Thinking of asking for a raise? Shark Tank investor and multimillionaire Barbara Corcoran says the key to getting ahead is being prepared and being specific.
Corcoran, 76, posted an Instagram video explaining the elements to keep in mind when approaching a boss about a salary raise. The “Shak Tank” star and entrepreneur, who founded real estate brokerage, The Corcoran Group, and sold it in 2001 for an estimated $70 million, has experience overseeing a staff of up to 700 brokers.
Corcoran advised viewers to prepare by making a list of every responsibility they were hired to do. Then, they should write a separate list of everything they are really doing in their current roles. That way, the manager can clearly see where they are fulfilling their responsibilities and where they are going above and beyond — and they can communicate that to their boss.
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The second tip Corcoran gave was to name a percentage or a specific monetary value for the raise. Instead of saying “I want a raise,” Corcoran said bosses would respond better to, “I want a 10% raise.”
“You’re in a much better negotiation position to maybe get 8%,” Corcoran said. “Name the number.”
Corcoran prides herself on being a good boss, stating last month in a separate Instagram post that her perspective is grounded in what she can do for her employees and how she can serve them.
Her professional efforts have been fruitful: Corcoran earns around $4.5 million a year from investments, factoring in profits from over 650 deals she’s made on “Shark Tank” as an original cast member for 16 years.
Related: Barbara Corcoran Needed to Make Job Cuts. Here’s Why She Fired Her Mom First.
No matter how good the pitch, raises can be rare or a common yearly occurrence, depending on the company.
According to Payscale’s 2025 Compensation Best Practices Report, engineering and science firms intend to offer 4.6% raises this year, while nonprofits and educational institutions are only planning on a median 3% pay increase for 2025. Some companies going through a difficult financial year may be unable to offer raises and are not legally obligated to, per Indeed.
Nonprofit think tank The Conference Board surveyed 300 compensation leaders across 11 industries and found that the average annual raise for U.S. employees is around 4%.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics backs up this figure, showing that salaries for civilian employees increased by an average of 3.8% for the 12-month time frame ending December 2024.