by Cody Hodge

Created on: January 27, 2009   Last Updated: January 11, 2010

There are many things you can try to do when trying to get a raise. You can talk to your boss about it, and see what happens. You can work extra hard, and try to win yourself a promotion that gives you a bigger paycheck, or you can hope that you get your cost of living increase. One of the most effective ways to get a raise though is to claim you have another job offer.

Obviously, you have to know what your working situation is before you go around claiming you have another job offer. First off, make sure that you actually are in position to get a raise, or that you have value to the company. Secondly, this tactic is generally better utilized if you actually have another job offer on the table for you to mull.

If you play your cards wrong, your whole plan may backfire. If you have no value to the company, or if you make too much fuss over the fact that you have another job offer, you may just be terminated, instead of a company giving you a raise. I work for a company where the raises are given out twice a year, with rare exceptions for especially good work. I have seen a lot of part time workers demand raises or else, and then just get fired.

However, after weighing your options, you decide that you have no other choice but to go and tell your boss you are weighing another offer. If you have another offer, more power to you, and you can explain to your boss what makes the other offer so attractive, namely the pay raise. If you have been a loyal employee with several years of service, it is usually easier for a company to just pay you more than to have to train a new employee.

If you don't have another offer, be careful, and coy about what you want. If you feel you are underpaid, explain to your boss that you feel undervalued, and that you would be open to taking other offers, and hint toward there being another offer.

I say this from experience that if you don't have another offer, don't say that you do. Tell your boss that you have been in contact with a couple of other companies, but nothing more than that. Your boss will know that you are thinking of leaving, and may be more willing to compromise if you are of enough value to keep.

You will gain leverage, and maybe be able to work out a compromise deal, where you might get a raise if certain sales targets are met, or other incentive bonuses. You also won't put yourself into an all-or-nothing deal where you have to get the raise, or you are out of a job, because less than market value is better than no money at all.

If you legitimately have another job offer, and your boss says that he can't give you a raise, than go take the other offer. There is no use wasting time in a company that won't compensate you what you are worth, or what you can make on the open market. If you don't have another offer, and you don't get a raise, maybe you do have to stick it out for awhile, or actually submit your resume to another company. I know it can be hard to leave a company sometimes, but you have to do what is best for yourself.

Remember, the only person that counts in this process is you, so make as much money, or other compensation as you can. Don't be afraid to bluff the boss if you have too, but only if you know it will work. Otherwise it can backfire and you may be in a worse spot than you were before, but it is up to you, and hopefully you will end up with a better deal than the one you have now.

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