It can happen to every person in life that he or she works for a long time in the same company and copes with the duties perfectly, but the salary does not change.
What to do, how to ask for a salary increase for a programmer, if he or she suddenly found out that a new employee with a similar position receives more? The job search site Login Casino Work studied the experiences of those who went through such an ordeal, collected the best tips, and tells how:
And also what to do if it was not possible to get a salary increase from the current employer.
The optimal value of an employee is considered to be the maximum amount you can get that passes the employer's "laugh test." What is the point of this test? Imagine that you went to your boss and asked them to give you a bonus or raise your salary. If your boss laughs in your face after the stated amount, then you have asked for too much. The announced amount should not be taken "from the ceiling", before contacting the employer, to conduct market research. One way to calculate your "market value" is to take the several tests you see below. They will help you find out what your average salary is based on your demographics. Just enter your data and get the result. Compare indicators from several calculators. We recommend using:
In the future, imagine the situation where you managed to get a promotion. Add one step to your current status, add a few years of experience and take the test again. For example, if you are currently a Middle Engineer, select Senior Engineer. Compare the obtained results, and analyze how different the salaries of one and another specialist are.
Another good way to study the market is to look at open positions for programmers on various job search sites. In addition to having information with the order of numbers, you can also find out which industry pays more and which one pays less, and what the employer's expectations are for the employee. Now adjust your expectations depending on the industry you work in.
In large companies, as a rule, the annual indexation of employee salaries is carried out. This means that the financial cycle of the company is tied to the cost of living. You will not gain anything from such a review, since the allowance received in this case is caused by inflation and will not bring you additional profit in the end. So, the programmer should expect another salary increase at the same time as all other employees. To get a real promotion, you need to contact the management several weeks before the indexation. This term is about 4-7 weeks. Why at this time? So it will be easier for the company's management to include your allowance in the budget for the next year. This is easier than making changes to a financial document already approved by the company.
Asking for a raise more often than once every two years is considered a bad tone, an employee's inability to think strategically. Therefore, before making such a request to the manager, think carefully about what allowance you will be talking about.
If you are choosing between changing your job and asking for a promotion, you should first voice your expectations to your manager. In most cases, managers have no idea that you are not satisfied with something. Sometimes it is enough just to politely ask for a real, considered amount. Sometimes it seems that finding a job with a higher salary is easier, but in reality, everything turns out to be much more difficult. Don't be afraid to speak out loud about your desires.
If the market has already been studied, it is clear what amount of bonus you would like to receive, let's move on to the question of how best to ask for a raise. You can contact the manager in person or via e-mail. Correspondence by e-mail belongs to informal communication, so it will be correct to print out your e-mail before meeting with management. First, it will be registered in the personnel department, and secondly, you don't save yourself from the fear of being rejected.
What to write? You should address your request to your immediate supervisor and the HR department at the same time. The very body of the letter should contain a polite request, necessarily an argument for a salary increase - why, in your opinion, you deserve more. Indicate in the letter:
At the end of the letter, you should ask for a personal meeting, put a signature and date.
You could somehow find out about the salary of one of your colleagues with an equivalent position. It is better not to mention the colleague because in many companies the salary of employees is a trade secret. You should not refer to someone else's profit, arguing for your allowance. This is at least unethical.
So, the letter has been read, the manager has called you to a meeting to discuss the bonus. How to behave?
First of all, print the sent letter. It is clear that you can be nervous before a personal meeting, this is normal and characteristic of many people. Therefore, reread what has been written several times, and practice speaking arguments in favor of the need for a salary increase out loud.
Be calm, and confident. Remember that, most likely, you will have to continue working with this person in the future.
Before asking for a promotion, you need to seriously work on your skills, and make your value more visible. We suggest considering the following options:
These are just two examples of how to become more visible to management and add arguments to justify your promotion. There may be more methods, perhaps the readers will find their own.
There can be many reasons for refusal. That is not an excuse to accept, to sit in one place for years, to be interrupted by low incomes. Especially if the specialist is really good and dreams of building a career. What shall I do?
The first obvious option is to move. The difference between wages in the region and big cities can be twofold. For example, if Zhytomyr programmers receive 20 000 hryvnias, then a developer in Kyiv can be paid 40 000 hryvnias for a similar position.
You can look for remote work that does not require moving to another place of residence. You may only need to visit the office occasionally. Here it is worth adding the option of looking for a job at a foreign company. This can be beneficial in many ways: work from home, the opportunity to see the world, and the salary are significantly higher. But there are quite a few such options on the labor market.
Looking for a new job in your city, perhaps in a different industry. Today, one of the actively developing areas is the gaming business. New interesting vacancies appear regularly, with good salary offers even for those with little experience.
Change specialization. The field of information technology is good because when you have reached a certain limit for yourself in one direction, you can quickly refocus on something else, for example, move from front-end developers to back-end. Or from system administrators to testers. Or from testers to programmers if you learn one of the programming languages. There are many options, you just need to think about which one can be most beneficial to a particular specialist.
Change career. Perhaps the specialist has already reached the "ceiling" as a developer. Perhaps it is time to start managing other, less experienced colleagues and move to the position of product or project manager? Such a position is a new start, so it may be necessary to undergo training and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. However, it is better than doing nothing and complaining about management that does not value you.
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Study the statistics of wages in dynamics through official data sources. For example, sites with statistical information or thematic resources for finding a job.
You can also view open vacancies in your specialty and find out how much employers are willing to offer employees.
Some calculators calculate the “market value” of testing the knowledge of a specialist and taking into account his experience,
These are, for instance, PayScale, StackOverflow, Glassdoor, etc.
Wage indexation depends on the cost of living in the country (to inflation).
In essence, an increase in wages within the framework of indexation does not bring additional profit, therefore it cannot be considered a real increase.
It is better to contact the management 4-7 weeks before the indexation is carried out. So management will be able to lay an increase in salary in the budget for the next year.
You should not apply for a salary increase more than 1-2 times a year.
It is better to request the authorities in advance by e-mail. In the letter, you can state the request directly, and present arguments.
However, at the end of the letter, you should still ask for a personal meeting to be able to discuss everything in direct communication with the manager.
The level of knowledge should be actively increased, and in addition to continuous self-study, classes for beginners and trainees, the provision of advice, and other active work to improve skills should also be added.
Also, management will notice if a specialist is actively involved in professional activities: participates in conferences, organizes meetups, and hackathons.
Arguments such as over-fulfillment of the plan, willingness to expand work responsibilities, and new professional achievements are suitable to justify an increase in compensation.
You can also draw the attention of management to the fact that wages do not reach the average market level if this is true.
You should not refer to the fact that your colleagues in a similar position earn more. In many companies, the salary level of employees is a trade secret, so such an argument would be unethical.
Also, do not threaten to leave, and avoid irritable, aggressive statements.
You can consider several options for further actions, such as finding a new job, changing the region of residence, or choosing a different direction for professional development.
