25th Nov 2025
Salary negotiations can be daunting. Below are five practical steps that will help you prepare, present your value, and approach the conversation.
If you’re only moving roles for salary, then ask for an increase to your desired salary where you are, before you start looking.
You can request at any time; there’s no need to wait until review time. However, it is preferable not to do so within 3 months of your last increase.
It would be a shame to go through the trouble of moving roles only to find, upon resignation, that they were about to give you a raise.
Request a specific figure and don’t expect them to know your current salary. Just asking for “more” isn’t enough; it’s a whinge, not a request.
For example, “I am currently on $220,000, including super. I would like a salary increase of $15,000 (including super) to $235,000 (including super).“
Have data to back up your request.
For performance reviews – It’s easier to ask for a raise if you’re performing well.
ABS Data
Jobs and Skills Australia Data
Seek – Explore Salaries
2024 Annual Profile of Solicitors (Income, Section 16, p. 46)
Salary Surveys: Dovetail Salary Guide collates 7 guides into one comprehensive graph.
What have you specifically contributed to that saved or made the business money – itemise this.
Note: If you increased revenue by $100K, you can’t ask for $100K raise – the business has oncosts and needs to make a profit. The most you could ask for is 1/3 of the amount.
Can you pick and choose the data to support your case? Yes.
HR will do this to argue for lower pay, so it’s your role to provide counter data.
Visual from Dovetail (Dovetail Salary Guide)
Unless it’s a birthday gift, nobody likes surprises.
Schedule a meeting a week in advance to discuss your proposal, along with an agenda that includes the points outlined in 1 and 2.
Stay calm in the meeting.
You only get one chance per manager/role to say, “If I don’t receive the pay rise, I will have to consider my options.”
Use this wisely!
Does the management role evolve? Do organisations split the obligations, mentoring programs, wellbeing leads, HR business partners, so no single person carries it all?
