8 ways to improve your pay (without changing jobs!)

The cost of living is driving many people to find ways to boost their income.

It may seem like your only option is to leave your current job and find one with higher pay. But there are other options that don’t involve changing jobs.

Here are 8 ways you can put your best foot forward to get that pay increase.

1. Research the market rate

Before you head to your manager’s office or bring up the salary conversation, make sure you’ve done your research. Do you know what others are being paid to do the same role elsewhere?

Having this knowledge can keep your expectations in line with industry standards and arm you with supporting statistics.

SEEK’s Salary Guide can also help you find the average salary for different roles and compare yours.

2. Prepare a list of your achievements

It’s also helpful to create a list of your achievements to present to your manager. Consider the impact you’ve had in your team, the overall organisation and any times you’ve gone above and beyond.

The list of achievements could include:

• Internal processes you’ve improved to create efficiency

• Relationships you’ve built internally and externally to help your team achieve its work goals
• Times you’ve gone above and beyond to deliver excellent customer service to enhance your company’s reputation
• Documents and templates you’ve created to improve efficiency
• Programs or projects you’ve managed that have been successful outside the scope of your position description.
• Any new business leads or additional revenue that you have successfully generated for your company.

3. Make yourself a subject matter expert

Upskilling can be a great boost to your current role and help improve your salary outlook. Speak to your manager about how you can develop your skills or learn new ones to have a greater impact in your role and the company.

These are the formal and informal ways of upskilling:

• Completing a formal course online with learning platforms such as Udemy, Futurelearn and EdX

• Attending internal training
• Job shadowing someone with your desired skillset to learn more
• Being assigned a mentor to help develop technical skills (e.g., data analysis or digital marketing skills) or people-related skills (e.g., influencing and negotiation).

4. Develop your leadership skills

You don’t need to be a people manager to finetune your leadership skills. In nearly any position, there are opportunities to show your ability to mentor or lead others in your workplace. You can start from mentoring your co-workers or the interns, or from managing a project of your department. It could be anything to show your boss that you can lead.

5. Take initiative to suggest process or system improvements

Measurable improvements for the company can also lead to salary improvements for you. This is particularly true if you can find ways to demonstrate how you’ve helped save money or contributed to the income of the business.

This may require some out-of-the-box thinking and initiative. Examples include:

• improving an internal process that reduced the time taken to complete a weekly or monthly task

• automating manual processes to save significant payroll costs for the company.

6. Build your personal brand

Your personal brand in the workplace is how people in the company think of you, and if your name is seen in a positive light.

You may already have a strong relationship with your manager. Consider also building relationships with other team members and key decision makers to strengthen your personal brand.

7. Make yourself indispensable

Make yourself indispensable by working to make their job easier, and by flexing the skills and knowledge that you have acquired. Look to demonstrate what you specifically bring to the role, which may be hard to find in the external job market.

8. Assess the right time and way to discuss pay with your manager

With any negotiation, timing is critical. You may have built a strong case for increasing your salary by providing a list of achievements, upskilling and demonstrating added value. But ultimately, external factors may determine whether your pay increase is possible.

If you do decide the time is right, focus on the positives and not the negatives in your conversation. Keep any personal reasons out of the discussion as they’re not relevant. (e.g. something like I have more expense in my life, so I need a raise.)

Instead, focus on your improved performance and the evidence behind it. By doing your research, building your skills and compiling evidence, you could be well on your way to increasing your pay – without having to go job hunting.