The pay conversation that could be worth thousands.
Talking about pay can be awkward. Even when you know you’re underpaid, actually sitting down with your manager and saying “I think I should be paid more” can feel incredibly uncomfortable.
I know it well because I’ve had to do it myself – on many occasions.
Earlier in my career, I took my first executive role knowing the salary was well below market. I was told I needed to prove myself first and that my pay would be reviewed once I had.
I accepted that. I knew I could do the job, and I backed myself to prove it. As the salary review came around, I trusted the process would prevail. But it didn’t. I received 3% - the fairly standard annual increase. And it did nothing to address the fact that I had started materially below market - even after 'proving myself' and getting top performance ratings.
So I had to raise it again…and again...and again. All up, it took around two years before my remuneration was properly corrected, and it resulted in a six-figure increase.
Over my career, I’ve had plenty of pay conversations - both for myself and for thousands of others - and one thing became very clear to me:
The better prepared you are, the higher the chance of achieving your desired outcome. And sometimes, you only get one shot.
So if you think you might not be getting paid what you're worth, here’s where I’d start.
1. Find out what the role is actually worth
Before asking for more money, get some evidence. Your current salary is not a benchmark. Neither is what you earned in your previous job.
Look at what the market is paying for comparable roles and consider the things that influence where you should sit within that range - your experience, skills, scope of responsibility, location, performance and any specialist capability you bring.
Of course, most organisations will have their own salary benchmarks, pay ranges and frameworks that determine how roles are positioned and paid. Those should absolutely form part of the conversation too.
But as an employee, you may not always know where you sit within those frameworks - or how they compare with the broader market.
You don’t need to walk into the conversation with one perfect number. What you need is a reasonable market range and an understanding of where you sit within it. If you haven’t checked out our free What Am I Worthproduct, then do yourself a favour!
2. Build the case around the role - not your personal circumstances
This is one of the biggest mistakes people make. Your rent or mortgage has gone up. The cost of living has increased. You’ve been at the company for three years.
All of those things might be true, but they’re usually not the strongest argument for a salary increase.
Instead, focus on the work.
Has your role grown?
Are you taking on responsibilities that weren’t part of the original job?
Have you delivered significant outcomes?
Are you operating at a higher level than when your salary was set?
And importantly, how does your remuneration compare with the market?
You want to make it easy for your manager to understand - and advocate for - your case.
3. Don’t open with “I feel underpaid”
You can feel underpaid and be completely right - but evidence gives you a much stronger starting point.
Instead of saying:
“I feel like I should be earning more.”
Try something closer to:
“I’d like to talk about my remuneration. I’ve looked at the market for comparable roles, and I believe there is a gap between where I’m currently paid and the level I’m operating at. I’d like to talk through that with you.”
It changes the tone immediately - you’re not making a demand; you’re opening a conversation.
4. Be clear about what you’re asking for
Don’t do all the preparation and then leave your manager guessing. If you believe your salary should move, say so.
You might ask to be brought to a particular point within the market range, or you might ask the organisation to formally review your remuneration against the role and market.
And if the response is “not now”, ask the next questions.
What would need to happen for this to be reconsidered?
When will we review it again?
What will the decision be based on?
I learned this one personally.
“We’ll review it later” can mean a very different timeline to different people. Get clarity on what later actually means.
Remember that the answer might not be an immediate yes
A good pay conversation does not always end with a salary increase on the spot. Your manager may need approval. There may be budget constraints. There may be a process they need to follow.
What matters is that you leave knowing what happens next. Agree on the next step and, ideally, a timeframe.
Knowing your worth makes the conversation easier
This is one of the reasons we created What Am I Worth. People shouldn’t have to go into one of the most important financial conversations of their career guessing.
What Am I Worth gives you an external reference point from our job library where you can look up your role, understand the market range and use our guides to help you prepare for the conversation with your employer.
You might discover you’re already being paid well. You might find there’s a reasonable explanation for where you sit - based on your organisation’s pay framework, your experience, performance or the scope of your role.
Or you might discover there’s a gap worth asking about - and it could be the best financial decision you ever made. Try it for free today!
About CompAce and equidi
CompAce is an Australian compensation platform that helps organisations benchmark roles, build salary structures and make better, data-driven pay decisions.
equidi is a pay equity platform that helps organisations understand what’s driving their gender pay gap, identify inequities and take practical action to close them.
Together, they help organisations build better pay practices - from how people are paid to understanding whether those outcomes are equitable.
This article was written by Natalie Flynn, Founder of CompAce and equidi.
