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How to ask for a raise with a case your manager can say yes to

By the LeapSteps team. Updated . Facts checked .

To ask for a raise, book a meeting with your manager before pay decisions are made, name a specific number and back it with two things: results from your work, with figures, and pay data for your role. This guide covers when to ask, what to say, a first week of short tasks and what to do after a no.

What your manager needs to say yes

Most managers can't hand out a raise on the spot. They usually have to argue for it with their own boss or with HR, inside a budget that was set months earlier. So the ask works best when it gives them three things: a number, the reasons in a form they can forward, and enough time to get it into the budget.

The reasons that travel best are results with figures attached, such as money saved, hours cut or clients kept, rather than how hard you worked. Pay data for your role helps too, because it shows the number didn't come from nowhere. For a sense of the wider picture, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that wages and salaries for U.S. civilian workers rose 3.2 percent in the 12 months to June 2026. That's an average across jobs, so your own case rests on your results and your role's pay, not on that figure.

This page is career advice, not legal or tax advice. For questions about your rights at work, your state's labor department or an employment lawyer is the right person to ask.

Six steps to ask for a raise

Start them four to eight weeks before pay is reviewed where you work. The first three take the most time; the meeting itself is short.

  1. Find out when pay is decided

    Ask your manager or HR when raises are set: at an annual review, at the start of the budget year, or whenever a manager asks. Asking after the budget is fixed often means waiting a year.

  2. List your results with figures

    Write down what changed because of your work in the last year, then put a number on the top five: dollars saved, hours cut, error rates, clients kept. Your manager can forward a figure more easily than an adjective.

  3. Look up pay for your role

    Check the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for your job and area, and posted pay ranges for similar jobs nearby. Note the range, its source and its date.

  4. Pick a specific number

    Choose an amount you can defend from your results and the pay data. A specific figure, such as $4,750, reads as researched; a round one invites a bigger cut.

  5. Book the meeting and say what it's for

    Ask for 20 minutes and name the topic in the invitation, so your manager isn't caught off guard and can bring what they know about the budget.

  6. Ask, listen and agree the next step

    Say the number, give your top three results, then stop and listen. Before you leave, agree what happens next and by when, and send a short note afterwards that repeats it.

One raise, from the big aim to today

A raise works like any goal with a deadline: the review date is fixed, and the work is mostly gathering proof. Here it is broken down until today's task takes 20 minutes.

Example goal

  1. Long-termEarn a $10,000 raise at my review
  2. Mid-termDocument 5 wins with numbers
  3. Short-termWrite up the vendor-savings win

Today's taskPull the savings figures from last quarter's invoices

We wrote this example ourselves. In LeapSteps you write the long-term goal in your own words. Tap Generate on the mid-term or short-term step and AI drafts three options; keep one, edit it or write your own.

The goal screen in LeapSteps with the AI draft as generated. Long-term goal: Earn a $10,000 raise at my review. Mid-term goal: Document three measurable wins that add $10,000 in value to my team, by Apr 26, 2027. Short-term goal: Draft a list of 5 measurable wins from the last 12 months, each with a dollar value, by Nov 6, 2026.

The long-term goal names the number and the moment. The mid-term step is the case: results, each with a figure your manager can repeat. The short-term step takes one of those results and writes it up, and today's task is the dull part that makes it believable, finding the numbers.

The screenshot is the app's draft for the same goal, captured on October 26, 2026. It also built the case from wins with figures: three wins worth $10,000 to the team by April as the milestone, and a list of five wins from the last 12 months, each with a dollar value, as the first step. That list is the first week below.

Plan your raise in LeapStepsGet it for Windows

Your first week

Seven tasks, none longer than 30 minutes. By the end of the week you'll have a number, the case for it and a meeting in the calendar.

  1. Ask when raises are decided this year10 min One message to your manager or HR. The answer sets your deadline for everything below.
  2. List every result from the last 12 months20 min Go through your sent email and calendar. Small wins count; you'll pick the best later.
  3. Put a figure on your top five results30 min Dollars, hours or a before-and-after count. If you can't find a number, describe the change in one plain sentence.
  4. Look up pay for your job and area20 min Use the BLS wage tables and posted ranges for similar jobs. Write down each source and its date.
  5. Write your ask in three sentences15 min The number, your top three results, and the pay range that supports it.
  6. Book a 20-minute meeting about pay5 min Name the topic in the invitation, so the conversation starts with facts rather than surprise.
  7. Say your ask out loud twice10 min Once alone and once to a friend. The number gets easier to say the second time.

What negotiation research says

Three findings the steps lean on, and what LeapSteps does with each.

  • Northwestern University

    The first number sets the range

    In three experiments, the side that made the first offer tended to get the better deal, and first offers strongly predicted where talks ended. That's why the method has you name your number rather than wait for one.

