Personal Finance

The best way to get a raise is to negotiate for a raise - don't just beg for more money, Ramit Sethi advises

David Beren

Published: December 29, 2024 11:05 am

For anyone who works a job, whether at a large or small company, asking for a raise can be a massively unnerving experience. Unless you know it’s a sure thing going into a meeting with a manager, trying to convince anyone in a leadership position that you deserve more money is a hard ask. 

Perhaps the best thing you can do is follow YouTuber and podcaster Ramit Sethi’s advice by negotiating a raise. As Ramit says, you can’t just walk into a room, say, “Pay me more, please!” and expect the money to start rolling in. Instead, you must carefully plan and negotiate your way into a larger salary. 

Ramit’s Advice

Ramit’s advice in this YouTube Short is straightforward: you start with careful planning. This is the step for anyone who wants to ask for and believes they deserve more money for their work. There will be little disagreement from the masses that negotiating, rather than demanding, will be the best tactic. We can all agree that Ramit’s advice and take on this issue are spot on. 

Any scenario where a raise is handed to you is the exception, not the rule. As Ramit suggests, businesses are not in the habit of giving away raises nonchalantly, so you must do the homework. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work in a way where raises are just handed out to every employee. 

How Do You Negotiate? 

Okay, Ramit wants you to negotiate, but you’re unsure how to do it. The good news is that reliable and solid tips can help you find your voice. 

Research Your Position 

The first thing you want to do is to research your current job title and position and understand its current market value. Not only will this tell you what you could be making elsewhere, but it’s a great data point to have as you negotiate a potential raise. 

Highlight Your Achievements

Another strong negotiation tactic is highlighting your achievements at the company so far. Have you brought in new clients or created popular marketing campaigns? Regardless of what you have done, you must highlight your accomplishments and how they have impacted the company’s bottom line. 

Have A Presentation 

Even though you’re going in to talk with a manager or members of management, you still want to have something to show. Craft a presentation that visually examines your work and how it has positively impacted your department and the overall business. 

Discuss Your Next Steps

As part of any raise discussion, the best thing you can do is showcase what kind of return on investment a raise will provide the business. One potential scenario is to tie your raise directly back to the success of a future project in which you may be leading or have a leadership role.  

What If The Answer Is No?

While Ramit gives you good advice about planning to ask for a raise, he’s also right on another issue. He makes a strong point that if your existing company tells you they don’t do raises, even after you try and negotiate to rejection, it’s probably time to look for a better-paying job. 

There is little disagreement that being rejected for a raise will be difficult to accept. The last thing anyone wants to do right now is look for another role in one of the more difficult job markets in recent memory. However, I agree with Ramit that if you don’t think your current company accepts your worth or believes you have additional value, you need to make a change. 

The good news, hopefully, is that you have a window of opportunity to find a new job since you have an old one. This will allow you to search for the right opportunity to pay you what you feel you are worth for your background and experience. 

Yes, finding a new role could be difficult and take time, but in the end, going somewhere else that shows you the value upfront will be the smartest change you can make.