Between 2021 and 2024, I increased my salary by 75%. i didn’t do this through job hopping or getting lucky, but through strategic, intentional moves that positioned me for multiple pay rises within the same company.
Here’s what I learned from going from being underpaid compared to the market for my role to properly compensated in under three years, and the exact steps you can take to do the same.
Contents
The Context: Why I Was Starting From Behind
The Foundation: Track Everything
The Strategy: Be Proactive, Not Reactive
The Relationship: Keep Your Manager Constantly Informed
The Preparation: Do Your Research
The Mindset: You Have to Ask
The Mistakes: What I Wish I’d Done Differently
The Tactical Steps: Your Roadmap to a Pay Rise
The Reality: This Works, But It Requires You to Act
Start Now
The Context: Why I Was Starting From Behind
Before I share the strategy I should share the mistakes that put me at a disadvantage from the start.
After spending a decade in banking followed by seven years running my own travel business, I joined an ecommerce brand as their COO. The role didn’t even exist when I first connected with the company. I pitched my way in, identified gaps I could fill, and convinced them they needed someone in that position. That part I got right!
What I got wrong? I didn’t negotiate my initial offer. I was so excited to get the role and prove myself that when they made an offer, I just said yes and I didn’t counter.
I also didn’t do enough homework on the company’s revenue and profit numbers before joining. If I had, I would have understood my market value in the context of their business and positioned myself for a higher starting salary.
This wasn’t my first time making this mistake. During my decade working in banking at Citi and UBS, I never negotiated. I just accepted whatever inflation-rate pay rise I was given each year. Looking back now and having more open conversations with past colleagues I realise I was significantly underpaid for my role, my level, the revenue I was generating, and the net new money I was bringing in.
So I started behind where I should have been. But over the next 2.5 years, I systematically corrected that through three separate pay rises, including a mid-year increase when my responsibilities expanded significantly.
Here’s how I did it, and how you can apply the same approach to your career.
The Foundation: Track Everything
This is the non-negotiable starting point. If you want to increase your salary, you need clear evidence of your value.
From day one in that role, I kept a running document of everything I achieved. Every project completed, every problem solved, every metric improved. I didn’t wait until review time to scramble and remember what I’d done, I kept this tracked in real time.
What I tracked:
- Projects I led and their outcomes
- Revenue generated or costs saved (with specific numbers)
- Process improvements and their impact
- Team developments or hires I made
- Problems I solved that weren’t in my job description
- Positive feedback from the CEO, partners and the team
- How my responsibilities evolved beyond my original remit
Your action step: Start tracking your accomplishments today. Even if your next review is months away, begin capturing wins now. Include numbers wherever possible. “Improved process efficiency” is vague. “Reduced fulfilment time by 30%, saving 15 hours per week” is powerful.
The Strategy: Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Here’s what most people do: they wait for their annual review, hope their manager remembers everything they did, and accept whatever pay rise is offered (if any).
Here’s what I did: I proposed what I wanted at the end of each year, backed by evidence, and didn’t wait for the company to decide I deserved it.
At the end of year one, I scheduled a meeting specifically to discuss compensation. I didn’t wait for my manager to bring it up. I came prepared with:
- A summary of my key achievements and their business impact
- How my role had evolved beyond the initial scope
- Market research on comparable salaries for my role and experience level
- A specific number I was asking for
I got it.
At the end of year two, I did the same thing. By this point, I had another year of results to show. My responsibilities had grown. The business had grown. I made the case that my compensation should reflect that growth. Again, approved.
Mid-year in year two, my role expanded significantly. We were opening the first retail location, moving from purely direct-to-consumer to also managing physical retail. This was a substantial increase in scope and responsibility.
I didn’t wait until my next annual review to address this. I requested a meeting, outlined how my role had fundamentally changed, showed the additional value I was delivering, and asked for a mid-year adjustment. They said yes.
The pattern: I was always the one initiating the conversation. I never assumed my work would speak for itself or that someone would notice I deserved more. I made my case clearly, confidently, and backed by evidence.
Your action step: Don’t wait for review time to discuss salary. If your responsibilities have increased significantly, schedule a conversation now. If your review is coming up, book time specifically to discuss compensation (don’t just hope it comes up in your general review meeting).
The Relationship: Keep Your Manager Constantly Informed
One of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming their manager knows everything they’re working on and the impact they’re having – they don’t.
