> companies will pay more to hire someone than they will to retain
It's painfully true very often.
I worked on a team where I was one of the most proactive people on the team and was one of the top performers (well, at least IMO).
I joined the company with an already relatively low salary because in the middle of covid shutdowns, the the startup I worked for didn't look stable enough, so I joined the bigger company even if their offer was the same as my previous salary.
After almost two years later, I asked what can I do and what's the process for salary increase, they told me that "sure, we can raise your salary"...
BUT:
* the company only raises salaries once a year, and that comes next year April, so I'll have to wait 7 months
* usual increase is 5%, if I'm very lucky, I might get 10%
* this increase is not given every year, so if I get it this time, I'll have to wait two more years for my next 5-10% raise
* I'll have to go through a long evaluation process with HR, which means lots of extra meetings spent begging and explaining that I'm actually pretty good
They think this is all acceptable while I had multiple offers with very little negotiation, all offering me 20%+ increase.
In the end, I got a 50% increase and on top of that a significant amount of stock options from a company that really has a potential to grow and go public.
Yeah this x10 . The unfortunate reality of staying at one company is that unless you move through the ranks very very very quickly, and the company has significant raises for those vertical moves, you will very likely be underpaid, sometimes by incredible amounts. And it doesn't even take very long for that salary sacrifice to come in. Considering benefits, pension plan, etc, I'm making about 65% of what I could be making at another company, and I've only been there for a couple years. And it's not clear that the work life balance would be all that different either.
Unless your current house is on fire, ALWAYS negotiate super high.
NEVER give out current salary info, wait for the end of the interviews.
When you pass all of them, ask for a double digit raise over your current salary. Early you are in your career, the first digit should be at worst 2 and ideally 4-5.
Once you pass all the interviews, your market value for the new company skyrockets. You're no longer a potential candidate, just a CV, you're actually someone who made it through the interviews.
Most companies will not turn you down, just make you the highest offer they can, and then you decide if it's good enough.
* * *
I've been exactly in your position in 2008, but I was stuck for about 18 months at the start. I missed the first raise round because I was too new, then they froze salary raises. And then I had to constantly pressure them to get what I should have gotten 3 years earlier (by the time my salary reached a level somewhat equivalent to what I had realized my market value was).
It's painfully true very often.
I worked on a team where I was one of the most proactive people on the team and was one of the top performers (well, at least IMO).
I joined the company with an already relatively low salary because in the middle of covid shutdowns, the the startup I worked for didn't look stable enough, so I joined the bigger company even if their offer was the same as my previous salary.
After almost two years later, I asked what can I do and what's the process for salary increase, they told me that "sure, we can raise your salary"...
BUT:
* the company only raises salaries once a year, and that comes next year April, so I'll have to wait 7 months
* usual increase is 5%, if I'm very lucky, I might get 10%
* this increase is not given every year, so if I get it this time, I'll have to wait two more years for my next 5-10% raise
* I'll have to go through a long evaluation process with HR, which means lots of extra meetings spent begging and explaining that I'm actually pretty good
They think this is all acceptable while I had multiple offers with very little negotiation, all offering me 20%+ increase.
In the end, I got a 50% increase and on top of that a significant amount of stock options from a company that really has a potential to grow and go public.
Yeah, I can't be a lifer with those conditions.