AI's Honest Review of The Raise Readiness Toolkit.
We Asked Google's AI to Honestly Review the Raise Readiness Toolkit. Here's What It Found.
What happens when you point an unbiased AI at your own product and ask it to be brutally honest? We found out.
Look, I could write you another sales page. But you've probably seen enough of those.
So instead, I did something different. I fed the entire Raise Readiness Toolkit into NotebookLM (Google's AI research tool) and gave it one simple instruction:
"Create an honest review. Not just what's good about it—but where it's lacking, who it's NOT for, and when it will absolutely fail."
What came back was... uncomfortably accurate.
Here's the full breakdown.
What AI Says the Toolkit Does Well
1. It Forces Measurability
The review zeroed in on the One-Page Evidence Memo as the real strength. Why? Because it prevents ambiguity.
Here's the insight: Managers don't reject value. They reject vagueness.
When you walk in saying "I work really hard and I think I deserve more," your manager has nothing to work with. They can't take that to HR. They can't forward it to their boss. It dies in the room.
The Evidence Memo forces you to use quantifiable outcomes, stakeholder feedback, and actual project successes. You're basically handing your manager a document they can forward up the chain without modification.
2. It Gives You a Defensible Number
The Impact-to-Income Calculator got called out as something that translates "abstract things like hours saved or errors reduced into a real dollar value."
This matters because most people either:
Ask for too little (leaving money on the table)
Pull a number out of thin air (and can't defend it)
When you walk in with a math equation showing your actual contribution in dollars, the whole dynamic shifts. You're not begging. You're presenting data.
3. It Tackles the Emotional Side
The AI specifically noted the 14-Day Sprint Plan works because it "takes the procrastination and overthinking out of the prep work."
But here's where it got interesting. I was skeptical about including confidence exercises in a toolkit. Felt like filler.
The review pushed back hard:
"If you have all the data but you just crumble in the meeting, then the whole toolkit fails."
The point isn't that breathing exercises are magic. It's that the plan paces everything so you're practicing calming techniques right when anxiety would be highest—not as an afterthought.
Where AI Says the Toolkit Falls Short
This is where the review got uncomfortable.
The Government/Union Problem
If you work in a system where managers have literally zero latitude on base pay, the toolkit's main strategy has to pivot completely.
You can't ask for a salary raise. Instead, you have to shift the focus to non-salary bonuses, title changes, or reclassifications.
The data collection is still useful. But the "ask" changes entirely.
If you're in government, union, or heavily bureaucratic organizations: This toolkit gives you the tools to build your case, but you'll need to get creative about what you're asking for.
The Backfire Risk
The review identified the Backfire Risk Assessment as potentially the most valuable part of the whole toolkit—and also the harshest.
The emergency pre-check asks: When does asking for a raise become career suicide?
The honest answer: If you're on a Performance Improvement Plan, have a formal warning, or are in an unstable situation... the toolkit tells you to STOP.
Not "here's how to ask anyway." Just stop.
Who This Toolkit Is NOT For
Based on the AI review, here's the straight answer:
Don't buy this if:
You're on a PIP or performance warning
Your workplace is actively toxic or unstable
You've been at your job less than 6 months
You're about to be laid off (and you know it)
Your manager has explicitly said raises aren't possible this year
In these situations, the toolkit becomes something different: exit ramp preparation.
All that data you collected? It becomes incredible ammunition for your next job interview. But trying to negotiate a raise in these conditions will likely backfire.
The Unexpected Bottom Line
Here's what surprised me most about the AI's conclusion:
"The biggest value might just be the clarity you get from gathering all that data, no matter what the outcome is."
Think about that for a second.
Even if you go through the entire process and get a hard "no" on the raise, you've now:
Documented your exact value in quantifiable terms
Clarified whether there's a growth path at this company
Built a ready-made portfolio for your next interview
Made an informed decision about whether to stay or go
That clarity—knowing whether you're valued here or whether it's time to move on—is actually priceless.
Whether you get the raise or not, you stop guessing and start knowing.
The Honest Verdict
The Raise Readiness Toolkit works best when you have:
Stable performance (not on a PIP)
A reasonable workplace environment
At least 6-12 months at your current role
Some form of documented contributions
It won't magically fix toxic workplaces. It won't override rigid bureaucratic systems. And it definitely won't help if you're already on your way out.
But if you're in a position where asking is reasonable—and you just don't know how—this is the fastest path from "I think I deserve more" to "Here's exactly why you should pay me more."
