How to ask for a pay raise

HOW MUCH DO THEY PAY ME –

It's a question that comes to mind for many, and often the answer is "too little compared to how much I work." As we've often said, if everyone worked well, the right amount, and with human hours, it wouldn't be half of your life would be wasted staying at your workplace Hoarding money and then wasting it in your remaining time buying unnecessary items. If your job doesn't allow for very flexible hours, let's at least see how to ask for a raise in the most effective way possible.

TO LEARN MORE: Email: How to Manage It Without Wasting Time

HOW TO ASK FOR A SALARY INCREASE –

Let's look at the best strategies for learning how to ask for a raise like a good old fox:

• Come prepared: Before you introduce yourself to your boss, do some research—informally and with style—among colleagues and friends who work in the same industry or at competing companies to understand their salary levels—this will help you base your estimate on a reasonable amount.
• Study your prey: ask your boss out on a Wednesday afternoon, in the middle of the week when he's still energetic, not in the evening or toward the end of the week when he's tired and doesn't feel like discussing topics like your raise.
• Find a good ground: avoid open spaces like the plague, even the presidential office with the jade desk; better still, a "neutral" room booked in advance where the two of you are on the same level.
• Wear the right armor: pay attention to detail and dress elegantly – no stained shirts or unironed suits – but don't overdo it with makeup, jewelry or excessive sophistication so as not to give the impression that you've been thinking about how to dress for months.
• Find valid reasons: give concrete examples and list your essential characteristics for the company, the reason why you deserve the raise.
• Pretend that he/she is the one deciding: after having explained your reasons, listen to his/hers and start by asking if he/she has any suggestions on how to enhance the skills of yours listed above.
• Keep a written record: after your conversation, with an excuse, write an email summarizing what was said. This is useful both for the personnel office and to get back to the point.
• Don't lose heart: even if you don't win, remember that gutta cavat lapidem. Try again.

SALARY REDUCTION DUE TO CRISIS –

If our advice is not enough and if your work situation continues to worsen, know that changing your life completely is possible (here is the story of Pecoranera, Devis Bonanni, to get inspiration) or in any case it is feasible to reduce personal consumption and "cleanse" one's lifestyle of waste.

ALSO READ: Lauren Singer's Zero-Impact Life