Asking for the raise
No competing offer, no invitation, and a manager who will happily agree to revisit this later. Getting a yes is not the hard part — getting a date is.
The brief
You are
An engineer three years into the role, asking your director for a raise.
The situation
You booked fifteen minutes with Ruth Alderman, your director, to ask for a raise. You are on 92,000. You believe the role is now worth around 105. Nobody asked you to have this conversation and you have no other offer. You led the migration that took the on-call pager from eleven pages a week to two, and you have been the person the team asks about the billing service since the person who built it left.
What you want out of it
Leave with a specific number attached to a specific date — or a written set of conditions that gets you there.
What you know going in
- You are on 92,000 and think the role is worth about 105.
- You have no competing offer and are not going to invent one.
- You cut on-call pages from eleven a week to two.
- You are the de facto owner of the billing service.
- The last performance review said 'exceeds' and nothing changed.
Who is on the other end
Ruth
Director of Engineering, Halden Logistics
She opens busy but civil, and she is holding 4 things back — 0 near the surface, 2 that take real questioning, and 2 you will only get to if the conversation genuinely goes well. What they are, and what makes her say them, is the part you have to find. She is not scripted to volunteer any of it.
What the debrief marks
The objectives for this scenario, and the four axes every negotiation call is graded on.
Position and anchor
Did they establish a defensible position with reasoning, and either anchor first or handle the other side's anchor without accepting its frame?
Trading, not conceding
Was every concession exchanged for something? A unilateral give teaches the other side that waiting is profitable.
Composure under silence
Did they hold a pause, resist negotiating against themselves, and avoid filling quiet with a worse offer? This is where most of the money is lost.
Result
What was actually agreed, measured against the position they walked in with?
How the call can end
Improved on the opening
winThey moved the other side and gave up less than they got.
Held their position
partialNo ground gained, none lost.
Conceded, traded badly
partialAgreement reached at a cost that did not buy anything back.
Negotiated against themselves
lossImproved the other side's offer without being asked. Almost always happens in a silence.
Other negotiation calls
Take this call
Arguing from contribution rather than need, and converting a warm yes into a dated commitment. 12 minutes, live voice, and a scored debrief you can replay. The first call is free.