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I was given a salary raise which took effect a couple of weeks ago but was only told about it this week.

From talking with my friend at work, it seems I've received a higher rate than what most people usually get per year, but at my current salary, it is not a very large increase.

I'm not satisfied with the amount I've received and feel I deserve more based on how valuable I am to the company and my contributions. I would be happy even if it was 1 or 2% more.

I'm not thinking of leaving any time soon, but I feel that hypothetically, if I did leave the company, it would put a lot of extra work and stress on the team (which I why I feel I'm quite valuable to the team).

Is it too late to negotiate the raise considering the fact that the raise is already in effect? If I can still negotiate, how quick do I need to act before it's too late?

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  • Did you have a performance review prior to receiving the raise? This would normally be the time to plead your case...
    – AffableAmbler
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 12:49
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    Some aspects of your question are company-specific: for instance, some employers ONLY give raises on a fixed schedule, no matter what, while others give managers leeway to approve off-schedule raises. That makes it hard for us to answer. If you would like general advice about negotiating raises, there are lots of questions on SE about that topic. You can start with the "Related" questions listed by default to the right of your question.
    – dwizum
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 12:50
  • Also keep in mind that there are potential negatives to asking for more money. For example, in the state I live in, raises are optional. My company does not need to give me a "cost of living raise", and they can fire me for even asking for one.
    – Der Kommissar
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 12:53
  • @AffableAmbler yes, I did have a performance review a few months ago, but my boss said it was only to discuss KPIs, not salary.
    – jay
    Commented Apr 18, 2018 at 6:19

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I'm not satisfied with the amount I've received and feel I deserve more based on how valuable I am to the company and my contributions. I would be happy even if it was 1 or 2% more.

The standard advice really applies here - you should go to your manager with a list of reasons why you think you deserve a higher raise (your skillset, contributions, what you could be making elsewhere, etc.), and you have to be prepared to go elsewhere if you don't get said raise. As mentioned in the comments, you have to be prepared to walk as this can go against you in some circumstances rather than for you.

However:

I'm not thinking of leaving any time soon, but I feel that hypothetically, if I did leave the company, it would put a lot of extra work and stress on the team (which I why I feel I'm quite valuable to the team).

Note that your leaving putting extra stress on your team is not necessarily a good reason for a raise, and I don't think that's a wise point to use in salary negotiations. If it would put extra stress on your team because you have a specific skillset that no-one else has, and you think that's valuable, then by all means use that skillset as the basis for negotiations.

However, by just stating it outright it could mean "it'll put extra stress on the team just because they're a man down", or "it'll put extra stress on the team as I haven't documented anything so it's going to be a nightmare figuring out what I've done" - and those are both points that will count against you rather than for you!

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    Your chances of getting more at this point in time are low. They have just spent all the raise money in their budget. The best time to negotiate a raise is outside of the annual raise process (and preferably immediately before it if they only give annual raises as many companies do). They have spent the raise budget for the year.
    – HLGEM
    Commented Apr 17, 2018 at 14:09

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