Before my last salary review, I spent $50 on salary.com to generate a report customized for my job description, location, education, company size, etc. I broug

Before my last salary review, I spent $50 on salary.com to generate a report customized for my job description, location, education, company size, etc. I brought the report to my manager and showed the vast distance between my pay, even after taking my raise and performance bonus into account, and my median expected pay. Then he asked me to email him the PDF of the report. Then I had another meeting with my manager and his manager. My basic negotiating stance was “I appreciate what you guys have done so far to get me an X% raise in this cycle, and I hope you can use this information to convince the corporate higher-ups that I deserve more.” The managers were sympathetic but made no promises. And four months later, I got a call from my manager telling me that I had been approved for a 10% off-cycle raise. There are ways to be more hard-nosed and get even more, but as you can see, simply knowing what you are worth in the marketplace and articulating that value can go a long way.