How to Ask for a Raise When You Have Never Asked Before

Open with this, more or less word for word: I'd like to talk about my pay, and I've got a specific number in mind.

I've been in this role two years, I took on the Meridian account when Dana left, and I think my pay hasn't kept pace with what I'm actually doing.

You're building a case out of facts they already know are true, which is harder to wave off than a feeling.

Based on that, I'd like to move to seventy-eight thousand.

A real number does the work that hinting can't — it tells them exactly what would satisfy you instead of making them guess and lowball.

I'll give you a second with that.

Naming the pause out loud turns the terrifying silence into something you chose, instead of something happening to you.

I understand budget's a real constraint. What would need to be true for this to happen, even if not today?

It moves the conversation off yes-or-no and onto a timeline, which is much harder for them to leave hanging indefinitely.

A version of the conversation with the push-back left in, because that is the part you need to have already heard once.

I feel like I deserve more.

It hands them an opinion to disagree with instead of a case to reckon with.

I don't want to make this awkward, but...

You've announced the awkwardness before you've said a single thing that's actually awkward.

Sarah on my team makes more than me.

Now the conversation is about Sarah's pay and privacy, not yours, and you've handed them an easy exit.