Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with salary and promotion

Best way to negotiate a large raise?

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:23:37 -0800

How can I smartly/safely negotiate a substantial promotion and raise? I signed onto my current position at a salary in the mid-50s. I definitely undersold myself, but I came from a technical position in a non-technical field and didn't have a very high base to negotiate from. After some staff turnover in the last year, I've informally taken on a much more senior position running the team I was hired into.

Now I would like to renegotiate and make that position official. I spoke with several past employees who held this senior position and their salaries were $40k to $60k higher than what I am making. I've got the chops to be in that range: 8 years of experience, some fairly significant contributions to this company, and a hell of a lot of hours spent in the office. But I am worried that they'll balk at such a sudden increase, even if it's part of a promotion.

Any strategies or advice? Is it wiser to start high and negotiate down, or should I be wary of asking for too much initially and sounding like I'm just fishing?

Should I ask for more money after a raise?

Anonymous — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 08:19:01 -0800

After being promoted and receiving a decent raise I've been tasked with hiring my replacement. My new position is managerial so this new employee will report directly to me. While working with the recruiter I just found out that the position has a maximum salary that is larger than my current one. How do I talk to my boss about this without sounding ungrateful? First, a bit of background. I've been at the company for less than a year but made enough of an impression that they promoted me. I was making a competitive salary when I started and my raise was decent but not spectacular. I'm looking to hire someone to replace my old position. That new person along with some other people will report directly into me.

I found out today that the maximum salary available for my old position is actually more than I make now - with my new raise. Obviously, that salary is only a maximum amount alloted for the role and is by no means a guarantee. However, that makes me feel a bit odd that the person working directly under me could make more money than I do.

It seems like there are several options on the table:

1. Do nothing about it. Be grateful for my promotion and my salary.

2. Wait to see who gets hired and what their salary requirements are. It's possible that the new employee will demand less money thus nullifying my concern. If they do make more money then and only then do I talk to my boss.

3. Talk to my boss about it right now. I don't want to sound petty but I also feel the need to stand up for myself a bit. To be clear, my boss is very approachable.

So that's the situation. I am not looking to be greedy and don't want to appear ungrateful for the promotion and raise. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to handle this? All comments are much appreciated.

Should I be happy with a partial salary increase?

aftermarketradio — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:41:29 -0800

How should I deal with being given a raise, but not given the agreed upon amount? Last week my boss brought me into his office and gave me a promotion with a higher salary.

This week, my paycheck does not reflect the salary he agreed to give me. It is certainly considerably more than what I was making before, and I appreciate the valuation, but it is a bit shy of the amount my boss said he would give.

As I said, I am very appreciative of his offer, and part of me just wants to forget about it and be happy with what I have. But the other part wonders where the discrepancy came from. Was there an accounting error; did he back off a bit after looking at the budget with more scrutiny; did he misspeak during our meeting? What happened?

How should I confront him about this without sounding too, uh, confrontational? Or, should I just shut up and be happy -- which I am -- and which I would have certainly been if he had initially offered me what my current paycheck indicates.

Do I deserve a raise?

Anthony84 — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:42:24 -0800

Do I deserve a raise and what should I be asking for? Are there any resources other than salary.com type places that can help me with this decision? I know this is asked all the time but each situation seems different. Before I say anything else, I LOVE MetaFilter, this community is awesome.

Anyway, pardon the complete lack of knowledge on this topic (and my lack of clarity in asking my question), but I know very little on this subject and I want to learn as much as possible. After all, this is the first time I've been put into this type of position. In general I ask, what should I do about my salary and position given my situation?

Here's what detail I can give: I started my job a couple of years ago out of college and within a year of starting, I went from trainee to trainer due to some shifting of positions at work. I've done an exemplary job by all accounts in my current position, and I've taken on a number of additional responsibilities without additional compensation (besides merit increases). To me, that alone would warrant some kind of increase in pay or a promotion (am I right?). However, neither has happened in the last 2 years even though I've been slaving away nonstop.

To be more specific, I was hired on in California to do software testing and a little bit of development for a company. I now find myself developing and testing 50/50 or perhaps even 60/40, and training new people to assist in my work. Because my job is a mix of different things, it's hard to know whether I should be paid more like a tester or more like a developer. Also, while I don't officially manage anyone, I think I deserve some credit for the work I've done with new hires in guiding them along their way. After all, I'm taking work off of the boss's hands by doing so.

Anyway, it's obvious that I feel like I'm doing more than I'm getting paid for. But, being that I have been on the job for 2 years, would it be considered premature to be asking for a promotion or a raise? If I do ask for something, what should I ask for? Something higher than what I expect to get, or something lower? I don't want to give the wrong impression to my employer because other than the pay, I enjoy my job. Furthermore, I don't want to embarrass myself by going into this knowing nothing of what I can reasonably do about this.

What salary would be expected for a person in my position in California? How little is too little for what I do? Are there any good resources out there for this? I know, too many questions! Thank you for any guidance you can give me.

In need of a raise

tomorama — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 09:26:08 -0800

It has become apparent that a friend is extremely past due for a raise. Given the circumstances, what is the best method of approach? A friend's colleague has been promoted into an equivalent position of said friend, but given significantly more money. Said friend also has subordinates with higher salaries. This person has been with the company longer than these colleagues, has more experience, and is continually praised as an excellent employee (and given excellent reviews).

This person works in a field that traditionally pays poorly, and is staffed by those who consider their jobs a higher calling for the benefit of mankind. The company is rather large, with hundreds of employees and multiple locations throughout the area.