    Read the study

  • Columbia University

    Precise beats round

    People answered precise first offers with smaller counteroffers than round ones, partly because a precise number made the asker seem better informed. That's why the plan ties your number to figures you looked up.

    Read the study

  • New York University and University of Sheffield

    Decide when, where and how

    Across 94 tests, plans that spelled out when, where and how people would act had a medium-to-large effect on reaching their goals. That's why each task can have a due time.

    Read the review

These studies test the ideas behind the method, not LeapSteps itself, and the negotiation studies used set-up deals rather than real pay talks. Checked October 26, 2026.

If it doesn't go to plan

A first ask often ends somewhere between yes and no. These are the usual ways it goes, and the next move for each.

  • Your manager says no, or not now.

    Ask what would need to be true for a yes, and by when. Write that answer as your new mid-term step, with the date, and book the follow-up before you leave. A 35-year review of goal research found specific, hard goals beat "do your best", so "Lead the Q2 supplier review by June" gives you more to work with than "keep it up".

  • You get less than you asked for.

    Thank them, then ask whether the rest can be reviewed at a set date, or whether part of it can come as something else, such as training, a title or flexible hours. Ask for whatever you agree in writing. The first-offer study found talks tend to settle near the opening number, which is why your number, not theirs, should come first next time too.

  • You keep putting off booking the meeting.

    Make the task smaller: "Send the invitation at 9 am" rather than "Ask for a raise". Give it a due time. Late tasks stay on Today and show how late they are, so the step is waiting tomorrow without a pile of guilt on top. Plans that name the moment help people act on them.

  • You can't remember what you did all year.

    Start a wins list today and add to it each Friday, with the figure while it's fresh. In LeapSteps, finished steps stay under Done and Steps achieved, so the year's progress is there when review season comes. Next year's case then takes an hour instead of a weekend.

Sources checked October 26, 2026.

Questions, answered

How much of a raise should I ask for?

Ask for a specific amount you can back with two things: what your role pays in your area and what your results are worth. There's no single right percentage. As a reference point, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found U.S. civilian wages and salaries rose 3.2 percent on average in the 12 months to June 2026, but that average mixes every job, and your case can be higher or lower. Look up your job in the BLS wage tables and in posted ranges for similar jobs nearby. Then pick a precise figure inside or at the top of that range, since a number tied to research reads as considered. Write down where it came from, so you can answer "Why that amount?" calmly.

When is the best time to ask for a raise?

Ask a month or two before pay decisions are made where you work, not after. Many employers set raises once a year, at review time or when the next year's budget is drawn up, and a request that arrives after the budget is fixed often has to wait. So the first step is to ask your manager or HR when that happens. Good moments inside that window include just after you've finished a project with clear results, or when your job has grown beyond its description. Avoid asking in the middle of a crisis, on a day your manager is swamped, or as a reaction to a bad week. Book a meeting rather than raising it in passing, so there's time to talk it through.

What do I say when I ask for a raise?

Keep it to three parts: the ask, the reasons and an invitation to talk. For example: "I'd like to talk about my pay. Over the last year I cut our vendor costs by $38,000, took over the Denver accounts and trained two new hires. Based on that and what similar roles pay here, I'm asking for an increase to $72,500. What would it take to get there?" Then stop talking and listen. Practise it out loud beforehand, because saying the number is the hardest part for most people. Stay calm and factual, and leave out comparisons with coworkers or threats to quit unless you mean them. Afterwards, send a short note that repeats what you agreed.

Can I talk about my pay with coworkers?

For most private-sector employees in the U.S., yes. The National Labor Relations Board says employees covered by the National Labor Relations Act may discuss wages with coworkers, in person, by phone or in writing, whether or not they have a union, and may also choose not to. That can help you check whether your pay is in line before you ask. Not everyone is covered: the Act has its own rules on who counts as an employee, and supervisors and government workers are handled differently. Some states add their own pay rules, such as posting ranges in job ads. For your situation, ask the NLRB, your state's labor department or an employment lawyer.

Can an app help me get a raise?

It can help you do the preparation, but it can't make the case for you or change your manager's budget. LeapSteps is our app. It's a to-do list where any task can link to a goal's next step, so "Pull the savings figures" sits under "Document 5 wins with numbers" and "Earn a $10,000 raise at my review". Tap Generate and AI drafts smaller steps; give each task a due time so the meeting gets booked before pay is decided. What it doesn't do is know what your role pays or what your employer can afford. That research is yours, and a notebook with your wins and a date works on the same ideas.

Walk into your review with the case already written

LeapSteps helps you turn a raise into a few small steps a week, from finding the figures to booking the meeting, so the case is ready before pay is decided. LeapSteps is out now on iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and Windows.

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