Most employees walk into their annual review unarmed. A vague sense of what they want, a fuzzy idea of what they’re worth, a rough plan to “see how it goes.”
The review is a negotiation. Treating it like a conversation is how you walk out with the wrong number.
Three moves before you sit down.
Step 1: Run the Numbers
Move 2 in the 8 Moves framework is Run the Numbers. It’s not optional. Before you sit down, you should know:
- Your comp range for the role and market — Glassdoor, Levels.fyi, LinkedIn Salary, peers in your network
- Your tenure and the standard progression curve at your level
- The performance you’ve delivered, quantified
Don’t show up with feelings. Show up with data.
The most underused move here is sending it ahead. Build a one-page deck. List the achievements, the certifications, the wins, the metrics. Send it 48 hours before the review. By the time you sit down, the case is already in your manager’s head. You’re not pitching anymore — you’re confirming.
Step 2: Bring the Expectation
Employers love the slow walk. “Here’s where you’re at, here’s where we’re looking next year.” That sentence is a stall. It works because most employees nod and let it happen.
Don’t.
Walk in with the expectation stated cleanly: I’m looking to be promoted to [title]. I’m looking for a raise to [range]. Here’s the case for both.
This isn’t aggressive. It’s clarifying. Once the expectation is on the table, your manager can do the math out loud — what they can fund, what they need to advocate for, what timeline is realistic. You’ve moved the conversation from will you? to how do we?
Most employees stay quiet because they assume the employer already knows. They don’t. They have ten other people to think about. Tell them.
Step 3: Kill the Social Anchor
Here’s the don’t-do. The single fastest way to lose authority in a review is the social anchor:
“Frank got promoted last cycle, so I should…” “Joe is making X, so I want…”
It feels like leverage. It plays like complaining. The second a manager hears it, the conversation shifts from what have you earned to what do I owe you for being on the same team as Frank. Those are different conversations and only one of them ends in a promotion.
Anchor on your performance. Anchor on the market. Don’t anchor on Frank.
The Step Most Employees Miss
Three steps get you to the table prepared. The fourth gets you a different outcome.
Most employees walk in with one ask: I want a promotion. Or I want a raise to X.
The negotiators who consistently leave with more walk in with three.
That’s Move 3 — Set Strategy — and it’s the move we’ll cover Wednesday.