How to Ask for a Raise Using a DESC Script (4 Steps + Dialogue)

The Scene

You are a senior backend engineer at a 200-person Series B. You have been at the company 19 months. In the last nine months, you owned the migration to the new job queue (shipped Q1), led two hiring loops (three hires, two landed), and were the on-call escalation point 11 times — including the Friday-night outage in March that stayed under the customer-facing SLA because you were already awake reading the logs.

Your last raise was a 4% inflation bump in September. You have not had a scope-based adjustment. Blind and Levels.fyi both show your current base of $155k at roughly the 25th percentile for senior backend in your metro, and your title and scope are trending senior+.

You have a 1:1 with your manager on Tuesday at 11 am. You have rehearsed this conversation in your head four different ways and each version drifts into apology by minute three.

You need a script that does not let you flinch. You need DESC.

DESC Recap (30 seconds)

DESC is from Sharon and Gordon Bower's 1991 book Asserting Yourself. Four steps, used in order, each doing one job:

| Step | What It Does | Common Mistake | |---|---|---| | Describe | Name the facts of the situation in neutral language. | Describing with adjectives ("incredible growth") instead of nouns ("three hires + one migration"). | | Express | State your feeling or view about those facts. | Hedging ("I kind of feel…" → "I feel"). | | Specify | Name the exact thing you want. One number, one date. | Specifying a range ("$170-190k") invites the low end. Specify a number. | | Consequences | State what is true if you get it, and what is true if you do not. | Turning consequences into a threat. DESC consequences are honest, not leverage. |

DESC is built for asks you cannot afford to flinch on. A raise conversation is exactly that.

The 5-Round Script

Round 1: Describe (The Facts)

You: "Thanks for making time. I wanted to use today to walk through a compensation ask.

Quick recap of the last nine months, as I see it: I led the job-queue migration, which shipped in Q1 and took about 60% of my time across two quarters. I ran point on two hiring loops that landed three hires, including Priya and Daniel. I was the on-call escalation in 11 incidents between January and now, including the March 7 outage. My title is still Senior, which matches how I was hired 19 months ago."

Notice what is not in Round 1: no "which was hard," no "I think this is a lot," no "I know you are busy." Just the facts. Adjectives go in Round 2.

Round 2: Express (Your Position)

You: "My read of that is: the scope and the impact have grown enough that the title and comp should be looked at. I have also pulled the market data — Blind and Levels.fyi both show my current base at roughly the 25th percentile for senior backend in this metro, and my scope is trending toward senior-plus, not junior-senior.

I want to be straight that I am not coming in with a competing offer. I am coming in because I think the internal math points here on its own."

The "no competing offer" clause is deliberate. If you do not have one, say so. Lying about offers blows up weeks later and poisons future asks.

Round 3: Specify (The Number)

You: "The specific ask is this: a move from $155,000 to $185,000 base, effective the next pay cycle, plus a title move to Staff at the next calibration window — which I think is in July.

The $185k reflects the 70th-percentile mark for senior backend at this scope, metro, and YOE. The Staff title reflects that my current scope — on-call ownership, migration lead, hiring loop ownership — maps to our Staff rubric in three of the four dimensions."

One number. One date. One title. No ranges, no "something in this area." The point of Specify is to give the manager a concrete thing to take to their boss.

Round 4: Consequences (Honest, Not Threatening)

You: "Two consequences I want to name, to keep this honest.

If we can move on the base in this cycle and the title in July — I am in. I am excited about the Q3 roadmap, and the migration work this past quarter genuinely was my favorite stretch of the year.

If the comp conversation does not move — I am not resigning in the room. But I am going to start testing the market, because $30k on base is not a rounding error and I would not be doing my family right if I did not. I am telling you that straight because I do not want to have this conversation again in six months with an offer in my hand that forces a reactive counter."

DESC consequences are not leverage. They are an honest accounting of the two possible futures. A threat is "give me this or I quit Friday." A consequence is "here is what happens in each branch, and I want you to be able to plan."

Round 5: Close With a Clear Next Step

You: "I know you will need to talk to Daniela and probably pull the comp band. What I would like to set up is a follow-up for next Tuesday — same slot — so we can close the loop. Does that work?"

