"I've asked for a raise 1-2 times per year for the last three years. I've been given most of them. Once I asked for a raise in the beginning of the year but didn't get the increase until towards the end. I know how hard I work, and I know how much money I bring in to the business. I told my supervisor that I was glad I got a raise but if the raise was given earlier in the year I could have contributed to my 401K and accrued more money, I asked them to consider how they could make up this difference to me. I know my co-workers and my supervisors will value me more if I value myself, not asking for a raise is a missed opportunity." Coreen Callister is a business development associate at IDEO in San Francisco.