Boss Is Unapproachable

danteXXI

I'm looking to ask my boss for a raise but he is very unapproachable.
Doesn anybody have any pointers?

board om

i really hate having to do that. even though you know you deserve it you still feel awkward as hell. i always feel like i am asking for it out of their own pocket.

from experience i find you are best off writing down a list of reasons why you deserve the raise. if you go with it just in your head then you can get talked down very quickly becuase you are trying like mad to remember all those brilliant reasons you had for deserving a raise and your boss is telling you why he cant give you it. also find out how much other people in your role are paid in your company and in similiar companies.

and when asking for the raise aim for a high figure, but not ridiculously high. becuase the figure you agree on will most likely be the only raise you get for at least 12 months so you dont want to sell yourself short. if you aim too low and they agree then your stuck with that amount and you will spend the next 12 months being pi**ed off that you arent being paid enough. be fair to them and yourself when deciding on an amount.

hope that helps. and good luck.

DublinWriter

danteXXI wrote: »

Doesn anybody have any pointers?

Yes, walk.

When I was climbing the greasy corporate pole back in the day, most of my bosses were very approachable and human.

In my last full-time position my boss was a complete I.T. burn-out case, well known in the consulting business for being 'troublesome' and was the living embodiment of the "Peter Principle".

Try as I might, this guy saw me (any everyone else!) as a constant threat and I do believe had genuine mental health issues.

Things came to a head between me and him, HR got involved and a they suggested an drawn-out arbitration process to be initiated between himself and me.

At that point I said "ta-ta", fecked off, started by own business and have never looked back since.

To get back on track, the moral of this story is that a company is only as good to work for as your immediate boss is.

Said company were ranked in one of the top 20 to work for in Ireland, yet they managed to put someone with obvious mental-health issues in a position of power who subsequently lost them most of their talent, including myself, I dare say.

Unless you are really glued to your particular employer, always be prepared to walk.

themadchef

When i go looking for a raise i always weigh up what the competition would pay me if i were to move.

Never make threats like " if i'm not getting an extra 2k/5k a year i'm outta here" unless you have a back up plan.

Now i'm in my job almost 10 years so the likelyhood of me actually wanting to start over in a new place is very slim. But if i felt i was not getting looked after salary wise i'd do it in a heart beat.

I suppose also it depends on what size business youre talking about. If it's a small business and your performance has a direct impact on the profit the company makes then your request for a raise should be looked upon favourably provided youre doing a good job and the company can afford to give it.

If it's a big corporation then it's all down to your boss as such so keeping good relations with him/ her is imperitive.

Best of luck with, a bit of yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir... for 6 - 8 weeks before you ask wont do any harm either