It’s the time of year when many employees decide to look for a pay rise – but what’s the best way to do it?

Managing director of Futurewise Peter Cosgrove told Lunchtime Live that it’s not just Christmas overspending that has people looking for more money.

“It’s generally that’s when most companies do their pay reviews - they generally do an appraisal around the end of each year, kind of reviewing the year’s performance,” he said.

Mr Cosgrove said that while it can be hard to be upfront about money, it can be worth your time letting your boss know that you want to talk about pay in advance.

“At least give them time to think about it, because you can’t take them by surprise,” he said.

“The few things people need to realise is [a] company's goal is not to give you more money.

“I know that sounds terrible - everyone feels like they work for a lovely company but the reality is they’re there to make money, so if you never look for a pay rise, they’re not going to be in a hurry to give you one.”

Business meeting in office atrium reception. Image: Reeldeal Images / Alamy. 15 February 2018

Mr Cosgrove also advised going into these negotiations with research to back up your request.

“Present evidence going, ‘Look, I’m a business analyst, this is what a business analyst is being paid in Dublin or in Cork and that’s what I should be worth’,” he said.

“But the other key things are simple things like, you know, never plead that you want a raise - ‘My rent has gone up’, or ‘I’m getting married’.

“Nobody cares about that – I mean, you might want more money, but that’s not a reason, you have to give them good reasons.”

Prepare yourself

According to Mr Cosgrove, it is worth beginning preparations for these meetings around six months in advance.

“The way you get a pay rise is by kind of putting in specific targets and plans and objectives that you can then go in and go, ‘I hit everything and you promised me I’d get a pay rise if I did this, here’s what I’ve done’,” he said.

“Just going in and saying, ‘I deserve more money’ isn’t going to fly.”

Mr Cosgrove also recommended making good office connections to vouch for you and your work.

He said it is a bad idea to look for a pay rise at a time when a company is losing money, and recommended instead to consider asking for more holidays or work-from-home solutions.

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Main image: A person holds and counts budget money. Image: imageBROKER.com GmbH & Co. KG / Alamy