đźš©Tactical Memo 116: Your Raise Was Decided Before You Asked
.The number was locked in a meeting you never saw. Here’s how to get your ask in first.
Justin Bateh
November 15, 2026
Tactical Memo #116 | Navigating Modern Work · Career | 4 min read
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In brief The situation: You plan to make your case for a raise in your review. The mistake: You ask in the review, after the budget is already set. The move: Make your ask while your manager is still building the number. |
The story
You walk into your review with a list.
Every project you carried this year is on it, and so is the number you want.
Your manager nods through all of it.
Then she gives you a number smaller than yours and says her hands are tied.
She's telling the truth.
(I sat on the manager side of that table as a COO.)
The number was set weeks ago. Your case arrived today.
The review is where you hear the decision, and it was made in a budget conversation you were never in.
If you've ever heard "there's nothing left in the budget this cycle," you asked after that conversation ended.
Your raise is decided weeks before you ask for it. Here's how to work with it.
The moves
1/ Find out when the number gets built
You know your review date. You probably don't know when your manager drafts the budget.
Ask. It's a normal question.
The date that matters is the day your manager submits the numbers.
Ask this "When do you put together compensation recommendations for the team? I'd like to talk before you do." |
2/ Ask early, in a meeting of its own
Book 20 minutes with 1 topic, BEFORE planning starts.
Keep it out of a one-on-one that is already full.
Asked early, your number goes into the budget. Asked at the review, it's a request to reopen one.
Say this "I want to talk about my compensation before planning starts, so you have what you need from me." |
3/ Bring a number
Say the figure you want, or the level you want to move to.
"More" is not a number.
Your manager has to type something into a cell.
A specific figure is the only kind of ask your manager can submit.
Say this "I'm asking to move to $X, based on the scope I've taken on this year." |
4/ Give your manager a case they can repeat
Your manager doesn't approve your raise alone. She takes it to her boss and to finance.
Write 3 lines she can paste into her own recommendation.
Your manager argues for you in a room you're not in, with whatever you gave her.
Checklist What I delivered, in 1 line, with the business result. What I own now that I didn't own a year ago. The number I'm asking for. |
5/ Describe your year in results the business felt
Name the money you brought in or saved, or the deadline you held.
Leave the hours and the late nights out of it.
Effort gets thanked. A result with a dollar figure gets funded.
6/ Ask what would get it approved
If your manager hesitates, ask what's missing.
You leave with a list of conditions you can act on.
You want the conditions now, while there's still time to meet them.
Ask this "What would you need to see from me to put that number forward?" |
7/ Put it in writing and follow up before the deadline
Send a short recap the same day, with your 3 lines and your number.
Check in ONCE before the numbers are due.
Then stop.
Your manager is building a case for every person on the team that week.
The ask that's written down is the one in front of her on the day she submits.
The outcome
| Most people | You |
|---|---|
| Know the review date | Know the date the budget gets drafted |
| Ask during the review | Ask weeks before planning starts |
| Ask for "more" | Name the number |
| Hope the manager remembers the year | Hand over 3 lines your manager can repeat |
| Hear "no" and wait another year | Ask what would get it approved, then follow up in writing |
Proof. By July 2026, 1,001 US employers had already told Mercer their projected merit budget for 2027, an average of 3.2%. The pool your raise comes from gets drafted that far ahead of your review. Mercer, 2026
This week
The review is where the decision gets announced.
People who've learned this treat budget season as the deadline and walk into the review already knowing the answer.
Try it next time. Find out when your manager submits the numbers, and get on her calendar before that date.
By the time you sit down for your review, the number is already in the spreadsheet.
Reply
Do you know the date your manager submits compensation numbers? Reply with YES or NO. I read every one.
Until next time.
Justin Bateh, PhD
CEO @ AI Operators Lab
Founder & Editor, Tactical Memo