Home Home, Law & Money
If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.

Follow the money?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hiya, so I love my job, it's great, and the long term opportunities are stupendous. However, short term my salary is (although v comfortable right now) not comparable with a lot of comparable jobs that I know are advertising.

I wonder whether it's better to stay somewhere I'm happy and going to grow into a great career, or start taking the opportunity to 'hop' for rather significant pay rises. I'd rather stay here in all honesty, but I know it's not easy to renegotiate a salary because the company needs to budget what you're worth. Just worry about selling myself short.

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    When was the last time you asked for a payrise? Because I think that's the first place to start if you're happy where you are, but not happy with what you're paid.

    When you ask, have prepared arguments about why you're worth more, which should include what you're worth to someone else. Put in your work ethic, project work, team contributions, learning curve, etc, type thing.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Have never asked for a pay rise, though I do expect a small one soon. Normally we have annual pay rises but my manager was recently let go (I had been covering some of her work before, she just lacked the necessary skills really) so I don't know how my annual review is going to happen now lol. We are going to be bringing in a new person who frankly will be fantastic and I will be able to learn a huge huge amount from.

    The problem is that it's an SME I work for currently and they just wouldn't have the budget to pay what some of the larger companies can. Though I would probably get churned out there and not grow as much - the opportunities here are great. It's like the difference between playing first team for a small but up and coming football team vs being permanently benched until you are let go from a premiership team.

    Really I think I want to stay here. Just getting emails from people asking if I'm interested in 'x role' where the salaries on offer are quite a big jump it does make me think a little bit.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ask for more money. They won't give you what they can't afford, but if you don't ask for what you think you're worth you're not going to get it.

    For the record, I jumped for more money, and ended up at a job I enjoy more, with good people with better opportunities.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Indeed, just need to build up to asking for it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    dont ask, dont get
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yep good point, has been raised, still thinking about the how and the when to ask.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Personally, the when is ASAP, and the how is ask for a meeting with your line manager or the person above and take with your your desired pay and the reasons you should get it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    That would be MD now the line manager is gone :-P. I can't do it right now as he has meetings this week. I'll see what I can do!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Got my annual payrise without bringing it up (I did say I wanted to meet to have an appraisal) and it is quite generous. Still not what the corporates pay but it's trading money for quality of work isn't it? I think?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Really, the trade-off is up to you. If you're happy, then that's fine, if you're not, well...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yea I mean that's what I was looking to get advice about really. I am happy here, and the salary is comfortable. It's the same in a lot of industries though where the big names seem to pay double everyone else's salaries (but in exchange will probably eat you alive).

    Also I'd have to start wearing a suit :-P
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What do you mean eat you alive?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Fiend_85 wrote: »
    What do you mean eat you alive?

    Last in, last out. Be everyone's bitch. Expected to sacrifice all personal life for work. I do 9 hour days, wouldn't want to do 12 hour days.

    Had a few friends in different industries go the 'big' route and most of them do say they can be a bit of a meat grinder. One working for a well known big pharma for £££ was literally eating modafanil on holiday so he could do more work at night time.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    you seem to be a bit afraid of the unknown
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I work for a big multi-national now Shyboy, and it's nothing like that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It depends where you're working and in what capacity. Most bigger companies are not like that.

    You need to weigh up staying where you are versus moving into the unknown. Applying for other jobs is usually a good thing to do every so often anyway, it gives you the tangible evidence that x would pay you y.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If the money you're on leaves you comfortable, and you enjoy the job I'd say stay. But then I'm a bit rubbish about money.
    If they've given you a good raise this year they may well do again next. While nice this can become a trap - paying someone (who is worth it) well above their job description makes it harder for them to move.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If the money you're on leaves you comfortable, and you enjoy the job I'd say stay. But then I'm a bit rubbish about money.
    If they've given you a good raise this year they may well do again next. While nice this can become a trap - paying someone (who is worth it) well above their job description makes it harder for them to move.

    I'm running the fine line between being paid more than my value where I am because I'm good at it (though I certainly make more money than I cost, there's a fair chance I could be replaced for someone who would cost less), but salary is less what I'd get at the largest companies in the sector.

    I would love to stay with the company I'm in especially since the bit I'm working in over doubled in business last year with just three staff (increasing to five this year), it's a huge growth area and the opportunities are really big. It's more of a gamble mid to longterm, getting paid less now, but ending up in a more senior position when we get really big.

    I'm just worried if I'm staying with a company where, because it's it's size, I'm going to be held back. I have a friend who is a snr dev for a professional services firm that isn't massive, and we worked out he could easily jump ship and go straight into six figures (he's a workaholic in an in-demand field), but he doesn't want to do that because he likes his job.

    I don't think staying in a job because you like it is a bad reason, the main reason I made this thread is because I know there are other opportunities out there that would pay more but I want to know that not jumping ship everytime a potential payrise comes along isn't a terrible idea.
Sign In or Register to comment.