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Wrapping up a big week on numbers, ranges, and offers, Nichole slows things down for a reflection episode, no new tactics, just a chance to sit with your career story. In this episode: Why today is about your real story, not your resume or job titles Reflecting on where your career started, and the moments that actually shaped you Recognizing the skills you've earned over time, like confidence in meetings and handling hard conversations, not just technical ones Why your case for a raise is a story about growth, not just a spreadsheet of numbers Today's task: spend 10 minutes writing where you started, what you've overcome, and where you want your story to go next A reminder to keep that reflection somewhere accessible to revisit before your actual ask, since confidence comes from remembering how far you've come Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Following yesterday's episode on general market research, Nichole shifts to a higher-stakes scenario, how to handle an actual competing offer in hand. In this episode: The key difference between market research and a real, specific offer from another company Why you should only bring up a competing offer if you're genuinely willing to take it, and the risk of using it purely as a bluff How to lead the conversation with loyalty and interest rather than an ultimatum An example of exactly how to phrase bringing up the offer to your manager Being prepared to share some specifics if asked, while staying appropriately vague on compensation details Why giving a real, reasonable deadline creates honest urgency without manufactured drama The importance of being emotionally prepared for any outcome, including the possibility they can't match it Today's task: get honest about whether a current offer is genuinely one you'd take, or think through how you'd handle one if it ever came up Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Building on yesterday's specific ask number, Nichole introduces a different approach, why leading with a range instead of a single number can sometimes work in your favor. In this episode: Why a range can give your manager room to say yes without feeling boxed in Why every number in your range needs to be one you'd genuinely feel good walking away with, not just a wide spread for the sake of flexibility An example of turning a specific ask number into a strong, research-backed range The concept of anchoring, why people tend to focus on the lower end of a range, and why your range should skew slightly higher than feels comfortable How to decide between a range or a single number based on how your specific manager typically negotiates Why confidence in delivery matters just as much as which option you choose Today's task: think about how your manager operates, decide between a range or your single number, and write down why Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Building on yesterday's specific ask number, Nichole introduces a different approach, why leading with a range instead of a single number can sometimes work in your favor. In this episode: Why a range can give your manager room to say yes without feeling boxed in Why every number in your range needs to be one you'd genuinely feel good walking away with, not just a wide spread for the sake of flexibility An example of turning a specific ask number into a strong, research-backed range The concept of anchoring, why people tend to focus on the lower end of a range, and why your range should skew slightly higher than feels comfortable How to decide between a range or a single number based on how your specific manager typically negotiates Why confidence in delivery matters just as much as which option you choose Today's task: think about how your manager operates, decide between a range or your single number, and write down why Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Kicking off a new week, Nichole walks through how to take all the research gathered so far and land on the actual number to say out loud in a raise conversation. In this episode: Finding where your current salary sits within your researched range: bottom, middle, or higher Why tenure and experience should push you higher in the range, not toward the entry point How your brag document factors in: taking on responsibilities beyond your role should push your number up Why to aim for the upper portion of your range, not the absolute top and not the middle just to feel polite Why a manager rarely gives more than what's asked, and how shrinking your number beforehand negotiates against yourself Why a specific number sounds more researched and is harder to dismiss than a round one Today's task: find where you sit in your range and land on one specific ask number Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Wrapping up the week on pay structure and budget cycles, Nichole tackles the harder scenario, what to do when the timing genuinely isn't right after doing all the prep work. In this episode: Why a hiring freeze, recent layoffs, or a closed review cycle doesn't mean your preparation was wasted Why bad timing changes when you make your case, not whether you get to make it at all Why you shouldn't shelve your brag document or research, so you're ready in a week instead of starting over How to have a different conversation now: asking your manager what it would take to be positioned for the highest possible raise, instead of asking for one today Why getting an actual date to revisit the conversation matters, instead of leaving it vague The difference between a company having one tough year versus a pattern of "not now" year after year, and why that distinction matters for your future there This weekend's task: be honest about your timing, and either plan your ask or schedule the "what would it take" conversation Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Continuing this week's dive into pay structure, Nichole covers how to read whether your company genuinely has money available right now, or is just giving the easy answer. In this episode: Why "there's no budget right now" is sometimes true, and sometimes just the easier answer to give Signs there may be room: active hiring on your team, public growth announcements, and visible spending on tools, events, or outside consultants Signs money is genuinely tight: hiring freezes, layoffs, cuts to perks or training, vague leadership updates, and paused projects Why tight budgets don't make the conversation pointless, and how "not right now, let's revisit in three months" still counts as progress Today's task: take inventory of what you've actually seen at your company in the last few months, and use it to shape your timing and framing Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Building on yesterday's episode on budget cycles, Nichole shares quieter ways to figure out your company's timing without asking HR directly. In this episode: Why asking HR directly about raise timing can feel intimidating or premature Checking your own pay stub history for signs of a past automatic merit cycle Watching for patterns around you, like coworkers mentioning reviews or a rise in scheduled one-on-ones Checking your employee handbook or onboarding materials for a written review cycle Finding your company's fiscal year as a lower-stakes way to infer compensation timing Asking a trusted manager a softer version of the question, framed around good timing for these conversations rather than raises directly Today's task: pick one method, dig in, and write down your best guess for your company's cycle A reminder that if the end of the year is approaching, you may need to move faster than the "best case scenario" timeline allows Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Picking up from yesterday's breakdown of merit increases, promotions, and market adjustments, Nichole dives into timing, specifically why companies budget for raises in advance and why that changes when you should ask. In this episode: Why most companies operate on a budget cycle, and why raises are often planned for months before you ever ask A