Asking For a Raise in This Economy

Is there a worker alive who doesn't think he's underpaid? Maybe not.

But that leaves open the vast question of how to go about getting a raise and when to ask for it.

I've worked at a company for three months now and am about to have my 90-day evaluation. My question is whether it is unreasonable to ask for a raise at this time. Normally I would not but here are the circumstance which I think may warrant it:

1. I attempted to negotiate when hired but they stood firm on their offer.

2. A gentleman who is at the same level and does the same thing as me just left, leaving me as the only mid-level person in the company.

3. I have just been assigned a large project and I am the only person who can do this project.

4. The boss called me 'kiddo' the other day and told someone how lucky they were to get me. Previously, he pretty much ignored me.

So can I ask for a raise? I feel like I am a valuable asset to the company now that the other gentleman has left and the company knows it. I don't want to 'blackmail' them because I think they know that if they lost me, they'd be in a lot of trouble. But I don't want to make a big fool of myself and have them laugh at me if I ask for a raise at three months. Am I being completely unreasonable?

Patricia Mathews, who owns Workplace Solutions, a St. Louis human resources consulting firm, says she thinks it is entirely appropriate for this worker to ask for a raise, but adds that he nonetheless ought to be careful how he does it.

"He doesn't want to hold them hostage" in making the request, Mathews says, but rather lay out the circumstances of the workload and most importantly how well he has performed in his first three months on the job.

This employee should note the full workload that he's now carrying with the departure of his co-worker and the fact that he will be "responsible for taking on a bigger role than originally anticipated," as well as the new project.

After mentioning these changed circumstances and his job performance to date, Mathews says he certainly can "ask the company for a salary adjustment." He should not assume, Mathews says, that the company will give him the same salary as the departed worker, especially if he had more experience than he does. But some sort of pay hike would certainly be reasonable, Mathews says.

Kenneth Bredemeier has six years of experience writing about the workplace. On the Job, a column addressing real worker questions about office relationships, corporate policies and workplace law, is written exclusively for washingtonpost.com.

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