UNLOCKING THE MYSTERY IT'S REALLY NOT THAT DIFFICULT TO GET A PAY RAISE IF YOU DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

Byline: Barbara Correa Staff Writer

After years managing a Redlands real estate escrow office, Shirley Harry felt she'd earned a raise. She hadn't had one in a long time and figured she was being taken for granted because she'd been at the company for 25 years. As a manager, she was used to hearing raise requests from other employees. But making the request herself was another matter.

``I'm not good at asking for myself,'' said Harry, explaining that her pay had begun to bother her about four years ago, before the Southern California real estate market really started to take off.

``I just decided it was becoming an issue with me. I thought, why is it every year goes by and I am giving raises to all these people, but I never get one?''

Emboldened by her friend and executive coach, James Vuocolo, she finally went in and made her case to the owner of the company. ``That's all it took,'' she said. She got her salary increase, and for the year just ended, she received another, totally unexpected boost after the red-hot real estate run-up.

Raises don't usually come that easily. Particularly during the lean job market in the last three to four years, most workers in Southern California have been keeping a low profile in the hopes of keeping their job.

But with signs that the economy and job market may actually be turning the corner, working people will be thinking more about pushing for that long-deferred pay hike.

California unemployment fell slightly in December, from 6.5 percent in November to 6.4 percent, the Employment Development Department reported. Household surveys found the number of Californians holding jobs in December was 16.6 million, a record.

For the year just ended, average hourly earnings rose 2 percent and weekly earnings climbed 1.7 percent, according to the December Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

``There is pent-up demand - employees are looking for a return on the restrictions they've put themselves under the last few years,'' said Robert Gray, president of Insightlink Communications, a Los Angeles research firm specializing in employee attitudes and opinions.

But before knocking on the boss's door, it pays to bone up on the rules of the salary negotiating game.

First of all, forget the term ``asking for a raise.''

``It's a business process based on evidence, not pleading,'' said Vance Caesar, an executive coach and continuing-education professor at California State University, Long Beach. ``It's a business decision for the boss.''

That means that going in and saying you deserve more money just because you're still coming to work every day won't cut it.

Employees need to think of getting a raise as making a legal argument. That starts with research.

Web sites like salary.com allow users to get a comparative snapshot of what people make in the same ZIP code for the same occupation. If your peers are making a lot more money for the same work, that's empirical evidence for a raise, said Caesar.

The other essential research required is into your firm's own financial health. ``If the company you're in has been posting losses for the last three or four quarters in a row, the climate is not good to ask for a raise,'' said Karon Wright, a career consultant in Thousand Oaks.

Also, know whether there's a company policy of reviewing salaries at a certain time of year. Do a little personal observation of the boss. ``Don't approach the manager when they're getting ready for a vacation, or going through a tough personal time,'' said Elysa Walk, an account representative at Complete Benefits Resource, an employee benefits outsourcing company in Encino.

Even more important, survey your own financial position before asking for more money. Such a request can always backfire, getting you the boot instead of a raise.

``Often, I get people who have a widescreen, flat TV but no money in the bank,'' said James Vuocolo, the executive coach in Redlands. ``Having your financial house in order is a prerequisite'' to asking for a raise, he said.

Once the discovery and preparation phase is complete, and the timing of a request checks out, workers can start thinking about the actual negotiation.

Business owners and consultants agree that the best thing to walk into the boss with is a list of specific accomplishments that exceed the job you were hired to do - preferably in writing.

Meeting goals you were expected to meet isn't really good enough to earn a raise in today's human resources environment.

``Good performance is expected,'' said Pam Erhardt, a management consultant at Corporate Coaching International in Pasadena. ``To expect a raise over what other employees are making means over-and-above performance.'' Having to prove above-average sales, for example, or above- average production for the company has become a requirement for more money in human resource circles in the last five years, she said.

``You need to show why you're worth holding onto,'' said Wright. ``Write it out and say, I took the liberty of putting it down on paper for your reference.''

Most managers appreciate that.

``I like it written down,'' said John Fosselman, owner of Fosselman's Ice Cream Co., based in Alhambra. He said that it's helpful to see a record of how the employee has met or beaten goals, because in the business of doing business, it's easy to overlook how well workers are performing.

``The lady who does our cakes part time hadn't had a raise in a year or so. She came in and said her cake prices had gone up and my salary hasn't - she was on the money,'' he said.

While everybody agrees that granting a raise request requires proof of service, there's division over whether it's OK to specify a figure in the negotiations.

``Whoever mentions the amount first loses - that's what professional negotiators tell you,'' said Vuocolo. Instead, he said, go in with a salary range in mind. Stating a specific, ``I want seven and a quarter or I'm walking'' makes it too easy for the boss to say no, leaving you in a worse position than when you came in.

On the other hand, be prepared to offer an amount if you're asked, and if you feel strongly enough that you deserve more money, be prepared to start looking around if the request is turned down.

``If you've presented a good case and you know you're worth more, then you may have to look at making a change,'' said Wright. ``Each person has to take charge of their own career.''

Barbara Correa, [phone]

barbara.correa(at)dailynews.com

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