Always propose a next step with a date. "Let me get back to you" with no date is how raise conversations die.

Common Reactions and How to Respond

| Manager Says | You Say | |---|---| | "I need to talk to HR / compensation team." | "Of course. I have the market data pulled and the scope summary written up — I can ping it to you in the next ten minutes so the conversation with Daniela has the specifics." | | "We just did the annual raise cycle in September." | "I hear that. The September adjustment was 4% and was the standard cycle. What I am asking for is a scope-based adjustment, which is a different conversation. I have seen the comp bands move mid-cycle for scope changes — is that still true?" | | "$185k is above our band for senior." | "That is useful to know, and it is actually part of the ask. The scope I just walked through is not senior scope — it is senior-plus moving toward staff. The base ask is at the bottom of the staff band. That is the connection between the two asks: base + title together." | | "The budget is frozen this quarter." | "I hear you. Two questions: Is the freeze going to lift Q3, and is there a one-time adjustment mechanism for off-cycle scope moves? I would rather plan around the answer than assume." | | Goes quiet. | Wait. Do not backpedal. Silence after DESC Round 3 usually means the manager is calculating whether they can make this happen, not whether to say no. | | "Give me a week to think about it." | "That works. Let's put a follow-up on the calendar for Tuesday the 29th. If you need more time then, we can extend — but I want the date on both our calendars." |

Why DESC Beats "I Was Hoping We Could Talk About Comp"

| Opening Line | How It Lands | Manager's First Move | |---|---|---| | "I was hoping we could talk about…" | Tentative. Invites deferral. | "Great, let's schedule that next week" — and it never happens. | | "I need a raise." | Demand without basis. | Defensive. Conversation becomes about tone. | | "What do you think about my performance?" | Fishing. Hands the frame to the manager. | Generic praise, no money. | | DESC (Describe + Express + Specify + Consequences) | Structured case + specific ask + honest footing. | Manager moves to action: "Let me talk to Daniela and come back Tuesday." |

DESC makes the conversation short, which is the mercy. Ninety seconds of Describe + Express, then one clear Specify, then a Consequences paragraph that honors both possible futures. You do not need to be in the room for 45 minutes.

Try It With Your Specific Scope

The script above is for a senior backend engineer asking for a move to Staff. Your version might be an account executive asking for a quota adjustment and OTE move, a product manager asking for an upgrade from Senior to Group, or a designer moving from individual contributor to a design lead role.

Each version has different numbers, different comparables, and different manager objections. The DESC structure is the same, but the Describe paragraph is yours — and Round 4's Consequences are the hardest to write because the honest version is the one that works.

ConvoPrep generates a DESC raise script from your role, achievements, market data, and relationship with your manager in under a minute. Then it lets you practice Round 4 — the scariest round — with an AI that plays your specific manager, including the budget-freeze objection and the "I need to talk to HR" stall.

Try ConvoPrep free — convoprep.co. Walk into Tuesday at 11 am with the exact script and the practice reps.

FAQ

Is DESC pushier than other raise frameworks?

DESC is not pushier — it is clearer. Other frameworks (like a straight "make a case, name a number, handle pushback") often leave the Consequences step implicit. Making Consequences explicit is what keeps you from flinching under pressure. A clear DESC reads as confident, not pushy, because it respects the manager's time.

What if I do not have market data as clean as "Blind and Levels.fyi at the 25th percentile"?

Use what you have and be honest about the source. "Two friends at similar-stage startups in this role are at $175k base" is usable if you say exactly that. Inventing data or citing vague "industry standard" numbers backfires — managers google compensation sources and you lose the round instantly.

How far in advance should I schedule the DESC conversation?

Book it 3-5 business days out — long enough you can rehearse, short enough the manager does not dread it on their calendar for two weeks. Use the 1:1 slot if it is at least 25 minutes long. If your 1:1 is 15 minutes, request a dedicated 30-minute block: "Can we use Tuesday's slot and extend it by 15 minutes? I want to walk through a compensation ask."

What do I do if my manager says yes but the company HR process takes two months?

Get the commitment in writing the same day. A quick Slack: "Thanks for today — just confirming: $185k base effective July 1, title review calibrated in Q3. Let me know if anything in that is off." Lock the dates before the goodwill evaporates into the HR pipeline.