note on startup flexibility versus more structured companies when it comes to advocating for a raise How annual budgets and fiscal years shape when raise money actually becomes available Why performance review season matters so much, and how asking right before versus right after that cycle can lead to very different outcomes How to find out your company's specific timing by asking directly, or by reflecting on past raise patterns if you've been there over a year A personal story from Nichole's time as a manager, discovering a wide, unfair pay gap among team members who'd gone years without a raise, and working to rightsize their pay Why advocating for yourself doesn't have to feel awkward or uncomfortable Today's task: find or estimate your company's raise or review cycle timing, and write it down A reminder that this isn't about waiting until the "right" time to have the conversation at all, it's about starting the conversation now, even if the actual raise comes later Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Shifting focus for the week, Nichole breaks down the three different types of raises and why knowing which one applies to you changes your whole approach. In this episode: Why "raise" usually means one of three things: a merit increase, a promotion, or a market adjustment What a merit increase is, a small performance-based bump tied to your existing role, usually on a set annual cycle What a promotion actually requires: proving you're already operating at the next level, not just deserving credit for your current one What a market adjustment is, correcting pay that's fallen behind the market even when your responsibilities haven't changed Why framing the wrong type weakens your case, whether that's treating a market adjustment like a merit increase, or bringing merit-level evidence to a promotion ask Today's task: look back at your worksheet and determine which of the three actually applies to your situation Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Wrapping up a big week of research, Nichole helps pull everything together into one simple worksheet instead of scattered notes and browser tabs. In this episode: A recap of the week: salary research, tools to use, how location and industry shift your number, and how to find out what your company actually pays What to include in your worksheet: every number you've found, labeled by source, with a note on using screenshots in case job postings get taken down Why you shouldn't discard any number, even ones that feel too low or too high, since the full spread matters How to identify the low end and high end of your real, research-backed range Why your ask number shouldn't default to the low end, and a personal reflection on the instinct to feel grateful and stay small Why it's easier to negotiate down from a strong number than up from a small one Writing one sentence that justifies your number, to eventually say out loud in your raise conversation A tip to use AI to help pull out information you may not be thinking of strategically This weekend's task: build the actual worksheet, numbers and sources, your range, your ask number, and your justifying sentence Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Shifting from general market research to something closer to home, Nichole covers how to find out what your own company actually pays for your specific role. In this episode: Why external salary research only tells part of the story, and can differ significantly from what your own company pays A personal, transparent take on pay: Nichole shares her own approach to openly discussing salary with coworkers, and how that's occasionally gotten her into hot water Why justifiable pay differences, tenure, experience, and value added, feel fair, and why everyone should be able to advocate for their own value How to approach asking a trusted coworker about pay, either by asking for a general range or by proactively sharing your own salary first A reminder to check your state's pay transparency laws before these conversations Why internal job postings for promotions or lateral moves can reveal real, current salary bands How external job postings for your own company, even for a different role, can hint at where pay bands sit Why former coworkers are often more willing to talk about pay once they've left A caution on how to use this information respectfully, never naming who told you what, and using it instead to understand where you stand A story about asking male coworkers about their pay as a way to check for equity within a male-dominated industry Today's task: think of one trusted person, coworker or former employee, and consider how to start that conversation this week Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Continuing this week's hands-on research focus, Nichole breaks down two of the biggest variables that shift your salary number: location and industry. In this episode: Why the same title can pay wildly different amounts depending on location, and how competitive talent markets, not just cost of living, play a role Why a smaller or rural city doesn't automatically mean a lower number The three different ways companies may set pay for remote employees, and why it's worth clarifying which one applies to you A tip to ask your leader, or HR, how your company benchmarks pay if you're unsure Why the same job title can pay very differently across industries like tech, healthcare, construction, or nonprofit Why some industries trade higher pay for other benefits, like flexibility or job security Today's task: check whether your research so far accounted for your specific location and your specific industry, and narrow it down if not Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Following up on how to research your salary range, Nichole gets specific on the actual tools and resources to use to find your number. In this episode: Why you should use more than one resource, since each pulls data a little differently Salary aggregator sites as a free, quick starting point, and a tip to ask AI or Google for current options since tools change over time Checking job boards for postings of your exact title, and how pay transparency laws mean many listings now include a salary range, even if some pay bands are surprisingly wide How to ask your professional network about a general range without asking for anyone's specific salary Why professional associations and industry groups often publish some of the most accurate salary data, since it comes from real professionals in your exact field A tip to feed your job description into AI to help compare against similar roles and typical pay Why you shouldn't rely on just one source, and should instead look for where two or three sources overlap Today's task: pick two resources you haven't used yet, spend ten minutes on each, and add those numbers to your growing range Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop

Building on last week's foundation, Nichole kicks off the research phase by walking through exactly how to find your real salary number. In this episode: A quick recap of last week: labor value, the brag document, manager feedback, and market rate as a range, not a ceiling Why you should search your exact title, not a general job category, and how to handle titles that vary by company How to research location correctly, including two ways to approach it if you're fully remote Why factoring in your years of experience changes the number significantly Why you shouldn't rely on just one source, and where to look: salary research sites, current job postings, and your own trusted network How to build a real range using a low end and a high end from at least two sources Today's task: spend 15 minutes researching your exact title, location, and experience level, and write down your range A note on the Seven Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge, which breaks everything down simply if you're ready to move fast instead of over several months Download the 7 Days to Ask for a Raise Challenge to help you confidently ask for a raise here. Connect with Nichole on Instagram @nichole.harrop