Five steps to get that raise

Brandi McBride knows a thing or two about raises and promotions. The 26-year-old has had a meteoric ascent on Capitol Hill, rising from receptionist to legislative director in less than four years. The secret to her success?

"It's important to set goals for yourself, but it's equally important to share those goals with your employer," she says.

That advice could apply to just about any profession. As the economy shows signs of heating up again and the end of the year winds down, many career counselors say now may be a good time to ask for a raise, promotion, or year-end bonus.

Just don't get greedy. The average salary increase this year is running about 3.5 percent, one of the lowest in years, according to separate surveys earlier this year. And bonuses are highly variable. Two-thirds of companies don't offer them. On Wall Street, where annual bonuses are expected to rise 10 to 15 percent over the last year, according to Johnson Associates, they're an annual ritual.

"Compared to the industrial world, where base salaries go up 3 percent and bonuses rise 7 percent, Wall Street is paying well," says Frank Glassner, chief executive of Compensation Design Group Inc., another New York compensation consultant. "But like any industry, if you didn't perform, you will clearly be taking home a lump of coal."

Chances are that your boss hasn't voluntarily showered you with six-figure bonuses or even offered you more than the annual cost-of-living raise. You don't get what you don't ask for. So it's up to you to make the first move, experts say. And no matter how good you are at hard-nosed negotiating, when it comes to asking for a raise, doing it right is definitely an art. With that in mind, here are five ideas to consider before broaching the subject with your employer.

Asking for a raise is not something that has to be taboo. Get comfortable with tooting your own horn. "The first thing that you must make certain is that you deserve it," says Dick Dauphinais, president of Strategic Compensation Partners in Kittery Point, Maine. "You've got to demonstrate to your boss your value to the company and how you've made money for the company."

Of course, you can't march into a meeting with your boss armed simply with your opinions. You need to back it up. That means analyzing and cataloguing what you've accomplished in the past year, writing it down, and then preparing for that all-important meeting.

It's also a good idea to bone up on industry standards. One good source is salary.com's salary wizard (which also can be located at csmonitor.salary.com).

"You also need to find out the going market rate for your job by checking local salary surveys, asking peers in the same field, and contacting industry associations," says Rick Beal, a senior consultant with Watson Wyatt Associates in San Francisco. "If you have hard data that proves you are not paid up to scale, you then need to be prepared to define a range of increase you think is fair."

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