亲爱的安妮：现在这份工作我已经干了四年，期间经历过好几次全公司范围的裁员，我都留下来了；此外，我还经历了一次大刀阔斧的大规模合并，期间，我的顶头上司换了五任。现在我管理着数量繁多的产品品牌，对业务和客户方面相当熟悉。从我开始做这份工作起，我负责的事情在稳步增加，我还参与了战略和战术层面的重大决策。此外，我还与各位同事建立了很好的工作关系。而且我也知道，上司很欣赏我的工作。

    看起来一切都很好，不是吗？但是现在问题来了。有一件事让我想不通。一位同事去年刚开始做这份工作，他的头衔和职责与我相同，但年薪却比我高出14,000美元。这让我难以接受。我在这工作的时间比他长，更何况他是我一手带出来的。现在经济形势的确比较低迷，这些我都理解，但这真是太不公平了。我该如何说服老板，告诉他我有权拿到更高的工资，同时又不泄露我知道同事薪酬这件事？—暗流奔涌

    亲爱的“暗流奔涌”:过去几年，有很多公司都冻结了现有员工的薪资，但对新员工却并非如此（即使他们从未声张），因此你的处境无疑比你想像的要更为普遍。

    首先，被企业招聘人员称为“开放市场溢价”的额外薪资通常会支付给从企业外部招聘来的求职者。此外，担任相同职务的人在各方面都完全一致，这也是很少见的。你的同事可能拥有一些你所缺乏的资质或者经验，这可能也会导致收入的差异。

    实际上，同事拿多少钱并不重要。重要的是，你的薪酬能否获得比较大幅提高取决于你是否有足够的说服力，证明自己为什么值得加薪。

    当前的时机对你很有利。在这个时候，部门经理要开始制订2012年的预算，这正是一个要求提高薪水的好时机。如果你所在的公司正在招兵买马，那就格外适合谈涨薪问题；如若你所在的行业碰巧处于兴旺繁荣的时期，那就更是如此了。

    PayScale.com公司首席研究分析师凯蒂•巴达罗称：“在很大程度上，这依赖于你做什么工作以及你所处的行业。”这家网站对薪酬趋势进行跟踪。她说：“如果在高科技、医疗保健、能源或者工程领域工作，薪酬还是有相当高的机会获得极大提高的，而不是仅仅象征性地增加一点，弥补生活成本的上升。如果处在处境艰难的行业，比如制造业和建筑业，可能性会小一些。”

    Dear Annie: I've been at my current job for about four years, during which I've survived several rounds of company-wide layoffs, made it through a huge, disruptive merger, and reported to five different bosses. I manage multiple brands for a wide range of products, and my knowledge of our operations and our customers is immense. My responsibilities have increased steadily since I started, and I'm involved in major decisions at both the strategic and tactical levels. In addition, I've built strong relationships with everyone here and I know my boss likes my work.

    All good, right? But here's the problem. Strangely, I just found out that a colleague of mine, who has the same title and duties I have but who was hired just last year, is making $14,000 a year more than I am. This is hard to swallow, not only because I've been here longer, but because I was the one who trained this person. I understand we're in a down economy and so on, but this just doesn't seem fair. How can I convince my boss that I deserve more money, without giving away my direct knowledge of what my coworker is making? —Seething Quietly

    Dear S.Q.: Over the past couple of years, so many companies have frozen salaries for existing employees, but not for new hires (even if they never announced they were doing this), that your situation is doubtless more common than you think.

    For one thing, extra dough -- recruiters call it an "open-market premium" -- often goes to job candidates wooed from outside. What's more, it's rare even for people in the same job to be exactly alike in every way. Your colleague may have credentials or experience you don't have, which could account for some of the discrepancy in pay.

    But in practical terms, your coworker's compensation doesn't matter. What will make or break your chances of getting a substantial raise is how persuasive you can be in explaining why you are worth more than you're paid now.

    Your timing is good. This time of year, as department heads firm up their budgets for 2012, is the right moment to negotiate a pay hike. This is especially true if your company is hiring, and even more so if you happen to work in a thriving industry.

    "A lot depends on what you do and what business you do it in," says Katie Bardaro, lead research analyst at PayScale.com, a site that tracks compensation trends. "If you're in high tech, health care, energy, or any engineering field, the odds that you can get a real raise -- as opposed to just a token cost-of-living adjustment -- are actually pretty high now. If you're in a struggling industry like manufacturing or construction, the likelihood is less."