Alright, I'm terrible at negotiating salaries. I really am. I usually just take what they give me, which is probably a horrible idea.
That said, a lot of you people work for corporations of varying sizes and have salaries. What is a "standard" raise for a year? 3%? 5%?
I was also terrible at negotiating. I didn't even try. Once I timidly asked for more money and they just said yes and threw a few K my way. Now I know better.
BE AN ASSHOLE. Pretend it's a board game. Now whenever a negotiation starts I go in and say I want 30 vacation days. The thing is, this only works when they need you more than you need the job, and you can get another job easily. So make sure that is the case!
There is no such thing as a "standard" raise. Some places give no raises at all.
There is no such thing as a "standard" raise. Some places give no raises at all.
Not true. In large corporations, there are often written standard raise policies. X% per year guaranteed, Y% more depending on performance, that sort of thing.
Alright, I'm terrible at negotiating salaries. I really am. I usually just take what they give me, which is probably a horrible idea.
That said, a lot of you people work for corporations of varying sizes and have salaries. What is a "standard" raise for a year? 3%? 5%?
I was also terrible at negotiating. I didn't even try. Once I timidly asked for more money and they just said yes and threw a few K my way. Now I know better.
BE AN ASSHOLE. Pretend it's a board game. Now whenever a negotiation starts I go in and say I want 30 vacation days. The thing is, this only works when they need you more than you need the job, and you can get another job easily. So make sure that is the case!
There is no such thing as a "standard" raise. Some places give no raises at all.
That seems like fair advice, and advice I've heard echoed around a bit. I'm working on building up my skill set in this particular career, since I've got less than 1 year in the QA world I don't have a lot of leverage just yet. That is coming though. That is DEFINITELY coming.
Mostly I'm just curious to know how my company stacks up versus others. Comparing actual salary numbers is fairly useless due to regional variances (working in Silicon Valley will always pay more than doing the same job in Kansas City), but I figured the percentage of salary increase annually might be a good measurement.
There is no such thing as a "standard" raise. Some places give no raises at all.
Not true. In large corporations, there are often written standard raise policies. X% per year guaranteed, Y% more depending on performance, that sort of thing.
Yes, but that's just for that particular corporation as part of their bureaucracy. There is no such thing as a standard raise across all jobs period. So if you work at a big place, they might have a standard you can find out. But what happens where I work has no relation to what happens where you work.
The real measurement is to look at how much money you get in relation to how much money the company makes. If the place is making bank, and you get a tiny raise, not so good. If the place is going down the tubes, and you get a big raise that's great, but it also might be time to leave.
My preference is to work for a company that is motivated to take care of me and my concerns. If we have to negotiate salary and it's actually something like haggling, I will take that as a definite mark against that employer. I want to work for a company where they have my back and I have theirs. I will accept other work, where I'm simply being compensated for my services, but that's not my desired circumstance.
It's actually a result of similar circumstances to what Apreche describes, but it's the opposite attitude.
This also reminds me of another aphorism I've grudgingly accepted. Sales people think that everyone is holding something back. This is because sales people are always holding something back.
Ideally, being able to work for a company where you can have open and frank discussions about your compensation (not just pay, but overall) and generally don't have to "negotiate" to feel valued would be great. However, I'm not in that position just yet. I'm slightly stuck where I'm at, although without any of the negative connotation of being stuck. I'm not unhappy, the work is vaguely interesting, and I have plenty of opportunities to excel.
From a Google Search, it looks like 2% raises year over year + x% for performance seems to be a rule of thumb. That makes me feel alright about a 2.5% raise this year, as I got around 4.5% last year from a normal annual raise, job change, and performance bonus.
At this point, I'm aiming to hit a specific salary milestone and then concentrate on getting more vacation. I've already got an extra 5 days that will pop up once I hit April 15th, which puts me up to 20 total vacation days (not including sick, personal days, holidays).
I think most regular corporations work similarly in the compensation area. If you get an offer, it will be from a certain range. Say X company has budget of 55-70k for your position. Depending on how much they like you, they'll probably offer in the 55-60k range. If you ask for more, they'll most likely give it to you if its in their range, or at least go up from the original offer. If not, no big deal, its not like they'd say "nevermind we don't want you." Doesn't hurt to ask. And I've learned (too late) that this is especially true for women. Now if its a startup or some small place, I'd think negotiation would be less "structured' than that.
As for raises, I got a bonus and the standard 3% where I work bc I had a good performance review. I also think I'm extremely lucky to be at such a company.
I think most regular corporations work similarly in the compensation area. If you get an offer, it will be from a certain range. Say X company has budget of 55-70k for your position. Depending on how much they like you, they'll probably offer in the 55-60k range. If you ask for more, they'll most likely give it to you if its in their range, or at least go up from the original offer. If not, no big deal, its not like they'd say "nevermind we don't want you." Doesn't hurt to ask. And I've learned (too late) that this is especially true for women. Now if its a startup or some small place, I'd think negotiation would be less "structured' than that.
As for raises, I got a bonus and the standard 3% where I work bc I had a good performance review. I also think I'm extremely lucky to be at such a company.
