Raise Request Planner

The default internal raise cycle for salaried workers in the US is around 3-4% annually — barely above inflation in most years. Getting a meaningful raise (10-20%) requires a specific sequence of moves executed over weeks, not a single ask dropped in a 1:1.

Real case. A senior product designer at a 400-person SaaS company was at $142,000 going into the 2025 comp cycle. Market rate for her level in her metro was $160-175k. Her manager genuinely liked her but had not advocated internally. We mapped out the 6-week plan. Week 1: she built a one-page brag sheet with three shipped projects, each with revenue or retention numbers attached. Week 2: she pulled Levels.fyi data for three peer companies. Week 3: she seeded the conversation with her manager ("I'd like to talk comp at our next 1:1 — can we book 30 minutes?"). Week 4: she sent a written one-pager to her manager with the ask ($165k + title change to Staff Designer). Week 5: her manager took it to the VP. Week 6: counter-offer came back at $158k + title change + $15k sign-on-style retention bonus.

Net outcome: $16,000 in base + a title jump + $15,000 retention. Total move was $31,000 for the year, against a default 3% ($4,260). The difference was the preparation and the paper trail, not the ask itself.

The brag sheet is the single most leveraged artifact in the whole plan. Most people rely on their manager's memory to remember what they did last year. Managers forget. A brag sheet — one page, three-to-five projects with quantified impact — gives your manager the ammunition to advocate for you with their boss.

Good format: Project name → Role → Outcome in $ or hours or headcount or retention. Example: "Redesigned onboarding flow → Lead designer → 18% lift in activation (worth ~$2.1M ARR on current run rate)." That's a brag sheet line that moves a budget decision.

Bad format: "Worked on several design improvements." That's what your manager already remembers, and it's not enough.

Pull three sources minimum. Levels.fyi for tech ICs (if your company is on there), Glassdoor for cross-function, Payscale for a generic baseline. Ask peers at your level at direct competitors ("Hey, roughly what's the range at Acme for Senior PM?"). Your industry association often publishes annual salary surveys — SHRM, IEEE, ACM, AIGA, etc.

Write down the 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile numbers for your level and metro. Your target anchor is the 75th. Your walk-away is the 50th. The 90th is what you use to back out stretch asks ("I know 90th is $190k — I'm asking for $170k, which is the 65th percentile, reflecting the scope I've taken on").

Do not surprise your manager with a cold raise ask. In your next 1:1, signal you're thinking about growth. "I'd like to talk about my trajectory for next year — can we book 30 minutes next week to go through my goals and comp?" This gives your manager time to check their budget, talk to HR, and come prepared.

Seeding also creates a paper trail. Send a calendar invite with "Comp and trajectory discussion" in the title. Your manager can forward that to their boss without a weird conversation.

Verbal asks get distorted in the chain of retelling. Written asks survive. After your conversation in Week 3, send a follow-up email: "Thanks for the time. Summarizing what we discussed and the data I mentioned: [brag sheet highlights]. [Market benchmarks]. [Specific ask: $X base, effective [date]]. Happy to discuss — let me know what you need from me to move this forward."

Keep it to 250-300 words. Your manager will forward this email to the VP. The VP will forward it to the HRBP. Every word matters.

Three possible outcomes. (1) Full yes: great — get the effective date and new number in writing before you celebrate. (2) Partial yes: evaluate the full package. A $5k smaller raise plus a title change plus an equity refresh can be better than a bigger raise alone. Run the Total Compensation Analyzer. (3) No: ask for a specific timeline and criteria. "I understand — what specific outcome would unlock this next cycle?" Get a date on the calendar. If the answer is vague, start external interviews.

Critical move on a "no": do not leave the conversation without a written follow-up. "To summarize — you're saying the budget isn't available this cycle, and we'll revisit in [date]. I'd like to agree now on what evidence would support the ask next time. Can we lock that in writing?"

If you go through the full 6-week plan with a strong brag sheet and real market data, and the outcome is still a COLA-only raise with no path forward, that is a data point. The company is telling you your current ceiling.

Get at least two competing offers within 60-90 days. Use the Salary Negotiation Checklist to structure the process. Come back to your current employer with written offers and a specific ask. If they match or exceed, stay. If they don't, leave.

Internal raises have structural ceilings that external moves do not. A 4-6% internal raise is common; a 15-25% external bump is also common. If your internal path is blocked and your work is strong, the external market is the answer.

This is not legal, financial, or employment advice. Internal raise outcomes depend on your employer's specific comp structure, budget cycle, and business conditions. Labor laws and pay transparency rules vary by state. This planner is a framework based on practitioner experience; individual results vary. For complex situations (sever-threat, discrimination claims, retaliation), consult an employment attorney.