Straight answer: you ask by booking a proper meeting (not a corridor chat), you turn up with evidence of your impact and a specific number, and you say the ask out loud in one clear sentence, then you stop talking. Most people lose the raise before they've even opened their mouth because they hint instead of asking, and they undersell their number by half.
Why most people never ask
I've sat on both sides of this table. As an employer now, and years ago as an employee grinding through agency and in-house marketing roles before I went out on my own. And here's what I've noticed from both seats: the person who deserves the raise most is often the person least likely to ask for it.
Why? Because asking for money feels rude. It feels like you're saying "I think I'm worth more than you're paying me," and British culture in particular trains us to shrink from that sentence. I've had brilliant, hard-working people work for me who quietly hoped I'd notice their overtime and just... give them more. I didn't, not because I'm heartless, but because I'm running a business and nobody comes to me with a number, so nobody gets one added.
That's the uncomfortable bit. Your manager is not sitting there tracking your worth and waiting for the right moment to reward you out of the goodness of their heart. Most managers, most companies, budget for pay increases reactively, not proactively. If nobody pushes, the money stays in the pot for something else. Being good at your job is the entry ticket. It is not the thing that gets you paid more. Asking is the thing that gets you paid more.
Do the homework three months before you open your mouth
Do not walk in and say "I feel like I deserve more." Feelings don't move budgets. Evidence does. Start building your case a good three months out:
- Write down every project you delivered, with numbers attached: revenue brought in, costs saved, hours saved, clients retained, processes fixed.
- Check what the market pays for your role right now, using Glassdoor, Payscale, or LinkedIn Salary, and cross-check with a specialist recruiter in your sector if you can, they'll tell you the truth faster than any website.
- Look at the ONS average weekly earnings data if you're in the UK. Pay growth has been running around 4 to 5% a year recently, so if you're asking for a standard cost-of-living bump, that's your floor, not your target.
- Work out your actual number. Not a vague range. A figure. If you're on £38,000 and the market rate for your role with your experience is £44,000 to £48,000, your ask is £46,000. Round numbers get talked down. Specific numbers get taken seriously.
If you want a template for putting this in writing before the meeting even happens, I've laid out exactly how to structure a salary negotiation email that gets a positive response, and the same structure works whether you're sending it ahead of the chat or following up after.
Time it right, or don't bother
Asking for a raise the week after a round of redundancies, or right before the company reports a bad quarter, is a waste of your energy and your credibility. Good timing looks like:
- Straight after you've delivered something measurable, a campaign that hit target, a contract you closed, a project you rescued.
- At the natural review point, but two to three weeks before it, not on the day, so it's not a surprise ambush for either of you.
- When the company is visibly doing fine. If your firm just announced record profits and you're still on last year's salary, that gap is your use.
Book a proper meeting. Put it in the calendar with a subject line that says what it is, something like "Quick chat about my role and compensation." Don't spring it on your manager at the end of an unrelated call. That alone signals you've thought about this, which matters more than you'd think.
The actual script
Here's roughly how I coach people to run the conversation, because winging it is where most raises die:
- Open with the work, not the ask. "Over the last six months I've delivered X, X, and X" (use your list from earlier).
- State the market fact. "I've looked at what similar roles pay right now, and the market rate for someone at my level is between £X and £Y."
- Say the sentence. "Based on that, I'd like to ask for my salary to be increased to £X." Say the actual number out loud. Do not say "somewhere around" or "in the region of." Commit to it.
- Then stop talking. This is the part almost everyone gets wrong. Silence after the ask feels unbearable, and people rush to fill it with "but I understand if that's not possible right now," which hands the power straight back before the other person has even responded.
If your manager needs to check with finance or their own boss, that's normal and fine. Ask for a date you'll hear back by, and put it in writing after the meeting so there's a paper trail.
What happened to a client of mine
A client of mine, I'll call her Claire because she'd rather not be named, was a marketing manager at a manufacturing firm in the Midlands. On £38,000, she'd just landed a distribution contract worth roughly £200,000 to the business off the back of a campaign she built almost entirely alone, three months of work, weekends included.
She came to me before the conversation nervous, planning to ask for "a bit more, maybe £41,000." I asked her what the market rate was for someone with her results. She checked, and found similar roles advertised locally at £45,000 to £48,000. We rewrote her ask to £46,000.
