272| Recognizing Your Company's Raise Cycle Without Asking HR

Future Female Leaders · Sep 23, 2026 · 4m

Building on yesterday's episode on budget cycles, Nichole shares quieter ways to figure out your company's timing without asking HR directly.

In this episode:

Why asking HR directly about raise timing can feel intimidating or premature

Checking your own pay stub history for signs of a past automatic merit cycle

Watching for patterns around you, like coworkers mentioning reviews or a rise in scheduled one-on-ones

Checking your employee handbook or onboarding materials for a written review cycle

Finding your company's fiscal year as a lower-stakes way to infer compensation timing

Asking a…