifications. There may also be a chance that you'll get an annual raise AND a certification based raise at the same time. Management sometimes has to be able to justify large jumps in compensation, and combining an annual raise and a certification based raise would qualify.

Don't be too impatient, otherwise people will think you are in the profession strictly for the money.

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