Want a pay rise? Don't ask for anything!

London, April 24 (IANS) Wishing for a pay rise for a long time but not finding anything coming your way? If this is you, the best way could be to not ask for anything at all!

Brooke Allen, who has spent 30 years working as a trader and hedge fund manager in the securities industry, in an article on Qz.com has claimed the best way to boost one's pay is to ask your employer for nothing at all.

Allen says he hit upon a formula that "goes beyond win-win" when he successfully negotiated the best deal of his life by asking for a salary of precisely $0, Daily Mail reported.

His "give-give" approach - which he says encourages employees and employers to "care about each other" - involves a starting point of offering the most and asking for the least.

Allen stated how he decided to take a new approach to negotiating contracts in his efforts to live a debt-free life.

He had accepted a job that came with a bonus guarantee working for a unit that was then disbanded almost immediately. He was paid both the guarantee and a severance.

"It was the first time in my career that I was paid more than I delivered, and I felt I was left with a debt I could never repay," he said.

The typical negotiating approach of both sides demanding something unreasonable and then coming to a compromise "backfires". It is so because its starting point is acts of unreasonableness, selfishness and distrust, says Allen.