All of these answers are right and wrong. It depends on the company and how things are structured. I manage about 90 people in an environment where the main lever for compensation upgrade is promotion. About 5-10% can get promoted in a given year. IMO, 30% deserve more. You may be a superstar, but go unrecognized (in dollar form) because I have a position in a different title series or tied to a project.

You need to have a clue about how decisions are made and where discretion lies. In some places, you’ll be assigned numerical ratings and HR pukes out a number. In other cases, a manager/director has discretion, in others you get a 2% raise for breathing for another year.

In all scenarios, you need to be able to confidently talk about the value you bring today and tomorrow. The hardest part is knowing who to tell the story too.