How to ask for a pay rise

One of our shortlisted Technical Change candidates just asked for advice on getting a pay rise, as she's been working for a long time on a low wage (glorified work experience - where have we heard of that before?). This reminded me of a WFTV event we wanted to do a while ago but never got around to. That's a shame as it's such an important subject and one area where women repeatedly undervalue themselves.

These were the pointers I gave - might be worth copying here just in case:

(1) Do some research to find out your market value - so ask around and try to find out what people in similar roles to yours are earning. If colleagues and peers won't disclose salaries/rates then try asking other facilities houses or recruitment agents, or looking online.

(2) It sounds silly, but practice what you want to say in the mirror before you have the actual conversation. Saying the words out loud: "I don't get out of bed for less than £1,000" - or whatever - really helps. It's a sort of neuro-linguistic programming.

(3) Don't accept the final offer right away if you can possibly avoid it. Say you need overnight/a few days to think about it. That'll stop you agreeing to something ridiculously low (which they'll probably try to get away with).

Asking for a pay rise is one of the toughest things and women are notoriously bad at it - so good luck!