Sometimes it’s necessary to write a salary increase letter to clarify your position to your manager or HR Rep and ask for a raise or salary increment (higher pay). While we at Springraise recommend you do as much negotiation as possible in person, a salary increase letter can be a powerful way to justify your request for more money.  Now let’s look at  a winning format to give you the best chance of getting that salary increase you deserve and then we’ll quantify why you should write a salary increase letter.

Winning Format

Here’s a winning format for your salary increase letter–also known as a salary increment letter (if you want a FREE sample, just fill out the form below with the subject “Increase” and a brief description of why you want to write a letter and we’ll send the sample right away).

1. Introduction. You need to create an introductory paragraph that gives your manager or HR reps a clear view that you are asking for a raise or pay increase and that you will justify why you should receive it in the balance of the letter.

2. Pick two projects that show how you’ve performed superior to your peers and then provide key detail on each one.

2a. Describe the situation that brought about the need for the project. There was clearly a need for the project to be done and a reason why YOU were picked to do it.

2b. Describe the project and the steps you had to take to make it happen. Describe each individual step clearly and concisely.

2c. Then you have to talk about each action that you took to complete the steps. This is key to showing your organizational skills and how you thought through the solutions for each step of the project.

2d. This is where you detail the results. Quantify EVERYTHING. This means if your work caused a change in sales, or reduced costs, or made the team more efficient, say what percent change it was compared to how it was before you undertook the project.

3. Summarize your request and explicitly ask for the increase and the amount that you want. Reiterate your superior accomplishments and welcome a conversation with the managers.

This all might seem like a lot, but it’s necessary. Your max submission should be two pages. Our salary increase guide entitled, “Raise Up! How To Ask For And Receive The Raise You Deserve” provides not only sample salary increase letters in the winning format, but shows you what exact data you need to have to maximize your chances of getting your raise.  These techniques aren’t just good for now, but for every potential raise or promotion in your future.

***Special Offer for Kindle and Kindle App Users (KindleFire, iPad, iPhone, GalaxyTab, etc.)–Get your Raise Up! salary increase guide for 33% off. Only $2.99! The Kindle App is free in the App Store and Android Market.***

Why Write a Salary Increase Letter?

Let’s say you don’t negotiate and get paid $5,000 less than you could have gotten had you asked for a raise.  If you’re a strong performer, at next raise time, you may have gotten 10%.  So you made $45,000 per year instead of $50,000.  Instead of getting a $5,000 raise next year, you got $4,500.  You lose not only the $5,000 from the first year, but $500 next year.  Imagine you stay on the 10% increase path for 5 years.  You will have lost over $33,000 in total because you didn’t negotiate for that initial $5,000 you deserved.  Don’t let that happen.  Our salary increase guide shows you how to avoid this pitfall and others to get the highest raises today and throughout the rest of your career.  Check it out!

So have confidence and don’t be afraid to actually walk away if the salary isn’t right.  If you must, look for another job, even in this economy.

If you want FREE samples of salary increase letters in this winning format, just fill out the form below with the subject “Increase” and a brief description of why you want to write a letter and we’ll send you the sample letters immediately!