How to Ask for a Raise and Make More Money in 2020

Justin Alvey
6 min readJan 3, 2020

Invest in yourself and show your boss who’s boss.

Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

You’re not rich until you have something that money can’t buy — Unknown

Ideally I would have you reading this article a month or a few weeks before thinking about asking for a raise. But I’ll take what I can get.

Asking for a raise can be nerve-racking and a source of anxiety for a lot people. For some people it’s the idea of not knowing. The idea that after putting in 6 months to 2 years of hard work and still not seeing a monetary prize at the end that can be fearful. Asking for a raise can be unsettling no matter what age you are — from associate to senior level.

Odds are you have already checked off the little boxes. Show up early everyday for easy visibility. Check. Waiting to ask until an opportune time, such as after a big deadline that was met or a major customer acquisition went through. Check.

Many managers appreciate the emotional intelligence of a worker to wait until a time that is ideal. This is because, believe it or not, managers want to say “Yes” for the hard work you have put in. I’d say at least most of them want to say Yes — and definitely the good ones.

For me, even thinking of starting a new job or asking for a raise reminds me of out-dated managerial tactics and my first boss who told me “shut up and work.” I did not stay long at the company.

But as stressed as this topic might make us, the old adage for trying something new still rings true:

“With practice, comes mastery.”

Or put another way, “practice makes perfect.” So keep your head up and stay confident in your abilities. I’ve made a list of ideas mixed with positive vibes to hopefully make asking for a raise in 2019 easy for you.

1. Know Your Worth

Like I said before, I hope if you are going to talk with your boss about a raise then that you’ve already done your homework. This is called “Knowing your worth” but if you haven’t yet gone over the conversation in your head then I can help!

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Justin Alvey

I’m passionate about #entrepreneurship, #programming, #space, #technology, and #writing.