Prepare for a Salary Review: Build Your Evidence

Prepare for a salary review by bringing a short record of what changed because of your work, the responsibilities you now carry and the adjustment you want to discuss. A calendar full of tasks is not the same as a case for higher pay. Start with evidence you can explain and your manager can check.

This is a preparation method, not a promise of a raise. Pay decisions can depend on budgets, salary bands, collective agreements and the scope of your role. The rules and process vary by employer and country.

Find out when the decision is actually made

Ask whether your meeting is a performance discussion, a pay decision or an opportunity to submit a request for a later cycle. If the budget has already been approved, a strong presentation may still need a different timetable.

You can ask: “I would like to discuss how my responsibilities and pay have developed. When are salary decisions made, and what information would help you consider my request?”

That is an illustrative script. Adapt it to your relationship with your manager; there is no wording that guarantees agreement.

Turn work into evidence

The US Department of Commerce distinguishes accomplishments from the activities used to produce them. Its employee guidance recommends explaining a specific contribution and its result. That distinction is useful beyond the agency, although its appraisal procedures are not universal employment rules. [1]

Use your own performance objectives, completed work, approved reports and relevant feedback. Do not transfer confidential documents to a personal account. A reference to an authorized internal record can be enough.

The following examples are fictional. Their purpose is to show a stronger description, not to suggest that these achievements justify a particular pay increase.

If you cannot quantify a result, describe it accurately. “The process is now documented and assigned an owner” can be defensible. “Productivity rose by 30%” is not defensible without a reliable measure and a basis for attributing the change.

A work record can also serve a different immediate task. If you are documenting responsibilities before leave, use the vacation-handover template to record next actions and coverage, rather than treating your salary note as an operational handover.

Build a one-page meeting note

Use this as an editable outline, not a compulsory form:

When using advertised salaries, compare location, seniority, hours and whether the figure is base pay or a package including variable elements. An unrelated vacancy is weak evidence. Do not treat an online estimate as your employer's salary band.

A request can be specific without pretending there is one correct percentage. Explain what you are asking for and why. If you do not yet have a defensible figure, ask about the applicable range and decision criteria before presenting a number as a market fact.

Practise the conversation, including the pause

An illustrative opening: “Since our last review, I have taken responsibility for the supplier review and delivered the new handover process. I have summarized the evidence here. I would like to discuss whether my pay reflects the current scope of the role.”

Then let your manager respond. If they question an example, clarify your contribution and its limits. If they identify a genuine gap, ask what observable result would demonstrate progress. A course purchase is not automatically the answer; first identify the missing capability with a skills audit.

If you are considering a new job instead, the immediate task changes. Use questions for the interviewer to clarify the role and conditions; the current-employer salary note does not answer those questions.

Leave with a record of the next step

“Not now” can mean a budget constraint, a performance concern, the wrong decision-maker or a deferred conversation. Ask which applies instead of filling in the reason yourself.

An illustrative follow-up: “My understanding is that we will revisit this after the next project review. I will provide the agreed evidence, and you will confirm the decision process. Have I captured that correctly?”

Record the actual agreement, including a date if one was agreed. Do not turn a discussion about possible future pay into a written claim that a raise has been promised.

If the bigger question is whether the role still fits, consider seven signs you may have outgrown an otherwise decent job before deciding which change to pursue.

Explore related decisions in Career & Money.