Money for the Rest of Us

What do you do if you’re salary is lower than others in your field and/or company? How do you ask for a raise if you’ve been putting up with a low pay for a long time?

I’ve been readings Suze Orman’s new book Women and Money and came across and interesting quote last night. She was talking about how women usually aren’t good about asking for raises and getting the pay they deserve. It’s especially difficult when you take a lower pay to begin with or don’t demand a higher raise and then you’re stuck. Once you’ve got that lower salary it’s hard to know how to ask for a significant pay increase.

Well, here’s what Suze suggests you say:

“I realize that I have allowed myself to be unfairly compensated in the past, but now I’d like to correct that and be paid in a way that matches both industry standards and my division’s profitability.”

(If you work for a non-profit you should probably adjust the last part of the sentence to something like “… my division’s productivity.”)

I think this is a great line because you are being upfront and stating the facts in an “I statement.” Rather than saying “you unfairly compensated me,” you say “I allowed myself to be unfairly compensated.” Similar statements, but they are received in completely different ways.

Think about using this line if you are currently being unfairly compensated .