Is it possible to get a 20% salary increase? If so how should I go about it.I entered this position under market value, and have surpassed every goal they have approached me with so I feel I deserve to be at least at market value. But how do I ask for it?

 

can try to see if you can go to payscale.com....see if they match the high or median of your salary range for your occupation...i think monster has something like that too...

 

Pucker up and bend over.


I would do a formal 'raise' increase in a writing. Why you think you deserve the raise. List your accomplishments and your future goals.
Get an idea of what the salary range is within your area/position.

 

"Possible", sure. Likely... humm...

The last few years I have seen 4% to 6% be the average, or you get 0. Bad times all around. But this year things are looking better. In our case there is always a discretionary budget to "adjust" salaries that are well bellow the market value. The problem is who measures the market value and how.

I can only tell you based on my experience as a manager : When you do your review, which I will suspect is a good one for what you say, I would say something like how much you enjoy the work and the great times you are having working with them BUT that you feel they do not appreciate your value since you find you are paid well bellow the market value of your work.

This will setup a flag called "retention". How likely is this employee to look elsewhere for work. This is one of those triggers that tells managers maybe they should do something "special" to make sure you stay commited. They might respond with stock options, or money, who knows, it depends on the company and resources they have.

But know this : for a long time any raise greater than 15% is usually related to a job change, inside the same company or outside. While you stay you might see a huge 10, or even 12%, but it would be surprising to see anything larger than that.

All that I have said remember I don't know your company, who you work for, resources or the intelligence of your managers. I am just passing on my own experience in several large corporations.

 

Yes it is very possible all you have to do is just get ANOTHER JOB!!!

 

I am not sure if your salary is under the market by 15% and if you asking if the company will first match yours to the market then give you a 5% raise... then sure, that maybe very possible.

Why is your pay under market to start with? Does your firm provide performance reviews/ evaluations? Like someone has already mentiond, spell out all that you have achieved. Give it to your boss or whoever does your evaluation and hope for the best. If they do not give you what you think you deserve, ask why? There maybe things that you may have overlooked that others were expecting out of you. Who knows. Or maybe its time to start looking for a new place to work.

 

I highly doubt you will get a 20% increase. It all depends on your position, too. If you are in charge of projects, or LARGE amounts of money (1 mil +), came in well under budget, etc. Why would they give you that large of a raise unless you made them some serious money? For example, I work for, arguably, the best marina engineering firm in the world. I am a new hire (just passed one year), but in every way, shape, and form I have made the company more money than anyone in its history (over 6 times what they pay me) and I got the highest raise in the company (7%). I don't bicker...b/c its not only about the money. I can come in as late or leave as early as I want to. I get to wear sandals to the office. While I still don't make the average salary the office situation makes up for it. I love my job.

 

Bonuses of 20% or more are not unheard of. That's not unlike having a salary that is 20% higher

 

Your boss should be battling this for you! I just gave one of my guys a 26% increase but it was a huge battle and I had some pretty heated discussions with my senior management.

I let them know a year in advance it was coming. I then had to do a market study showing current market value. I submitted the market analysis with his review requesting a 26% raise for him. (6% merit and 20% market). He's still a bit below market but trust me, he was extremely happy. The guy works his a$$ off, never complains and probably would have been okay with just the 6%.

Good luck with it but trust me it's a huge under taking and you really should have someone with a little clout going to bat for you to have any hopes of getting an increase that size no matter what the market value is.

I pissed off quite a few people pushing it through and actually had to state that "I refuse to compromise" before they finally signed it. I submit reviews well in advance and he got his 2 months late.

 

imho, the only way to get something that significant is to jump to another company...

 

Sad but true....

You should weigh the value of the company though. It's a fine line. If job security is important and you're with a solid company it makes the decission to jump that much more difficult.

 

Your Fired!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOl JK

 

If the company is public owned (stock available), look into the quarterly reports to determine how the company is doing financially, too. That way management cannot play the "the company doesn't have the budget a raise of what you're asking" card (provided the outlook is good).

I, too, have an annual review that I get to ask for market value on my salary. I already know it will not be fun.

Good luck in your venture.

 

Unfortunately, this is the truth.

 

I would jump to another company. I have only increased my pay through moving to another oppurtunity. By all means submit a request but don't be disappointed if its not what your expecting. If your that good at your job then put your resume on Monster and let the free market deciede what your worth. It's always easier to look for a job when you already have one. It won't hurt to see what other companies are offereing.

Believe me I have gone through 3 companies in 3 years. Luckly as an IT person and contracts it doesn't look that bad. But it was the only way to move up. And you can't be afraid of traveling.....Thats how I got here!

Ruben

 

I dont believe that anyone asked this: Post your exeperience on this issue when it's over, please!

I'd really like to know how other companies handle such requests.

 

vq35carel,

Let me give u some good advice. Start looking for a new job. Thats the way to give yourself a raise.

Btw, what career field are you in? I have worked in 4 jobs (IT) in 5.5 years. I just started my new job last week and consider doing the same in a year or so.

If you are in the IT field, it seems like the market is picking up. I had numerous offers to do contract work, but since the baby is on the way, I will just wait a year or so. Hopefully, the economy is still peaking by then.

Tony

 

sometimes you can get it by simply showing a job offer from a different company that matches this price if they want to keep you they will then match

 

Since no one spoke on this recently, and I had to go through the whole ordeal earlier this week...

Here's my experience at my current employer:

Went through a very difficult annual review process and had a lot of help from my HR Supervisor with negotiating a better pay increase than what my chief engineer was willing to give.

I got a 10% pay increase vs. a 3-4% pay increase that (I suspect) my chief engineer wanted to give.

 

I got a new position within my IT company with new roles and responsiblites. I was a contractor to hire starting at $X dollars. When I converted to full time I was given an substantial raise to $X + $11K. And thats an Systems Admin I. From there I started picking up alot of other skills e.g. networking and server virtualization which would've put me at a Sys Admin II level. I hit up my manager for a raise but he said that I just got $11K about 6 months ago and I would have to wait until next quarter for this...I know I am getting screwed but its the experience that counts.

So I am waiting for another year or year and a half to get more solid experience under my belt so I can be more valuable outside my current business. Yes, i realize that you really have to move to make a 25% increase in your current position. This is not at all what generally what happens, this is just my situation. It doesnt help that my manager doesnt have the backbone to stick up for his employees.