Your manager is busy, they have their own priorities, their own manager to report to, and a dozen other things competing for their attention. If you want them to advocate for your pay rise, you need to make it easy for them by keeping them constantly informed.
What I did:
- Regular updates on projects and their outcomes (not just “I’m working on X” but “I completed X and here’s the result”)
- Shared wins immediately, not weeks later
- Framed my work in terms of business impact, not just tasks completed
- Sent a weekly wrap up email every Friday with status updates
When review time came, the CEO already had everything they needed to justify my increase because I’d been building that case all year through consistent communication.
Your action step: Schedule regular check-ins with your manager (weekly or biweekly) and use that time to share progress, results, and impact. Don’t assume they know what you’re doing.
I managed cross-functional teams and had several people reporting to me, the one ask I had – send me a weekly wrap up email. This was not for me to micro-manage the work, or check they were doing enough, it was so I didn’t miss all the great things they were working on and the wins they had.
This was one of the toughest things to get my team to deliver consistently, because people don’t want to feel micro-managed but I promise you its a simple way to keep your manager informed for your benefit!
The Preparation: Do Your Research
One reason I was able to negotiate successfully multiple times is that I came prepared with data.
Market research: I knew what people in comparable roles, with my experience, in similar companies were earning. I used sites like Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, and industry networks to benchmark my worth.
Company context: I understood the company’s financial situation. When the business was growing and profitable, I felt confident asking for increases. I also timed requests strategically during the year based on our numbers.
The advantage I had was that I was managing all the company budgets and the managing the CFO. But you don’t have to be as close as I was to the finances to get a good understanding of the state of the organisations revenue and profits. Much of it is probably publicly available, you can talk to your manager about specific department budgets and financials, you can listen when this stuff is presented to you at quarterly company updates, and you can ask questions.
Comparable roles: I looked at what other people in the company at my level were earning (where that information was accessible) to ensure I wasn’t being underpaid relative to peers. Again I had an unfair advantage as was the COO and managed the budgets, but you can do your research by loking at salary ranges for roles your company is currently hiring for.
Your action step: Before your next salary conversation, spend time researching market rates for your role. Talk to recruiters, check salary websites, and ask trusted contacts in your industry what people at your level typically earn. .
The Mindset: You Have to Ask
This is the hard part for many of us because asking for more money feels uncomfortable. But if you don’t ask, you probably won’t get it, or you might get something but not exactly what you were hoping for.
Companies don’t typically give you the maximum they can afford. They give you the minimum they think you’ll accept. Your job is to advocate for yourself and demonstrate why you deserve more.
I had to push past my own discomfort multiple times when bringing up salary conversations. The first time I asked for a raise, I was a little nervous but because I had rationale for the request this gave me more confidence to ask.
Your mindset shift: Asking for a pay rise is a business conversation about fair compensation for the value you deliver. If you have evidence of your impact (which you will if you’ve been tracking) then you can confidently make a request for a salary increase.
The Mistakes: What I Wish I’d Done Differently
Even though this strategy worked, I made mistakes along the way that cost me.
Mistake #1: Not negotiating my initial offer
This was my biggest regret. I was so focused on getting the role that I didn’t negotiate my starting salary. If I had, I would have started higher and every subsequent increase would have been on top of that better baseline.
Your starting salary matters because it is the foundation for all future increases. Even a £5K difference at the start compounds significantly over time.
Lesson: Always negotiate your initial offer. Even if you really want the role, ask for more. The worst they can say is no, and most of the time they’ll meet you somewhere in the middle. Use phrases like “Is there any flexibility on the salary?” or “Based on my research, I was expecting something closer to [X]. Is that possible?”
Mistake #2: Not understanding the company’s financials before joining
I wish I’d done more due diligence on the company’s revenue and profit margins before accepting the offer. Understanding their financial position would have helped me negotiate better from the start.
Lesson: Before accepting an offer, research the company’s financial health. Ask questions in the interview process about revenue, growth trajectory, and funding. This context helps you understand what’s realistic to ask for and when.
Mistake #3: Waiting too long to ask for the mid-year increase
When my role expanded significantly to include retail operations, I should have requested the salary adjustment immediately. Instead, I waited a few months, essentially doing a bigger job for less pay during that time.
However, I will caveat this with my opinion that oftentimes you will need to do the work for a while before a payrise comes. Taking on extra responsibilities demonstrates that you are ready to take on more to get that payrise or promotion and sometimes your manager needs to see that from you.
