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Salary Negotiation Script | When You've Been Given Additional Responsibilities

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Jaxx Artz

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This post is part of a Career Advice series offering social-impact professionals salary negotiation templates to use throughout their careers. Find additional templates and resources in our newly-updated salary negotiation hub.

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It’s common for additional responsibilities to be added to your plate throughout the year; sometimes a co-worker leaves unexpectedly or your organization quickly implements a new project and requires all hands on deck to see it through. If you’re finding that the tasks have piled up and your manager views them as being a permanent part of your role, then it’s time to make sure your compensation reflects reality.

Negotiating a salary increase during an off-period (i.e. times when you’re not going through a performance review or job interview) can feel strange, and you may face some pushback from your manager to wait until a different point in the year before asking for a raise. When this happens, work with your manager to outline an appropriate timeline for this conversation and review tasks that feel outside of your job description or salary band.

If the timing does work out, however, use the following script during your next salary negotiation:

“Thank you for meeting with me today! I’d love to use this time to discuss the additional responsibilities I’ve taken on recently, as well as the continued expansion of my role here at [name of organization] and how my compensation lines up with the work I’m doing.

As you know, in the past [X months], I have taken on [specific tasks/projects], which [were previously handled by former co-workers or were new needs for the team]. I’ve really appreciated being trusted with these additional responsibilities and believe I’ve been successful in managing them for our team. These added duties, including [mention specific responsibilities or skills], have allowed me to contribute more to [organization’s specific outcomes or goals]. After just [X months], I’ve been able to [specific achievements that highlight your value to the organization].

Since [month and year of last salary increase, or date you were hired], my base salary has been [$X]. Considering the new work I'm taking on, I believe a salary adjustment in the range of [$X–$Y] would better reflect my day-to-day and overall contributions to the organization.”

Your manager may agree to review your salary offer, propose alternative forms of compensation, or ask for time to speak to your organization’s leadership team about a possible raise, so make sure to set up a specific meeting date to follow up with them.

Of course, your boss may also try to steer the conversation in other directions. It’s possible they view the newer tasks you’ve taken on as part of your current job description, or they’d like to see more growth before presenting you with a raise and title change. Ask them to share a clear roadmap for how they see you advancing at the organization; once they commit to identifying specific career milestones they’d like you to achieve, ask them to re-evaluate your salary offer at your next performance review (and add that conversation to the calendar, too!).

Depending on how this goes, you should have a better idea of how your current employer values your contributions to its mission. Keep in mind that there are many factors that determine compensation—including benefits like professional development or remote work opportunities—that may be just as valuable as a salary increase; don’t be afraid to ask for these if your manager cannot commit to a higher salary at this time. 

Jaxx Artz profile image

Jaxx Artz

I oversee the content and resources we share at Idealist to help organizations, prospective grad students, and job seekers make an impact in their personal and professional lives. In my spare time, I love to read, cook, and explore NYC's parks.

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