The real measurement is to look at how much money you get in relation to how much money the company makes. If the place is making bank, and you get a tiny raise, not so good. If the place is going down the tubes, and you get a big raise that's great, but it also might be time to leave.
Ayup. I'm working at a Swiss bank, and they just had an across-the-board 10% pay cut for all contractors. No negotiation. They actually didn't even tell me about it for most of a month, do to a miscommunication between HR and my manager.
Add that to the unexpected and mandatory 3 week furlough in December, and I'm making almost $15,000 less than my contract specifies I should be making.
The real measurement is to look at how much money you get in relation to how much money the company makes. If the place is making bank, and you get a tiny raise, not so good. If the place is going down the tubes, and you get a big raise that's great, but it also might be time to leave.
Ayup. I'm working at a Swiss bank, and they just had an across-the-board 10% pay cut for all contractors. No negotiation. They actually didn't even tell me about it for most of a month, do to a miscommunication between HR and my manager.
Add that to the unexpected and mandatory 3 week furlough in December, and I'm making almost $15,000 less than my contract specifies I should be making.
I actually realized that I have yet to hear of one good story from contract workers. That really, really sucks. Do you have any recourse or are you basically just gonna have to grin and bear it?
I would take a hefty pay cut to be happy with my work. Cool coworkers, doing a fun job, no corporate bullshit? I'd take it in a heartbeat.
I would as well, but many of those jobs pay below the minimum I need to live. Also, many of them require more than 40 hours of work per week. That's not going to happen.
I would take a hefty pay cut to be happy with my work. Cool coworkers, doing a fun job, no corporate bullshit? I'd take it in a heartbeat.
I would as well, but many of those jobs pay below the minimum I need to live. Also, many of them require more than 40 hours of work per week. That's not going to happen.
So... you wouldn't. You'd take a moderate pay cut as long as you could meet your expenses. You wouldn't take a pay cut down to the level of those jobs, regardless of how happy you would be with the actual work. You can't say "I would do that" and then say "Oh yeah, but no I won't" and have it make sense.
I've considered doing that before, and I've had a lot of conversations with people about taking their "dream jobs" for a lower amount of money. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, as I'm personally the type of person who is happiest changing interests every once in awhile, and keeping things fresh. So even if I find a good job I enjoy, odds are that won't last me too long.
In my professional life I'd rather compromise and do a job I can do that doesn't stress me out, gives me enough money to live and have some adventures, and is stable. It might be boring, but I'm willing to make that allowance.
@SquadronROE: Honest question: Have you ever had a job you really, truly loved?
Summer Camp Counselor. (pays below minimum wage)
This is my answer as well. But I'm coming up on my third year with the company, and the company is doing very well, so I make a little more than minimum wage, depending on the state. Included housing and food, though, so expenses are close to zero.
Edit - I just calculated it. I make between $8 and $9 per hour for the hours that I'm working. It comes out to something like 70 hours per week. Not bad for the best job I've ever had.
Comments
That said, a lot of you people work for corporations of varying sizes and have salaries. What is a "standard" raise for a year? 3%? 5%?
BE AN ASSHOLE. Pretend it's a board game. Now whenever a negotiation starts I go in and say I want 30 vacation days. The thing is, this only works when they need you more than you need the job, and you can get another job easily. So make sure that is the case!
There is no such thing as a "standard" raise. Some places give no raises at all.
Mostly I'm just curious to know how my company stacks up versus others. Comparing actual salary numbers is fairly useless due to regional variances (working in Silicon Valley will always pay more than doing the same job in Kansas City), but I figured the percentage of salary increase annually might be a good measurement.
The real measurement is to look at how much money you get in relation to how much money the company makes. If the place is making bank, and you get a tiny raise, not so good. If the place is going down the tubes, and you get a big raise that's great, but it also might be time to leave.
It's actually a result of similar circumstances to what Apreche describes, but it's the opposite attitude.
From a Google Search, it looks like 2% raises year over year + x% for performance seems to be a rule of thumb. That makes me feel alright about a 2.5% raise this year, as I got around 4.5% last year from a normal annual raise, job change, and performance bonus.
At this point, I'm aiming to hit a specific salary milestone and then concentrate on getting more vacation. I've already got an extra 5 days that will pop up once I hit April 15th, which puts me up to 20 total vacation days (not including sick, personal days, holidays).
As for raises, I got a bonus and the standard 3% where I work bc I had a good performance review. I also think I'm extremely lucky to be at such a company.
Add that to the unexpected and mandatory 3 week furlough in December, and I'm making almost $15,000 less than my contract specifies I should be making.
In my professional life I'd rather compromise and do a job I can do that doesn't stress me out, gives me enough money to live and have some adventures, and is stable. It might be boring, but I'm willing to make that allowance.
Edit - I just calculated it. I make between $8 and $9 per hour for the hours that I'm working. It comes out to something like 70 hours per week. Not bad for the best job I've ever had.
/sailing camp
http://infinityquad.com/2012/04/03/distorter-cover-changed-at-administrators-request-profanity-removed-printed-copies-discarded/
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120404/NEWS01/304040046/RIT-student-magazine-Reporter