In the economy today, it may be difficult to ask your boss for a raise … even if it’s well-deserved.  Even if you do have the opportunity to pitch a salary increase to your boss, and even if your boss sincerely wants to reward you with that raise, he or she may not be able to justify it with all the other budget cuts companies are making right now.

If you are well-deserving and want to approach your boss about a reward, consider the following three perks you can negotiate if money is not an option (well, at least this year):

1. Vacation time:  perhaps you receive the standard two weeks of vacation time per calendar year.  Propose an increase to 12 days or even three weeks to reward you for your hard work this past year.
2. Core hours:  increase your flexibility by negotiating “core hours” at the office – the bracket of time when you’re expected to be in the office (e.g., 10am – 3pm) but with flexibility around what time you arrive and when you go home.  Just ensure you continue to perform in order to maintain this benefit!
3. Title change:  even if there’s no room to boost your paycheck next year, perhaps your boss can alter your title to reflect some of the higher-level duties you have assumed.  Not only will this help you negotiate your raise next year, but if by chance you change jobs in the future, this will help boost your resume.

Best of luck to you all, and please leave a comment with your best negotiating “win” (related to money or otherwise!)

This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 7:44 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.