How to Ask for a Raise at Work (Even If You’re Underpaid & Nervous)

Ever feel like you’re doing the work but not getting paid what you’re worth? In this episode of Talk Ya Sh!t , Big Slick breaks down exactly how to ask for a raise at work—without sounding desperate, emotional, or entitled.

We start with a real listener letter about being underpaid and turn it into a clear, step-by-step raise strategy. You’ll learn why fear kills negotiations, how respect actually moves money, and how to walk into a raise conversation calm, confident, and prepared. This isn’t about complaining—it’s about positioning.

We cover the groundwork most people skip: tightening up reliability, fixing small reputation leaks, and avoiding the mistake of comparing yourself to coworkers. Then we get tactical—how to list wins, translate effort into business results, and present your value in numbers your boss understands. You’ll hear exactly what to say, how to anchor your raise higher than your target, and how to negotiate without backing yourself into a corner.

If your manager says “not right now,” we show you how to turn that into a clear roadmap with timelines, metrics, and expectations you control. And if the answer stays no, we talk about your plan B—updating your resume, testing the job market, and moving to a company that actually values what you bring.

This is a practical, no-fluff guide to getting paid more—either at your current job or the next one. Respect over fear. Results over noise. Clear asks over silent resentment.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on Talk Ya Sh!t Podcast are those of the host and guests. This podcast is for entertainment and educational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional regarding mental health, financial decisions, or personal issues. The host shares personal experiences and opinions — take what resonates and always do what’s best for you.

Transcript

Hype Intro And Listener Shoutouts

SPEAKER_00 0:05

You, you, and you. Yeah, you two. Now, let's talk about it. What up, what up, what up, what up? It's your boy, Big Slick, and welcome to Talk Your Shit. As always, we got another great episode for you today. But first, I want to give a shout out to my listeners. Whether you at work, at home, in your car, all the truck drivers on the road, I appreciate you tuning in. Yo, you already know what I'm gonna do. I got a letter in, and what I'm gonna do is give you my honest, unfiltered, raw, uncut opinion about it, because that's what I do, man. Yo, let's check it out. See what we got. I feel like I'm underpaid. How do I ask for a raise? Let's get right into it, man. It's gonna be a good one. How do I ask for a raise? All right, so check it out. First, I'm gonna tell you how I'm gonna do the shit. What I do is just go straight to the boss's office, tell him to give me some motherfucking money, or I'm gonna slap the shit out of you, man. You already know what I'm gonna say, but look, check it out, man. A lot of people got this question, and like, yo, how do I get a raise from my job? Because a lot of people don't know how to approach this. The first thing you gotta do is this first make sure your shit is straight. So if you calling out every motherfucking weekend, don't expect to get a raise, bro. If you running around slapping the shit out of people, don't expect to get a raise, bro. And I'm not talking about an annual raise, you know. I'm saying you you saying a raise, you must be wanting some type of promotion or raise in between that annual raise, right? So this is a couple of things to do. Like I said, first, don't call out every weekend. Second, don't be a disgruntled employee. Because, first of all, if you disgruntled, you ain't you ain't gonna get no money, right? Another thing is is don't go around scaring management directors and shit like that. I had to learn this because I had everybody shook night of me, but you can't do that because what happens is that if they scared of you, they ain't gonna give you no more money. So if they're scared of you and you're a good worker, they'll keep you, they'll keep you around. You know what I'm saying? It's a lot of workers like that that they're nervous about. They even get new hires and tell them, yo, don't go around that person with you know, shit like that. But if you're a good worker, they'll keep you, but they ain't gonna give you that money. So that's another thing. You can't have everybody scared of you on the job, especially the bosses. You can't have the bosses nervous of you like that because they ain't gonna give you no bread. Now, them being scared of you and respecting you is two different things. Now, respect, you gotta have you gotta be respected on your job, or you really ain't gonna get no money. So, you gotta be respected, can't be calling out all day, you can't have everybody sugar night or you scared to death, you know what I'm saying? Or you ain't gonna get no money. So, this is what you should do. First of all, before you even talk to the boss about this shit, plan this shit out. Have some bullet points, have some topics to discuss. Why do you deserve a raise in between in the middle of the year? What are you doing that's exceptional on your job? You know what I'm saying? Are you working circles around the rest of the people that's doing the same job like you doing? Are the people around you that's getting paid the same amount or doing the same job is not showing up to work, they're not reliable, you're the only reliable person there, right? Stuff like this is how you get the money. But when you're speaking to the boss, first thing you need to do is talk about what you're doing good. So don't go in there talking about what other people is not doing because then you seem like a disgruntled employee. So you need to go in there and big yourself up and not down other people. That's another thing you need to do when you're asking for more money. Keep it about you, about what you're doing. You know, I'm saying how you excel at your job. If you're finding different ways or easier ways to do the job that's more efficient, make sure you bring that up. You know, I'm saying, in this conversation when you're trying to get more bread. Another key takeaway, another key thing you definitely need to do is this. So when you go in there asking for bread, don't say you want a raise. A lot of people say, I want a raise. Say you need a raise, you need a raise. Wants and needs is two different things. We need to breathe every day, we need air, you need oxygen, right? So that's the way you approach it. I need a raise. This ain't even this ain't even fucking optional right now. This is what I need to survive. So go in and and use these words, man. Say you need a raise, and then you go for you know I'm saying what you need. Another thing is don't tell them the exact number you want, because a lot of times they're gonna try to work their way down from what you're talking about. So always go above what you asking for, always go above what you're asking for, so you can get what you want. So if they if you go above it and they give you that, oh, you really good, right? If you go above it and they bring it down some, you still gonna hit your mark, or you still might be above your mark. So always shoot for more money than what you actually need, right? Always do that, and then go from there, and then if you don't get the raise that you need, start looking for another job because obviously they don't respect you there, so just keep it moving and go work somewhere else. Don't stay there if you're not getting the money you deserve. A lot of people get trapped in these jobs and think they need to be there forever. Man, change that shit up, go somewhere else to make some more money, get the money that you need and deserve and where you're valued at, instead of just working at a place that don't even care about you. But this is that's the way you get the bread, man. That's just the way you get the bread. You know what I'm saying? Tell them this is what you need, go from there. Don't talk about other employees, other staff members when you're in there. Don't go in there and go, yo, man, Gary, you always call out, but I'm always here, I'm always covering shifts. No, what you need to say is, yo, I'm in here, uh, you know, I'm very reliable. You don't got to talk about how somebody else is unreliable. Just say, yo, I'm very reliable. You know, anything y'all need me to do, I do it for you. You can't really say something about coming to work, it's your job to show up to work, so you can't use that really as a bullet point. Just say that you're reliable because showing up is what you're supposed to do anyway. A lot of people want credit for showing up to work. That's what the fuck you work for. You you show up and get paid, so that's a gimme. Showing up to work is a gimme, but saying you're reliable is the same way as saying, yo, I show up all the time, and these motherfuckers don't. You know what I mean? So, this is a couple of ways the way you can get this raise. And if they don't give it to you, man, keep it moving and fuck that job. And on the way out, don't give them a two weeks' notice because you don't care about coming back, right? And if you want to, you know what I'll do. Slap the shit out of them. You already know what it is, man. This is big slick, and it's been another great episode of Talk Your Shit. Now, check this out, man. If you want to be a part of the show, you know what to do. Send your email into talk your shit daily at gmail.com. That's talkyour shit daily at gmail.com. Or we can keep it real simple, man. You can put it down in the comments and let me know what you want me to discuss. And it might make it to the next show. You already know what it is. It's big slick and I'm out of pace.