Lesson: If your responsibilities increase substantially outside of review cycles, don’t wait. Address it as soon as the change happens. You don’t need to wait for annual review time to correct a misalignment between your role and your compensation.
The Tactical Steps: Your Roadmap to a Pay Rise
Let me break this down into a clear, step-by-step process you can follow:
Step 1: Start tracking your wins today (Ongoing)
Create a document where you capture:
- Every project you complete
- Quantifiable results (revenue increased, time saved, costs reduced)
- Problems you solved
- Positive feedback
- How your role has evolved
Do this weekly or monthly and don’t wait until review time. Peer Suite members can use the Career Tracker in the Members Library.
Step 2: Research your market value (2-3 months before your review)
Use salary websites, talk to recruiters, and network with people in similar roles. Understand what you should be earning based on your experience, location, and industry.
Step 3: Build your case (1-2 months before your review)
Review your tracking document and identify your strongest achievements. Focus on business impact, not just tasks. Prepare a one-page summary of:
- Your key accomplishments and their measurable impact
- How your responsibilities have grown
- Your market research showing comparable salaries
- The specific number you’re asking for (and why it’s justified)
Step 4: Schedule the conversation (At least 2 weeks before your review)
Don’t wait for your manager to bring up compensation. Request a specific meeting to discuss it, this signals you’re serious and gives your manager time to prepare.
Step 5: Make your case clearly and confidently (The meeting)
Present your evidence calmly and professionally. Use phrases like:
- “Based on my contributions this year and market research, I’m requesting a salary increase to [X]”
- “I’ve taken on [Y additional responsibilities] and delivered [Z results], which I believe justifies this adjustment”
- “I’d like to discuss aligning my compensation with the expanded scope of my role”
Be direct, don’t downplay your achievements and don’t apologise for asking.
Step 6: Be prepared to negotiate (The meeting)
They might not say yes immediately to your exact number. Be ready to:
- Provide additional evidence if they push back
- Ask what they need to see to approve the increase
- Discuss a timeline if it can’t happen immediately (and diarise the next meeting)
- Negotiate other benefits if salary is truly fixed (additional holiday, flexible working, professional development budget, bonus structure)
Step 7: Get everything in writing (After the meeting)
Once agreed, ensure the new salary and effective date are confirmed in writing, and don’t assume it’s official until it’s documented.
Step 8: Continue the cycle (Ongoing)
Don’t stop you win tracking once you get the increase. You want to continue to keep a record of your work and accomplishements so that you can start building your case for the next salary increase.
The Reality: This Works, But It Requires You to Act
Increasing my salary by 75% in 2.5 years wasn’t luck, sure you might be in a fast growing company with funding the spend but for me this increases were down to my strategy, preparation, and willingness to advocate for myself repeatedly.
As someone who managed the budget, and was in charge of proposing all salary changes and bonuses for every team member to our CEO, I can confirm this approach works. And that’s because I had a number of employees who did the same thing I did, they tracked their work, they share updates regularly, they came to me at the right times of the year when they knew I was thinking about salaries and they told me what they wanted.
This worked because I knew what they wanted and could do my best to work our budgets to meet their expectations.
If you’re currently underpaid (and statistically, if you’re a woman, you probably are), you have two choices: accept it, or change it.
Changing it requires you to:
- Track your value consistently
- Do your research thoroughly
- Ask for what you deserve confidently
- Be willing to have uncomfortable conversations
- Keep trying even if the first answer is no
Yes, it takes effort. Yes, it can feel uncomfortable. But the financial impact over the course of your career can be massive as it compounds. Every pound you negotiate now affects your next salary, and the one after that, and your pension contributions, and your overall financial security.
Start Now
You don’t need to wait until your next review to start this process.
Today, create a document and write down three things you’ve achieved in the past month.
This week, spend 30 minutes researching market salaries for your role.
This month, schedule a check-in with your manager to discuss your progress and impact.
This quarter, if your responsibilities have increased or you’ve delivered significant results, request a compensation conversation.
Ready to take control of your career and compensation? Join the Peer Suite community for resources on salary negotiation, career tracking, and support from women who are building careers on their own terms. Learn more about membership here.
Want more career strategies? Check out the year-end career audit to assess your progress or learn about the learning vs. earning framework to evaluate if your current role is serving you.
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