GUIDESMONEY MATTERS
How to Get a Salary Hike: A Step by Step Guide
5 MIN • 
LAST EDITED BY GAURAV NORONHA ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2025.
LAST EDITED BY GAURAV NORONHA ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2025.
GUIDES LAST EDITED BY GAURAV NORONHA ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2025.
If you’re looking to negotiate a salary increase or appraisal, it's important to prepare yourself with research, a clear argument, and a career roadmap. In this blog post, we'll go over the steps you can take to make your case and ensure that you're on the right track for long-term success. From doing your research to making a career roadmap, we've got you covered. Keep reading to learn more.
Check how much others in your industry with a similar experience level are getting paid. You can get these insights from websites like Naukri, Glassdoor, etc. This is an important step because it helps you benchmark yourself against the industry average.
If you find that you are below the average, or if you think you deserve well above the average for reasons of your performance, then you should frame it in a clear and concise manner. Here are some broad pointers to base your argument upon:
You can read more about writing an increment letter for a salary raise here .
Just because you’ve made your arguments, doesn’t mean that you will surely get your hike. Consider your current role at the company and see if there’s a growth path for you. In which case, you can consider making a trade-off between the growth opportunities and the money, because the growth will translate to better salaries in the future.
Speaking of growth, here’s what you should consider.
While past performance and industry benchmarking are great ways to make a pitch, they can only solve for the short or mid-term. In the long term, you will need to gain more skills, perhaps those that others in your peer group don’t have. This is one way to ensure you are seen as different from the pack, skill-wise.
Just like you surveyed the market with regards to the pay scale, you should also look at surveying the skill gap in the market. Start acquiring skills that the market might need in a few years from now.
For example, if you’re a software engineer, you may want to learn new programming languages. If you’re a project manager, you might want to either get an MBA or get certified as a project manager.
Fi Money, along with its licensed partner Federal Bank, offers a salary program with many benefits, including:
The amount of a salary increase is highly subjective and dependent on two factors: the industry you work in and your base salary. It's important to remember that percentages are simply a way of comparing two figures, and are a relative metric. Different industries experience varying average hike percentages, so this also plays a role.
There is no hard and fast rule. Probation only confirms your employment as permanent, but it doesn't necessarily lead to a salary hike. However, in some cases, employers do offer a hike, which should be explicitly mentioned in your offer letter.
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