It’s very clear that people have questions about when and how they should or can justify asking for a raise.  Money is tight and companies are often telling employees that they’re lucky they have a job.  That’s terrible, but happens every day.  I recently answered a question on Yahoo Answers specifically about when a person should ask for a raise in her situation.

Here’s the question:

I was written up for the first time in my life at the beginning of this year. The probation period lasted through our reviews so I was denied a raise at that point. Since then, I have done a 360 turn-around with very few mistakes. And, they have added five new processes to my workload. I am so busy at work I can barely breathe. I am not the only one who wants a raise either but I have been here 4 years and we were part of a bigger corp when I joined, now we’re separate. (Because we were part of a bigger corp they denied raises for three years.)

So basically, I’ve never received any pay increase. My co-workers make at least a $1.00 more an hour than me and that would significantly help me.

But, I am afraid of my boss. She is very very very very very….what’s the word, stern? I think a better word choice is stubborn and stuck-up. She may just tell me “No, Im not going to ask HR.”

That leads me to wonder if I should go straight to HR? But, that would be breaking the chain of command which I’ve been taught never to do, due to my military background.

Thanks for any advice! Emails won’t work, she hates when I email her.

And here’s my response:

I recently wrote a blog post about this called The Top 5 Situations When You Should Ask For A Raise. By your explanation above, you match 3 of them:
Situation #1: Anytime you get significantly increased responsibility. If someone leaves your department and you have to pick up the slack, then you have an opportunity to ask for a raise. Do NOT ask for a raise right away, though. Show that you can do both jobs and then ask. You will have a better chance of getting the raise you want if you prove yourself.

Situation #3: If you’re a performer and you haven’t had a raise in more than two review cycles. This situation is tenuous because you may not have received a raise because of poorer performance. If you know that you’re a strong performer (be honest with yourself), then you should have confidence in asking for a raise.

Situation #5: When you hear about someone in your same job making more money than you. This is a political play that often works, but not always. When you see others who are doing your same job, but make more than you do and you’re a strong performer, you can justify asking for a raise.

Since you have been on probation in the past, that’s a negative–but it can play for you because you’ve made such a turnaround. Show the success of your projects and the how the volume of your workload has increased. I have some free sample salary negotiation letters that may help you.

Good luck!