how much money do you make? by Alison Green on April 7, 2026 It’s hard to get real-world information about what jobs pay. Online salary websites are often inaccurate, and people can get weird when you ask them directly. So to take some of the mystery out of salaries, it’s the annual Ask a Manager salary survey. Fill out the form below to anonymously share your salary and […] Read the full article →
there’s only one way to get more money at work, and some people won’t do it by Alison Green on March 30, 2026 If you could earn thousands of dollars more a year just by having a two-minute conversation, would you do it? That might sound like an easy “yes,” but for a lot of people, the answer, surprisingly, is no. At Slate today, I wrote about people who literally never negotiate their salary when they’re offered a […] Read the full article →
can I try to negotiate salary with a company that says from the start they don’t negotiate? by Alison Green on March 23, 2026 A reader writes: I know salary negotiation is typically acceptable, expected, and wise, and I even did recruiting for a year or so. But I’m job hunting again, and I’ve never seen this question on an application before: “To ensure equitable compensation, we benchmark salaries against nonprofits of similar size and budget, because of this, […] Read the full article →
why don’t more companies try to retain key employees with raises? by Alison Green on March 19, 2026 A reader writes: My brother-in-law works for a company of about 600, with branches of 80 or so in several cities across North America. His department had three employees who served their branch in an HR-type capacity. One employee moved, leaving only him and his manager to handle their caseload. This was okay. Then the […] Read the full article →
I can’t afford to stay at my job without a large raise by Alison Green on March 12, 2026 A reader writes: About two years ago, I had just started working at a major media company on the east coast, making good money. I was able to be the sole breadwinner for my family of four. Due to a complicated family situation, we were forced to move to the middle of the country to […] Read the full article →
can I ask for a cost-of-living raise after I chose to move to a more expensive city? by Alison Green on February 26, 2026 A reader writes: I’m a 32-year-old professional on a niche team for a large corporation and have been in my role for four years. When I was interviewing, I was living in City A, a low-cost-of-living city that I really disliked. When I took my current job, they were clear that they allow my role […] Read the full article →
my company doesn’t “do” raises, ever by Alison Green on February 24, 2026 A reader writes: I work for a company of about 40 employees that says they “don’t give raises.” It’s in a field that is traditionally freelance, so having a full-time salaried position with benefits while doing this work is slightly unusual, but not unheard of. When asked, management says explicitly that because of how well […] Read the full article →
I was turned down for a raise — now what? by Alison Green on February 3, 2026 A reader writes: I work at a fairly large nonprofit (500+ employees) outside a major city. I’ve been here four years and genuinely like my job, but my compensation has become a major source of stress. I hold a director-level title, supervise 15 part time employees, and earn just enough to qualify as exempt from […] Read the full article →
I was offered a promotion to manager but with no raise by Alison Green on September 29, 2025 A reader writes: I work in the donor relations team at a major university.. This past year has been really tough for the university budget-wise, for various political funding reasons. There was a round of layoffs earlier this year where almost 20% of people let go were in our unit. Another layer to consider is […] Read the full article →
can I ask about the salary before a job interview? by Alison Green on June 10, 2025 A reader writes: I’m curious to hear your thoughts on how to ask for a salary range prior to an interview. I applied for a job that seems like a great fit based on the job description. However, the job description doesn’t list a salary range, nor did they ask for my salary requirements on […] Read the full article →