Is it a good idea to negotiate a raise/merit increase?

Submitted by kittypwitty t3_10qdqng in personalfinance

I am going on 8 months at my first job post grad. I am a fast learner and even though I tried to pace myself, my supervisor started to put a lot of responsibility on me quicker than many of my colleagues who are also new.

It is a known thing that in April my employer does evaluations and merit increases/bonuses. Even though I know this, I was expecting a holiday bonus. I never got one (nobody else got one that I know of). I was a little bummed out but now I am expecting a pretty decent salary increase and bonus in April. I currently make 65,000 and honestly I am expecting to get closer 75,000 in April. I think part of the reason I am feeling antsy is because I know that if I left my job after a year I could reasonably make 10-15k more at a new company. I know that job hopping can give you quick salary increases especially early in your career.

I am comfortable with my current income, but I do feel as though I am owed an increase based on the amount of responsibility I am given. I travel every month to work with our most important client. Sometimes my monthly travel expenses are more than my monthly income. I think about my salary sometimes and it seems a little low to me based on the work I do for this client, especially since my employer takes this client extremely seriously.

When April rolls around, would it be reasonable for me to ask for a larger raise if they give me less than 75,000?

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Pyroburner t1_j6pewmx wrote

In my experience job hopping is the best way to get a raise.

On average studies show people typically get a 3-4% raise. This isnt a rule but it's generally accepted for the standard yearly raise.

Companies treat employees like cellphone providers treat customers. They are unlikely to try and keep you but they will do anything to get someone new. Even with employers struggling to hire.

I've worked with several companies who seem to accept people will start here to gain experience, leave and return on a few years to double their salary. People who stick it out tend to make significantly less.

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GreenEggPage t1_j6pf039 wrote

Yes. It is in your best interest to negotiate. Be prepared to justify why you are worth a 15% raise. If they refuse, then jump ship if you can find a better offer. If they offer you a raise after you give notice, decline it - they had their chance.

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Jwing01 t1_j6pi9o5 wrote

Replying to Pyroburner (#1,691,002)

3% is an average value amount, but disproportionately more of those are at or below 3% with fewer of them substantially over, shifting the average. The median experience is under 2%.

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Jwing01 t1_j6pj2fj wrote

You won't get this kind of jump in most fields in year 1. It's not just performance, but sustained performance over time on key business results, that gets you the biggest raises in place.

In my field, they don't like hearing it, but most 1st year "rock stars" did great but aren't generally on critical business needs. This doesn't mean they didn't deliver value.

Expect 5% as a top performer. If you think that's unfair, try switching jobs, but depth generally beats breadth in the first 5 years in a technical field.

At 35, I have doubled my salary in the past 4 years alone from what it was 4 years ago, but the other first 8 or so years I went up about 30% total.

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