Careers advice

Salary Secrets: Anonymous Pay Rise Stories

Here to help you get paid what you're worth.

8 March 2023

When you take on more responsibility

Keep communications open with your manager regarding pay, if you've taken on more responsibility, your pay should reflect that.

During a standard review process

Keen to see how your salary stacks up?

Check out our free Salary Guide, featuring up-to-date salary data across a wide range of industries.

Compare your salary

When being promoted

We often overthink these conversations, but they don't need to be stressful, especially if you are well prepared.

When starting a new job

Bonus tips

Tips from our anonymous submissions:

If it's at a new company then never take the first offer – ever. I have seen people miss out on $5,000+ by doing this. If you ask for more and they say no and you're happy with the offered amount then take it… but you have to at least try to get more.
Often, unfortunately, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Managers expect these conversations, so try not to get too worked up about them - the worst thing they can say is no. And if it is no, they’ll often give you things to work on.
If you're already at a company, then put in writing all the value you bring and how much you want – also go high as you will likely not get the full amount. For example, ask for 15k more and you will hopefully get 10k.
Don't push current companies to a point where it's unprofessional – a lot of the time it's not your manager who decides on the pay increase. They can only recommend it and then the final decision sits with their boss or higher.
During your negotiations, be prepared with all your reasons, lay them out on the table and then leave a moment of silence – don’t feel you need to keep talking to fill in the gaps – that’s when you may start doubting yourself and backtracking. Let them soak in all the information and respond.
If you've been at one company for a long time (3+ years) then go high and hard with your asks, as you're likely being underpaid compared to others. It's okay to leave a job if they don't see how much you bring to the table – at the end of the day, you’re accountable for your pay, happiness and getting what's owed to you.
Be nice to yourself, your pay doesn't define your value as a human.