How to ask for a raise for inflation

The key number to keep in mind is inflation, which has been in the 8 percent range for most of the year. You also should look at current job postings and salary ranges for positions like

yours on websites such as Payscale and Indeed. Cohen says checking current salaries is especially important if you haven’t changed jobs in several years. “When you find a new job, that job

is, by definition, the market rate because that company is competing against every other company in the world for your services,” he says. “Once you’re in a job, you become more and more

disconnected from the market, and the longer you’ve been there, the more disconnected you are. So, if the company has given you a 2 or 3 percent raise for the last 10 years, you might be

making 30 percent more than you made 10 years ago, but the average person getting hired for your current positions at other companies might be making 80 percent more because the market might

have changed.” The important thing to note here is that this research — and any percentage or dollar amount you arrive at — is for your benefit so you know the range of what you’re

seeking. In your conversation with your boss, it’s generally more effective to start the discussion without specific numbers. “If you say to your boss, ‘I want a 10 percent raise,’ that’s a

positional statement,” says Cohen. “Your boss has basically three choices: Your boss can accept it, reject it or counter it.” “But if you approach your boss and say, ‘As you know, inflation

has been hitting everybody hard, and I’m no exception. What I’d like to do is talk about my salary and see if we can adjust it, so I can still make ends meet and not lose pace relative to

the economy,’ it’s much harder for your boss to say no.”  SHOW YOUR BOSS YOUR VALUE “One of the things that you bring as an older worker is stability,” says Cohen. He notes that many of the

managers he has spoken with voice concerns about their turnover rates with younger employees. Companies “value that stability, and you can use that to negotiate more effectively for

yourself,” Cohen says.