!Rant

A new grad software engineer here working for a big company. Mid year evaluation coming up. How do I ask my direct manager for a raise (which happens 6 months after that). I've been in the team for 5 months now. I know I should talk about my contributions but I'm not exactly sure how to put that into perspective given that we follow a Kanban strategy and it's just 'tasks' as opposed to 'big projects'

@SevenDeadlyBugs actual raises happen after I've been here for a year . Just the evaluation/feedback happens half yearly (now). Hence the question. I don't expect a raise next month. But the negotiation for it will need to happen next month.

I’d say wait until you’re there for at least a year, then, if you did some good work tell him that you feel like you do really good work for the company and that you put some sweat and tears into the job. So you would like to talk about your salary.. then it depends on your bosses reaction I guess but if he’s not upset about this topic just be direkt and clear about what you’d like to get..

If he’s upset about the topic or doesn’t want to give you a raise it’s most likely that:
- the company sucks
- you don’t bring more value to the company than other employees who make the same amount as you do..

In case #1 it’s a win win.
In case #2 work Harder and try again after one more year.

What you should NOT do in my opinion is to tell him/her that you “deserve” a raise. That just sends the wrong message.

I always hated salary discussions but in the end it’s just about business.. if you bring value to them, they will be happy to pay you more.