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No, and no. I am an idiot. I only told him that I think I am 15% underpaid according to salary.com. Is my boss insulting me by doing this? I will start looking.
You said you "think" you're 15% underpaid? I'm sorry but that is not a minimum salary request.
Did you state it as "I would like a minimum of $xx,000?" Using hard numbers?
After the 3% offer was made, did you accept or decline?
My boss told me that the new GM asked him to provide her a list of "can't lose" people in the department that the company would like to keep in the next 5-10 years. Out of the 8 Engineers under him, I was one of the two people on the list. I didn't think much of it. I thought that he was BSing because he gave me a pitiful raise for my promotion and now telling me that to keep me happy.
Late yesterday I received an email from the new GM inviting me to a 3-day "core competency" meeting to evaluate our competitiveness in the market place in a lavish 5 star hotel along with the management. I looked at the invited list and I was the only non-manager person in there. Naturally I am very ecstatic to participate. I was invited over four other engineers who have been with the company much longer.
Is this a good opportunity to press for more since they "can't lose" me? My company is known for being stingy with raises and my boss may not have the ability to give me another raise immediately. My strategy is to ask him if he can make a commitment to give me about 2% higher than COLA for the next three years I would be happy.
I have been calling friends and asking if their companies are hiring. One is, for a position that doesn't exist now and I might meet my friend and his boss for lunch sometimes next month so it is tentative at best. Can I tell my boss and lie that the competition contacted me but my heart is to remain with the company and that I value the relationships I have built up here but I can't ignore the fact that I am under paid in the market. I want to be stable but my career is important and I want to do what is the best for me and my family. This has caused me a great deal of stress and I rather focus on my work.
Last edited by jimmybirdie; 01-11-2014 at 11:00 AM..
One of my career mentors gave me some good advice. Is the money enough to be a "life changing" difference? If you are happy with everything else with a job, don't leave. A 2k increase may not mean much, if you are happy with everything else. A 10k increase from $40k to $50k would be life changing.
You also have to consider the cost of leaving. If you get a 5% 401k match and leave for a new company for a 2% raise, you may lose 3% from overall compensation. Many companies have no matching contributions for at least a year. Smaller companies have more expensive health insurance benefits, that could cost another 1-2%. You may not be eligible for the employee stock purchase plan for another year. That's another 1-2% loss.
If you jump ship, you need to shoot for at least 10%. If you get a sign on bonus, it will alleviate any loss in benefits in the first year.
How many years experience do you have? I would consider leaving as well.
Well they gained some experience in negotiation for a pay increase. HR is never looking out for the employee, but the employer (that is their job), so the only person in the room with the employee's interest in mind is the employee.
Can I tell my boss and lie that the competition contacted me but my heart is to remain with the company
NO!
Concentrate on the positive: the offsite meeting. It is a very good opportunity.
You want more money, then work at it.
Join the local engineering society and network.
Write a whitepaper for a technical journal.
Make yourself visible in the greater world and you will be recruited.
I met with my boss today for the annual review. After the review he asked if I have any comment. I thanked him for the promotion but then started to complain about the 3% raise. I told him that I want a better raise because I am the most productive employee in the group and I know my peers in the same industry is making 15% to 20% more than I do. I asked him "why do I have to leave to get a competitive pay? and Why can't the company and I make a compromise to a point we both can be happy?" He listened and then asked me, "what is a good compromise for you?" I blurted out something like I feel that another 7% to make it an even 10% would make me forget about this salary issue and completely focus on my work. And this 7% is on top of the COLA that is coming. He said "OK, let me talk to HR". I don't know if HR will approve it or not but I felt like a ton of weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
No, and no. I am an idiot. I only told him that I think I am 15% underpaid according to salary.com. Is my boss insulting me by doing this? I will start looking.
Hmm… I could see why this fell on flat ears.
I could look up many types of product managers or project managers on salary.com and come up with a pretty wide varied range of salaries. I think glassdoor provides a little bit better insight since you can usually compare against your own company (if large enough), similar companies in your area with similar jobs.
But even then, I don't rely on those portals either - I tend to gauge my "value" in this market through a few sources, my business school's alumni career center for ranges reported by students, peers, my professional organizations, etc.
I also tend to educate myself closely on what is typical for promotions (my company has a pretty standard, if promoted and your current salary is above the minimum for the next level then you get a 5% salary change minimum - very rare for more than that - with a bump in bonus percentage typically. My company also posts the salary bands and grades so I am always aware that if I really want job XYZ then I know realistically I am already over the midpoint and I will only get XYZ.
If you are using only salary.com I could see why your manager pulled your bluff-- if you are that underpaid, then go get a new job and get what the market should bear for you.
Your idea of 15% may just not be accurate for your company, your responsibilities (titles can be so sketchy within even the same company - aka a systems analyst in one company or department can just functionally be updating systems docs whereas in another group that SA may be doing actually development work). Or- based on the total compensation then it may not truly compare. In the case of my company, base salaries are usually much lower than the market average, but our total comp tends to be higher than the market rate (bonuses, performance awards, etc).
And if you are truly worth the extra 15% and your company is just cheap, then go out and test the market's waters and move on.
Hopefully your talk with him will lead to a good result. If not, the only way to really figure out if you are underpaid is to find another job that will pay you more.
It is easy to find a website and declare you are underpaid. But the proof is in the pudding. Are there other jobs out there that would pay you more. If not, you are probably not underpaid.
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Are you insane?
