The economy is up again, the market just hit its 6-year high, but your paycheck is not really reflecting the upturn. If that sounds familiar, perhaps you’ll be interested in some observations I’ve made recently.

If you’re a reasonable person who thinks (s)he deserves a raise, you probably do. However, just like with buying a car or a house, I recommend doing your research well. Here’s a bucket o’stuff I’ve used to negotiate a pay increase:

• Am I working all kinds of overtime and crazy hours? Simply put, that displays your value to the organization. Though you can perform all your duties within the allotted 8 hours, staying overtime all the time shows how responsible and dedicated you are. Weekends/nights is a huge plus.
• Am I finally able to delegate some of my more mundane tasks to the “new guy”? Delegation shows that you’ve gained experience and are ready to move on to more challenging tasks. Also, it displays valued training skills if you are able to get the new person up and running quickly.
• Will some things at work just die if I miss a few days? It may be lowly to have an agenda to further “job security”, i.e. work in a way that fosters you being the only person that knows a task, but it’s a sure indicator you’re adding value to the organization.
• Do people like/openly praise my work? Collect all praise emails/letters, don’t be shy. You can slip them in as one of the last resorts as long as you’re not an asshole about it. Your boss really should know about the good job you’re doing, but if not, drop a name or two.
• Do you know what the median/average paycheck in your industry is? Do your research, try the obvious – monster.com, salary.com. Grab a few HR mags as a bathroom read.
• Am I being reasonable? Are you asking too much/not enough? Consider all factors (fringe benefits provided, etc).
• Do I have a plan B? There’s a very small chance things will spin out of control. Do you have an offer letter from another company stating how much they are willing to pay you? Something like that sheds light on your real market value a bit more accurately that the HR mag because you’re dealing with concrete sums of money from an actual company. Yes, you may mention you have another offer, but saying that you’re happy where you are and you’re willing to work with the situation helps a lot. It sets your current employer’s mind at ease that you’re necessarily going anywhere at this second.
• Am I being cool, collected, and professional? Remember Tony Soprano and a million other gangsters who said “this is business, not personal“. If somebody is willing to pay you more, name one good reason why you shouldn’t get a raise?