She had the meeting, opened with the contract numbers, stated the market range, and asked for £46,000, then went quiet, which she said was the hardest part of the whole thing. Her manager pushed back to £40,000 first. She held, said she was open to a phased increase but the target figure needed to reflect the market data she'd shown him. She walked out with £42,000 and a review in six months. Not the full ask, but £4,000 more than she'd have got if she'd opened with £41,000, because you never get offered more than you ask for.
Loyalty doesn't pay the bills
Here's the part I don't love saying out loud, because it sounds cynical, but I've watched it play out too many times to pretend otherwise. Companies almost always find money for people they're afraid of losing, and they almost never find money for people who are simply, quietly, reliably still there.
Years ago, before I went independent, I asked my then-employer for a raise after two strong years and was told there was a "budget freeze." Six weeks later they hired an external candidate into a comparable role at a higher starting salary than mine, because that's what it took to get someone in the door. My loyalty had cost me money. Theirs didn't cost them a thing, because I hadn't given them a reason to worry.
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This is why one of the most effective, if uncomfortable, moves is to go through an interview process elsewhere, even if you'd rather stay. It's not about bluffing your employer with a fake offer, that's a different game and it can badly backfire if you're not prepared to walk. It's about knowing your real market value because you've been tested by it, not guessed at it. If you want the fuller version of that route, I've written up how to negotiate a higher salary during a job offer, and the same evidence-gathering applies whether you use it to leave or to stay.
There's also good behavioural economics behind why this works. Richard Thaler's research on how people anchor decisions to reference points explains a lot of what happens in these conversations, your manager's counter-offer will almost always anchor near whatever number you say first, which is exactly why you say your number first and say it clearly. I go into more of his thinking in these business lessons from Richard Thaler, and it's worth understanding if you negotiate anything regularly, not just pay.
If you already have the job and just want more money
This whole piece assumes you're already employed and asking to be paid more for the role you're in, which is a slightly different game from negotiating a job offer before you've signed anything. The use is different, the timing is different, and the risks of getting it wrong (an awkward atmosphere with your existing manager) are different too. I've broken that specific situation down in more detail in how to negotiate a raise when you already have a job, worth a read alongside this if that's exactly where you are.
What to do if the answer is no
Sometimes it is no, budgets exist, and sometimes your manager can't move even if they want to. Don't storm out or sulk in silence for the next six months, that helps nobody and it makes you look worse, not better. Instead:
- Ask what specifically would need to be true for the answer to change, and get a real timeframe, not "let's see."
- Ask for something else if cash isn't there right now, extra holiday, a title change that helps your next move, training budget, remote flexibility.
- Put the agreed next steps in an email that same day, so there's no vague memory to argue about in six months.
- If the answer is no with no plan attached, take that as information. It tells you something real about how the company values you, and it might be time to start looking rather than asking again in the same building.
One more thing worth saying plainly: don't apologise for asking. I've heard so many people open with "sorry to bring this up" before they've even stated their case. You did the work. You checked the market. You have a number. Say it like you believe it, because the moment you flinch, so does the person across the table.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I ask for when requesting a pay rise?
Aim above the market midpoint for your role and experience, not just above your current salary. If the going rate is £42,000 to £48,000 and you're on £38,000, ask for £46,000, not £41,000. You'll almost always get talked down a little, so anchor higher than your true minimum.
Is it rude to ask for a specific salary figure?
No, it's the opposite. Vague requests like "a bit more" or "in line with the market" give the other person full control of the number. A specific figure, backed by evidence, shows you've done the work and speeds up the whole process rather than dragging it into weeks of back and forth.
Should I mention another job offer to get a raise?
Only if it's real and you'd take it. Bluffing with a fake offer is high risk and can permanently damage trust if it's found out. But going through a real interview process elsewhere, even without intending to leave, gives you honest, tested market data rather than a guess, which is far more useful in the conversation than any bluff.
What if my manager says there's no budget for a raise right now?
Ask exactly what would need to change and by when, and get it in writing. If there's no path, ask for non-cash alternatives like extra holiday, training, or a title change, and use the wait to quietly start checking your real value elsewhere.
Where to check the details
Related reading: Virtual Assistant Employment: The Real Salary, Why Half Quit in Year One, and What Works and What to Say When Negotiating Your Salary (The Exact Words That Get You More).
