How to Make the Case for a Raise Using Your Accomplishments
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CareerClimb tracks your wins and builds the evidence that justifies your raise.
Asking for a raise without evidence is like walking into a courtroom without a case. You might feel strongly that you deserve it. Your manager might even agree. But when they sit down with HR and finance to justify the number, they need something concrete to point to. Your feelings are not a line item in the budget.
The engineers who get raises are not the ones who ask the loudest. They are the ones who show up with a clear, documented case that makes the decision easy. Here is how to build that case from the accomplishments you already have.
Why accomplishments matter more than tenure
The most common raise argument is: "I have been here for three years and I have not gotten a meaningful increase." Tenure is context, not evidence. It tells your manager how long you have been here, but not what you have delivered.
The argument that works sounds more like: "Over the past 12 months, I led the migration that cut infrastructure costs by 30%, mentored two engineers to full productivity, and took ownership of the on-call rotation redesign that reduced team page volume by half. I would like to discuss whether my compensation reflects the value of that contribution."
The difference is proof. Tenure says "I showed up." Accomplishments say "I delivered."
Step 1: Select your strongest 5 to 8 wins
If you have been tracking wins (or can reconstruct them from PR history, tickets, and calendar entries), start by listing everything you accomplished in the relevant time period. Then filter down to the 5 to 8 items that best demonstrate your value.
How to pick the right wins
Not all wins are created equal for a raise conversation. Prioritize accomplishments that show:
- Direct business impact (revenue generated, costs saved, users served, incidents prevented)
- Scope beyond your job description (work that someone at a higher level would typically own)
- Organizational multiplier effect (things that made multiple people or teams more productive)
- Problems you identified and solved proactively (not just assigned work you completed)
Leave out routine work. Your daily standup tasks and standard code reviews are expected. The raise case is built on contributions that went beyond the baseline. Understanding what total comp looks like at each level helps you frame your ask relative to what your level actually pays across the industry.
The tenure trap
Do not include "number of years at the company" as evidence. It weakens your case. If your manager has to argue for your raise with the reasoning "they have been here a long time," that is a much harder sell than "here is what they delivered."
Similarly, avoid "I have never asked for a raise before" or "other people make more than me." These may be true, but they are not evidence of your value. They are grievances. A strong case does not need grievances. It has numbers.
Step 2: Rewrite each win with impact
Raw accomplishments need translation. "Migrated the auth service" is a task. "Led the auth service migration that reduced authentication latency by 65% and eliminated the most common source of weekend on-call pages" is evidence of value.
For each of your 5 to 8 wins, apply this formula:
What you did + who it helped + what changed as a result
Some examples:
| Raw win | Rewritten with impact |
|---|---|
| Fixed the flaky test suite | Stabilized the CI pipeline by eliminating 40+ flaky tests, cutting average build failures from 3 per day to fewer than 1 per week. Team velocity increased measurably in the following sprint. |
| Onboarded two new engineers | Ran structured onboarding for two new team members, including daily pairing sessions for their first two weeks. Both shipped their first production PR within 10 days, versus the team average of 3 weeks. |
| Built the new dashboard | Designed and built the customer analytics dashboard from scratch, which product leadership now uses in weekly business reviews and which surfaced a billing discrepancy that saved the company $200K annually. |
You do not need exact numbers for every win. Approximate figures, relative improvements, and qualitative outcomes all count. "Reduced by roughly half" is infinitely better than stating no impact at all.
Step 3: Add market context
Your accomplishments show what you have delivered. Market data shows what someone delivering at that level should earn. Together, they make the case.
Where to find market data
- Levels.fyi for tech company compensation by level, company, and location
- Glassdoor for salary ranges by title and metro area
- Blind for verified compensation discussions from current employees
- Recruiter conversations if you have been approached recently (even if you are not looking)
How to present market data
Do not throw a spreadsheet at your manager. Pick two or three relevant data points and reference them naturally:
"Based on data from Levels.fyi, the median total compensation for a [your level] at comparable companies in [your area] is [range]. My current compensation is [below that / at the low end of that range]. Given the scope of what I have been delivering, I believe an adjustment would bring my comp in line with both my market value and my contribution."
The goal is to establish that your ask is reasonable, not that you are demanding top-of-market pay. Framing it as alignment, not entitlement, makes it easier for your manager to advocate for you.
Step 4: Assemble the one-page case
Put everything into a single document. This is not a formal proposal. It is a reference that your manager can use when they go to their boss, HR, or the compensation committee. Make it easy for them.
Structure
-
Summary (2-3 sentences). State who you are, what you are asking for, and why. Lead with contribution, not need.
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Key accomplishments (5-8 bullets). Each bullet follows the impact formula from Step 2. Organized by theme (technical delivery, team impact, leadership) rather than chronologically.
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Market context (1 paragraph). Reference 2-3 data points from Levels.fyi, Glassdoor, or other sources. State the range and where you fall.
-
The ask (1-2 sentences). State what you are looking for. A specific number or range is better than "I would like more." If you are uncomfortable with a number, state a percentage: "I am looking for a 15-20% adjustment to bring my compensation in line with market and my contribution level."
Keep it to one page
Your manager will skim this, not study it. If it is longer than one page, you have included too much. Cut anything that does not directly support the ask.
Step 5: Present the case (not the document)
Do not email the document and wait. Schedule a 1:1 with your manager and walk through it verbally. The document is your backup, not your opening act.
What to say in the meeting
Open with: "I have been thinking about my compensation relative to the work I have been doing and the market, and I wanted to have an honest conversation about it."
Walk through your top three accomplishments verbally. You do not need to read from the document. Just hit the highlights. Then mention the market context briefly.
Close with: "I put together a short summary I can share with you. I know these decisions involve other people and budget cycles, so I wanted to give you the information early. What do you think?" If you need help with the initial email, the how to ask for a raise guide covers the full conversation from first approach through follow-up.
Then listen. Your manager may say yes immediately, may need time, or may push back. All three are fine. The case does the heavy lifting regardless of the immediate response.
After the meeting
Send the one-page document as a follow-up email. Say: "Here is the summary I mentioned. Let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything else I can provide."
This creates a paper trail. Your manager now has a document they can forward to HR or their own boss. You have made their job as easy as possible.
Common mistakes that weaken your case
Making it emotional. "I feel undervalued" is not evidence. Your feelings are valid, but your case should be built on facts. Save the emotional processing for a trusted friend, not the raise conversation.
Comparing yourself to a specific coworker. "I know [name] makes more than me" puts your manager in an impossible position. They cannot discuss another employee's compensation with you. Use market data instead of internal comparisons.
Asking without a number. "I would like a raise" forces your manager to guess what you want. Come with a range. If you ask for 15-20% and they offer 10%, you have a negotiation. If you ask for "more" and they offer 3%, you have nowhere to go.
Waiting for the perfect moment. There is no perfect moment. The best time to make your case is when you have evidence and your manager has budget authority. For most companies, that means before the annual compensation review cycle. Ask your manager when the cycle is and present your case 4-6 weeks before it starts.
CareerClimb logs your wins automatically and maps them to the evidence that makes your raise case impossible to ignore. Stop waiting for someone to notice your value. Start building your case today.
