I’m here to demystify how employees of established tech companies should ask for raises.
My blog has generally been targeted at entrepreneurs, but this post is really for employees of larger companies. At a startup, your compensation is dominated by equity and other very personalized decision-making; I simply can’t generalize about it. But if you are the employee of a company large enough to have comp bands and levels, this advice is for you.
Microsoft’s CEO recently made waves by suggesting at a women’s conference that not asking for raises might be a better career strategy in the long run. While widely criticized as evidence of sexism, his remarks reflected the tech industry’s sincere and heartfelt belief that it is a meritocracy.
That belief is based on a false premise. But if you work in a large tech company, your environment is going to operate as though it is true. And that makes it tricky to ask for a raise no matter what your gender is.
The definition of a meritocracy is that hard work, talent, and results are ultimately rewarded by the system. In such an environment, employees need not worry about being fairly rewarded — they can just focus on having an impact and trust that the rewards will come.
Read further
