Kim跟朋友Anita一起去吃饭。Anita想跟公司要求涨工资,可是不知道怎么开口,Kim给她出主意。

I can present quite a bit of hard data to demonstrate my usefulness to the company.

K: That’s great! Then you have to figure out what a fair salary is for your position and your responsibilities. How long have you worked there?

A:This would be the third year.

K: Three years? Then your boss should be expecting you to ask for a raise. You can check online and find out what typical salaries for your position are.

Anita在公司已经第三年了。Kim说,那你要求涨工资,应该在老板的预料之中。Kim建议Anita上网查一下,看她这样的工资到底应该是多少。

From the research I’ve done, I’m pretty sure others are making about 15% more than I am.

K: OK, so there is your target. A minimum 15% raise.

I’m still a little hesitant to go tooting my own horn and demanding higher pay…it’s just not my style.

K: Well…as the old saying goes, “Ask and you will receive.” You have to give it a shot. I’d recommend you ask for a 20% increase, that way there’s a little wiggle room for both of you to negotiate.

Anita说,自己的工资比市价低15%。但她还是很犹豫。I’m still a little hesitant to go tooting my own horn. Toot one’s own horn。 Kim劝Anita, you have to give it a shot. give it a shot, 试试看。她还建议Anita要求增加20%的工资,留下讨价还价的地,wiggle room。 Wiggle room回旋余地。

But what if they say no?

K: Well, you have several options. Option one: you say, “If not now, when will you consider giving me a raise?” If they say, “next year” you can consider waiting.

And option two?

K: You tell them how much you like working for them and how much you value your job. But then you tell them that you will have to consider looking for a new position if you can’t come to some agreement on salary issues.

老板要说不,怎么办?Kim说,有两种选择。Two options. 第一是问那要等到什么时候,如果是明年,可以考虑等;第二是告诉他们,虽然很喜欢这里的工作,但是,如果在工资上谈不拢,就要另谋差事。

So it’s sweetness first, then ultimatums?

K: You said it. But just make sure you can really make good on your threat if you need to.

Thanks for the pep talk, Kim. I’m going to ask for a raise on Monday!

K: You go girl!

先软后硬,so it’s sweetness first, then ultimatums。Anita谢谢Kim的Pep talk鼓励,决定星期一去找老板谈。