The guide this episode is built from
How to Ask for a Raise When the Job Grew First
For a friend in a search, start here
- The STAR Method Interview, and When It Fails Senior Candidates. The STAR method for interview answers, with examples, how STAR compares with CAR, PAR and SOAR, and why senior candidates need more than a tidy story.
- Passed Over for Promotion: Test This Before Working Harder. If you've been passed over, don't just work harder. Ask if you can do the next job, if the people who choose know it, and if a real path exists here.
Transcript
Welcome, friends, to The Operator's Playbook. One guide from my desk, cut down to what you can use this week. Thanks for giving me 9 minutes.
You've been doing a bigger job for a while now, and the pay hasn't caught up. This episode helps you figure out what that job should really pay, put the case on one page, and ask for it in a way your company can actually decide on.
A percentage is a convenient way to express an increase. It isn't a way to decide what the job should pay. Price the role you're doing now before you choose the raise to request. Start with what the company is asking you to own. Then establish what comparable work pays. Your current salary comes back into the discussion when you calculate the change. Not before.
Because here's the situation you're living in. You absorbed a team whose leader wasn't replaced. Vendor decisions that used to go upstairs now stop with you. Maybe the title changed. The pay didn't. No new offer arrived. The work moved anyway.
First, check how your employer prices the role. If your company has formal salary bands, a raise inside your current band and a move to another level are two different decisions. Annual review budgets can also be capped. So ask which process your request belongs in, who can approve it, and when. If your employer sets standard pay by level, the big question may be whether your work is assigned to the right level. Smaller employers may negotiate individual contracts instead. There, bring the scope description and the market evidence straight to the person who can change the package.
And don't assume promotion is the only route. Ask whether a salary adjustment inside your existing level is possible. The point is to understand the decision you're asking the company to make, rather than hoping the ordinary review cycle will notice that your job changed.
Next, put the changed job on one page. A one-page summary of the scope and the pay, with the supporting comparisons attached. It covers the role you're doing, what the market pays for comparable work, and the request itself. One honest caveat from me: this is a proposed preparation exercise, not a tested negotiation method. Its job is to make the request specific, and to make the missing information specific too.
Start with the role you're doing. Set the old responsibilities beside the current ones. Write down when the additions began, whether they're temporary or permanent, what you can now decide, and which outcomes you're accountable for. Include what changed in people managed, budget authority, or customer responsibility.
Then separate increased volume from broader responsibility. Processing more vendor requests isn't the same as deciding which vendors the company will use. Both can be demanding. They make different cases for changing the job's price. Add results you can substantiate. And name any authority or resources still missing. Being accountable for another team's delivery without control over its priorities needs more than a title adjustment.
Now the market comparison, because a price needs a reference point. Aim for at least two independent sources that describe comparable work. Match function and responsibility before title. And be careful here: two websites repeating the same survey count as one source.
Keep the boundaries visible beside each figure. What the number measures matters most, because base salary, target cash, and compensation including equity are different measures. Geography and publication date matter too, because where and when the data was collected changes what it means. The role and the employer matter as well, because seniority and decision authority change what a figure describes. And check whether the amount is annual or covers several years. If information is missing, mark it unknown. Don't quietly fill the gap with the assumption that helps your case.
One example worth holding onto. An occupational median for computer and information systems managers is not a CISO-specific benchmark. Broad figures can help you locate better comparisons, but an executive title above a number doesn't make the underlying population executive-only.
When your comparisons disagree, don't average them. Don't quietly choose the flattering one either. Show the ranges separately and explain which one is closer to your work. A regional team lead and a company-wide function owner may share a title without sharing a mandate. And if neither comparison fits well, call the range provisional and ask HR what role match it uses. Two weak matches don't become a strong benchmark when you average them.
Then get clear on what your package actually pays. Keep current and requested base pay separate from bonus targets and equity. A bonus target is conditional. An equity award's stated value isn't cash you can spend.
For any proposed incentive change, check the measures, the eligibility, and the timing. Especially if your responsibilities changed during the performance year. For equity, ask what must happen before it vests, and before you can turn it into cash. Equity may be a worthwhile trade, but evaluate that trade separately from the recurring salary you want for the expanded role.
