Mistakes people make when asking for a raise

The annual performance review: while it can be a dreaded time for both the employer and employee, it's often a time to discuss what can be done better, what's going right and where the employee stands in the company's eyes. And with that standing often comes one important thing - salary.

Bringing up compensation can often be tricky, but it's most often discussed during the review. More often than not, there will be a discussion of the employee's worth to the company, Mikaela Kiner, Founder/ CEO of Uniquely HR told Glassdoor, noting that "companies and managers are having to make tough decisions about where and how to allocate rewards like raises and promotions."

As employees and employers often differ on what the employee is worth, there are plenty of booby traps and missteps that can upend your quest for a salary boost.

THERE WAS NO MENTION OF IT

If you didn't get the raise you were looking for, Occam's razor (the simplest explanation) may be at play here -- you didn't bring it up. Unless you specifically ask for a raise, few employers are going to mention it on their own. By bringing it up, you can help the employer to understand your goals and create a plan to achieve those goals.

YOU WANT TOO MUCH

You may think of your company as a printing press (not everyone is like Apple ), but it's not -- it has many employees just like you, all angling for the same thing. With that in mind, keeping expectations in-check is the way to go. "You may have asked for a dollar amount or percentage increase that was far above the company norm," Laura MacLeod, creator of From The Inside Out Project, told Glassdoor. "If so, your boss may feel you are totally out of touch with what you are worth and the company's budget."

YOU DIDN'T SELL YOURSELF

Everyone has to sell himself no matter what line of work he's in. If you don't sell yourself well enough, your manager may not realize how important you are to the team. This is where having a list of accomplishments and ways you've helped earn the company money (or saved it money) will help. "