Review coming up, need help negotiating salary

TwoQuestions

I've been working at this place as a web developer for just shy of a year now, and I'm up for review in October. Everyone here says that I'm great at what I do and they like working with me, but I'm super gullible so I'm not sure if they're leading me on.

Either way, I'd like to be paid what I'm worth, but I have no idea how to find that out, how much to ask for without pissing my boss off, etc.

Anyone know where I could go to prepare for this negotiation? I like my job, but I took the first salary offer because I was desperate for a job at the time, so it's entirely possible I'm getting taken advantage of.

MichaelLC

Glassdoor.com, or other salary site. Look up closest position to yours, and see how it compares. Start gathering emails or other reference material that talks about what a great job you did.

And having done all that, your boss will put you in whatever salary band s/he's been given approval for. Usually it's a bell curve, with very few/no outliers on either end. If you've done your background and doing a good job, it's possible to be pushed into a higher bracket.

Usagi

Depending on the success of your company in the past year or two, I wouldn't go in asking for or expecting anything more than 4-8% increase in your present salary. If it hasn't been a good few years, as is quite common among companies right now, you may just get cost of living (1-2%) or not get anything at all.

taliosfalcon

performance review raises generally suck, if you want more money you're much better off working there till you hit your year, then starting to apply for other jobs. Funnily enough most companies will have no qualm giving an applicant they like an extra 10K a year if they ask for it when hiring, but if you're hired without it you need to work your way to it over many years.

TwoQuestions

taliosfalcon wrote:

performance review raises generally suck, if you want more money you're much better off working there till you hit your year, then starting to apply for other jobs. Funnily enough most companies will have no qualm giving an applicant they like an extra 10K a year if they ask for it when hiring, but if you're hired without it you need to work your way to it over many years.

That's what I'm afraid of, because I like it here. The people are great, and the projects are interesting.

When I was hired, I had all of half a year of an internship to my name other than my degree, so I really wasn't worth much then TBH. Now I've more experience with different things, and more general work experience. I'd hate to have to jump ship to get a raise.

hoppy44

Hey there

Your best friend is going to be market information. Glassdoor, PayScale, and Salary.com can all show you what you are worth for someone with your experience and where you live. It also doesn't hurt to go on another interview or two now, just to test the waters, see what skills are in demand, and see what the offer range is.

Set some time aside to talk about goals with your boss, in preparation for your October review. Go in there with industry rates, and ask in an open-ended way what he can do about it. The way he answers will tell you a lot. If you're interested, I have a lot more info in a book I wrote, but I know it's not cool to promote such things in comments. But above all else, don't be afraid to ask. 80% of people said they were going to look for new jobs this year, and if you ARE truly valued, they will try to keep you. It's a much bigger pain in the ass to find someone new.

Best of luck.

ceres edit: Before that email address this is a decent post, so we'll just get that out of there.

JihadJesus

Also, be aware: the current economy is a golden opportunity for employers to say "Yeah, we realize you're massively underpaid. But tought times, global corporate freeze on annual salary increases, etc etc". My last two reviews my supervisor has flat out told me I was underpaid and requested a substantial pay increase, which was approved by our agency's executive director. Both times corporate shot it down under a pay freeze to make their books look better.

My position is grant funded. Last year we returned or modified about $20k in staffing money. So yeah. Deserving a pay increase is not the same as getting one.

Serpent

Manager Tools has a series of podcasts on how to prepare for your annual review. They recommend getting started 3 months before the review.

Preparing for your review
Annual Reviews and Compensation

Keep in mind, using what the market says you're worth is not an incredibly strong negotiating tactic. What are you going to do, quit if they don't give you market rates?!?

TwoQuestions

Thanks a lot guys! I was just concerned about being taken advantage of, and you guys's advice soothed my fears of that. I've always been terrible at negotiating/haggling anything, much less my job.

@JihadJesus, we have a grand total of 19 people here or so, 20 if you count our intern. One of the reasons I like where I work, our CEO knows everyone yet still maintains professional distance. That balance is difficult to find.

MichaelLC

You're only being taken advantage of if you think you are.

Or, how much is being in a place you seem to enjoy worth? That's something only you can answer.