If leaving is a real alternative for you, note what you would actually forfeit under your bonus and equity terms. And don't count the same loss twice.
If the comparison supports an adjustment, make one coordinated request. Name the base salary you're requesting. Explain where it sits within the relevant range. Propose an effective date. Include a level or title correction when the work supports it, along with any incentive changes the new responsibilities require.
Make those terms one coherent request. A title correction, a recurring pay adjustment, and a review date do different jobs. Don't let one silently stand in for another. And leave room for follow-up when HR supplies missing terms or a better role match.
You might do all of this well and still hear no. An employer can decline a well-supported request. What matters next is the reason.
If your manager agrees the role has changed but says the budget can't move, ask what decision can be made now and what remains open. Establish the next decision date, the approver, and any information still needed. A review date is not a raise.
If this is a temporary assignment, ask for an end date, the support available, and whether temporary compensation is possible. If the responsibilities are permanent, a one-time payment may help. It doesn't settle the recurring pay question.
If the company says the added work belongs within your current level, compare that explanation with the actual duties and the level criteria. It may be right. Your current package may already be competitive for the expanded job. Or the change may be more work at the same level, rather than a different role.
That still leaves the workload to discuss. If the additional work stays with you, ask which existing commitments will be reduced, deferred, or reassigned. More pay won't create the hours or the authority needed to deliver everything.
Record the response, including the unresolved points. That record is what you'll decide with later. Confirm any agreed compensation changes and effective dates in the documents that govern your package. And get qualified advice in your jurisdiction on consequential legal or tax terms.
Then decide whether the arrangement remains acceptable to you. Use realistic alternatives, not a market range treated as an outside offer. If the only answer is an indefinite promise to revisit, treat that as an unresolved request, not future compensation.
So the one thing to do this week: write that one page. Set your old responsibilities beside the current ones. Note when the additions began, whether they're temporary or permanent, what you can now decide, and which outcomes you're accountable for. Do it before you talk to anyone. The market comparison, the request, the conversation, they all start from that page.
Here is my one ask. If you are carrying an outcome, a number, a team or a transition, and want a thought partner who has been in the seat, book a free forty-five minute discovery call with me. It is in the show notes, with the guide, the links and the full transcript. A working conversation, not a pitch.
And if you know someone in a transition, or thinking about one, I have written a few guides to help them land their next opportunity. Those are in the show notes too.
Thanks for listening. I am back next week.
Questions this guide answers
How can I ask for a raise when my job has grown but my pay hasn't?
You should first figure out what the new role is worth, then present a clear request that includes the salary you want, the supporting market data, and any title or incentive changes. Make sure you understand whether the request falls under a raise within your current band or a move to a different level, and who can approve it.
How do I figure out the salary range for the new responsibilities?
Start by looking at what comparable work pays in the market, using at least two independent sources that match function and responsibility, not just title. Make sure you note the role, employer, geography, currency, publication date, and what the figures include, such as base salary or total compensation.
What should I put on the one-page scope-and-pay summary?
List your old responsibilities next to the new ones, note when the changes began, and include any results, authority, and missing resources. Separate increased volume from broader responsibility and show how each change supports a different case for adjusting the job's price.
How can I tell if my employer's salary bands or level assignments apply to my situation?
Ask which process your request belongs to, who can approve it, and whether your work is assigned to the right level within the company's formal salary bands. If the company uses individual contracts, bring the scope description and market evidence directly to the person who can change the package.
What should I do if my manager says the budget can't move for a raise?
Ask what decision can be made now, what remains open, and set a next decision date, the approver, and any missing information. If the added work is temporary, request an end date, the support available, and whether temporary compensation is possible; if it’s permanent, a one-time payment may be offered but it does not replace a recurring salary increase.
How should I handle bonus and equity when negotiating a raise?
Keep current and requested base pay separate from bonus targets and equity, and check the measures, eligibility, and timing for any incentive changes. For equity, ask what must happen before it vests and can be turned into cash, and evaluate that trade separately from the recurring salary you want.
What steps should I take if my raise request is declined?
Record the response, confirm any agreed changes in writing, and decide if the arrangement is still acceptable, using realistic alternatives rather than treating a market range as an outside offer. If the only answer is an indefinite promise to revisit, treat that as an unresolved request, not future compensation.