“Wouldn’t it be nice to kick off 2018 with a raise?

We asked employment experts and coaches for some tips on how to ask for, negotiate, and actually get yourself a nice fat addition to your paycheck.

Keep your expectations realistic, and do some research first

Most annual raises are between 1 percent and 5 percent of your salary. A survey by human resources consultancy Aon Hewitt found that many companies plan to set annual raises at 3 percent of base salaries in 2018, according to The Washington Post, giving low performers a smaller bump and star performers more of a hike.

Nobody’s life is going to change dramatically due to their annual raise alone ― it basically keeps up with inflation.”