October 9, 2019 Negotiating Your Salary

How to negotiate your salary and what to expect.

October 9, 2019

According to statistics, every second developer regularly thinks about raising his salary. But not each of them received a raise. Therefore, the easiest way to get a salary increase is to ask your boss. In the post, I will tell you how to negotiate your salary the best way and what to expect.

Choose a moment

To raise Python developer salary successfully, contact your supervisor for a salary increase in the following cases:

1. The company has a resource for a salary increase: sales did not fall, the budget was not reduced, it got the necessary financing from the head office.
2. You did not have any obvious failures. Otherwise, it will be difficult to explain why you should pay more.
3. The manager is not busy. In the peak time, he has to solve many issues at once, and your attempts to distract only make him angry.
4. The boss is in a good mood. Of course, the ideal boss is always fair and impartial, but most of us are still led by people, not robots.

Prepare your arguments.

Put yourself in your boss’s position and think about what will work for you and what will make the situation worse.

Good arguments

1. You have more responsibilities

You came to the company on certain terms, but since then the load has increased. You have time to work for yourself and a little bit for that guy, but your salary is not paid for two. Explain to your employer that you save them another salary, so you deserve a raise.

However, you should not be brazen: if you do not have a time machine, you will not be able to perform high-quality work for two people. So, do not expect the double raise — 20-30% is the amount you can count on.

2. Your colleagues on similar positions get more

You’ve been working for the company long enough and you’ve been on a certain salary. But the market did not stand still, and newcomers to similar positions are initially offered more.

This is a reason to approach management and restore justice. But you have to be honest with yourself. Perhaps the new employees do a little more. Before you talk to your boss, you should mobilize all your forces and become a truly valuable staff.

3. You bring tangible profit to the company

For any organization, the measure of your success is the amount of money you bring in. Not every specialization allows you to influence the firm’s income directly. Your task is to find the links between the commercial success of the company and your work and show them. Don’t forget about specific figures, charts and statistics — they work the best.

4. You are ready to work harder to increase your income

With experience, you’ve learned how to do your basic work faster, and you’ve got some time to do new tasks. Ask your boss to expand your responsibilities and, of course, raise a salary.

Ask what you need to do to get the right amount of money. The answer will tell you whether you should expect to get a raise in salary or whether you should focus your energy on finding a new job.

If the manager is willing to consider options, this is a good signal. Show that you have a good understanding of the processes that take place within the firm and are not afraid of responsibility. Take the initiative and be ready not only get your salary raised but also get promoted.

Contentious arguments

Theoretically, any of these arguments could work. But they can easily be turned against you.

1. You have learned a lot from your work

At first glance, this phrase characterizes you positively, but there are nuances. For the developers, constant development is a must. There are a lot of new technologies and trends every year and you have to understand them well. Otherwise, you will be forced out of the market.

The argument about new knowledge is more of a reason not to dismiss you rather than raise your salary. To make this argument effective, you need to jump over your head and add learn something specific that will show your high motivation, not just a logical professional growth.

2. If you get a pay rise, you’ll remove mountains

It’s an attempt to give an unwarranted promise — that is just your words. At the same time, the employer can’t legally raise the salary and put it back down for no reason. Not the most profitable deal for him.

Going to the boss for a serious conversation, you need to give obvious evidence: reports, figures, facts. You are trying to sell your work more expensive, so show the buyer the best points of the goods.

3. You have difficult personal circumstances

Your employer must pay you the amount specified in your employment contract. And he does not have to think about how you, for example, live with three children in the one-bed apartment. So, it will be difficult to prove why he has to pay you extra for demographic exploits or mortgages.

4. You have been working for the company for a very long time

Your loyalty is commendable. But the head may have a question of why you did not get promoted but worked on the same position. It is better to add to the argument about how long you work for the company an explanation of what the company has been doing for you all these years and, most importantly, what you did for it.

5. Raise your salary or I leave

Use this argument only when you have an offer from another company or you are ready to go nowhere. If you are refused a salary increase, you will have to quit. Otherwise, you will be remembered as a blackmailer who lies and does not keep his word. By the way, a lot depends on how you build the conversation.

If you put forward an ultimatum, there is a high chance that the boss will react negatively. But try to talk to him as an ally, not as an enemy.

You love the company, see yourself in it and the benefits that could bring. But somebody offered more money and you have to leave. In this case, the chances of staying in a company with a higher salary are much higher.

Consider everything attentively and you will get all the chances to get your salary raised. Good luck!

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