I want to email my boss to ask for a raise without sounding like I'm begging or threatening to quit.
Bring three results with numbers, a pay figure you have checked against salary data and the timing you want. HidenGPT's Email format, set to Business email, drafts a plain request that names your results and the figure and asks for a meeting, without apologies or ultimatums. You check every number and send it yourself.
Try it with your own details
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for a new line
How to do it in HidenGPT
- 01
Before you write, list three results from the past year with numbers, the date of your last raise and a figure you have checked against salary data for your role and area.
- 02
Pick Email under “Use it for”, set Email type to Business email and Length to Medium, keep Tone on Professional, and write “a 30-minute meeting about my salary” under Your ask.
- 03
Put the results, the figure and your timing in the main box, and add your name under Signature in More details.
- 04
Check every number in the draft against your notes, remove anything about your personal costs or a colleague's pay, and pick a subject line that says plainly what the email is.
- 05
Send it on an ordinary working day rather than in the middle of a crisis for your team, and bring the same three results to the meeting.
Email / Newsletter: Subject lines that get opened, emails and newsletters that get replies.
When to send it, and when to wait
At many companies pay moves on a cycle: a yearly review, a budget round, a merit date. Asking a few weeks before that window gives your manager time to argue for you; asking after the numbers are set usually gets “let's look at it next cycle”. If you don't know when the window is, ask your manager or HR. That question on its own is ordinary.
Good moments, as a rule of thumb:
- A few weeks before reviews or budgets are set. - Soon after a result your manager has seen, such as a launch, a big renewal or a project delivered early. - When your job has grown for more than a few months: a team, a colleague's accounts or a new kind of work added to yours.
Moments to wait out:
- The week of layoffs, a hiring freeze or a bad quarter announced. - Your first year in a role, unless the job has changed or the offer was clearly below the going rate. - Right after a mistake of yours that your manager is still cleaning up.
One more timing habit: offer times, so the meeting happens soon. An email that asks to talk “sometime” tends to sit; one that offers Tuesday at 10 or Thursday at 2 gets a calendar answer.
What the email says, and what it leaves for the meeting
The email has two jobs: book the conversation, and put your case on the record in a form your manager can forward to whoever approves pay. The back and forth happens in the meeting. Four parts cover it: the request in the opening sentence, three results with numbers, the figure and where it comes from, and two times to meet.
Here is a version with 101 words between the greeting and the sign-off:
Subject: Salary discussion before the November review
Hi Tom,
I'd like 30 minutes to talk about my salary before the November budget review.
Since my last raise in March 2025, my role has grown: - I took over 40 accounts when Sam left in May and kept all of them. - New customers now finish onboarding in 12 days instead of 21. - Renewals on my accounts are at 94% this year.
Similar customer success roles in our area pay $70,000 to $76,000, based on salary sites and current job postings. I'm asking for an increase to $72,000.
Would Tuesday at 10 or Thursday at 2 work? I can bring the account numbers.
Best, Maya
It never says “I deserve”, never mentions rent and never compares Maya with a named colleague. Tom can check every claim in it.
Where the figure comes from matters as much as the figure. In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook gives a median pay figure for each occupation in its Quick Facts table; salary sites and job postings in your city narrow that to your level. Pick a number you can explain in one sentence.
What to cut, with a before and after
Raise emails go wrong when they argue from need, from fairness to a coworker or from pressure. Cut:
- Personal costs: rent, childcare, a car loan. Pay is set on the job, so stay with the job. - A named colleague's salary, even if you know it. - “I feel I deserve” and “I've worked really hard”: swap each for the result it stands in for. - An apology for raising it, such as “sorry to bring up money”. - A threat to leave, or a hint at an offer you don't have. - “100%” in a result. The format's spam check flags it as a common spam marker, so write “all 40 accounts renewed” instead.
Before, 48 words:
“I hope this isn't a bad time, and I'm sorry to bring up money, but I feel like I've been working really hard lately and with my rent going up I was wondering if there might be any chance of a small raise at some point this year.”
After, 30 words:
“I'd like to talk about my salary. Since March I've taken over 40 accounts and cut onboarding from 21 days to 12, and I'm asking for an increase to $72,000.”
The second version asks for one thing, names the evidence and gives a number, so a manager can take it to finance without rewriting it.
What the Email format does, and the recap after the meeting
Pick Email and set Email type to Business email. That type puts the purpose in the opening paragraph, allows bullets and ends with a clear next step and a date. Medium is 120-250 words, enough for the case; switch to Short, 50-120 words, if you only want to book the meeting and make the case in person. The tone can be Professional, Friendly, Formal or Persuasive, and Professional fits most managers.
The draft starts with a subject line kept to roughly 50 characters, with a warning above 60, and three alternatives follow it when Subject line ideas is on. It is told not to invent facts, so a result you leave out stays out and a missing number becomes a placeholder such as [number]. A light red pen pass cuts stock lines, and on a plan a voice built from your own sent emails keeps the wording close to how you usually write to your manager.
Use it a second time after the meeting, on Short: what you asked for, what your manager said and the next date. For example: “Thanks for today. To confirm: you'll take the $72,000 request to finance this week, and we'll talk again on November 18.” Two sentences like that stop a request from drifting, and if the answer was not yet, they hold the date when you will ask again.
Not the right tool if
- Negotiating a new job offer. The timing and your bargaining position are different; this page is about a raise in the job you already have.
- Unequal pay or discrimination. Those have formal routes, so talk to HR, a union representative or an employment lawyer before you put a complaint in writing.
- An ultimatum. If you have another offer and would take it, say so in person; an email that reads as a threat is hard to take back.
Other ways to do it
- Asking in person, then confirming by email
- Common where you see your manager every day or have regular one-to-ones. The email then records the figure and the date you agreed to talk again.
- Your company's review or promotion process
- Some employers change pay only through a yearly review or a written promotion case. Ask HR how it works and use their form if there is one.
- Writing it yourself from the four parts
- The request, three results, the figure and two meeting times. The sample above works as a template.
- ChatGPT or another chatbot
- Fast, but expect paragraphs about “dedication and passion” and sometimes a percentage you never gave it, which you will need to replace with your own numbers.
Questions
Is it okay to ask for a raise by email?
Yes, if the email asks for a meeting instead of trying to settle the number in writing. A written request is easy for your manager to forward to whoever approves pay, and the conversation still happens face to face or on a call.
What subject line should I use when asking for a raise?
Something plain that says what it is, such as “Meeting about my salary” or “Salary discussion before the November review”. Vague subjects like “Quick question” and alarming ones like “Important” make the reader guess.
How much of a raise should I ask for?
A specific figure you can explain, based on salary data for your role and area and on how your job has changed. This page gives no percentage, because the right number depends on your field, your employer and your results.
When should I ask for a raise?
A few weeks before your company sets pay or budgets, or soon after a result your manager has seen. If you don't know when the review cycle is, asking your manager or HR is a normal question.
Should I mention another job offer in the email?
No; if the offer is real and you would take it, raise it in the meeting. Expect your manager to treat it as a decision point rather than a bargaining chip.
What if my boss says no?
Ask what would need to change, and by when, for the answer to be yes, then confirm that date in a short recap email. Having it in writing stops the request from drifting to “sometime”.
Should I copy HR on the email?
Usually not on the first email; send it to your manager, who normally takes the request to HR or finance. Your handbook may set out a different route, so check it first.
Can I try it before I pay?
Yes. Visitors get 2 drafts a day on the homepage without an account, enough for the request and the recap. Saved history and your own voices need a plan; Pro is $3 for the first month.