After seeing a bunch of posts about how to negotiate with the current employer, I will use my own personal anecdote to show an example of how an aggressive job hunting strategy can change your income for the better. I do not fancy myself as someone supremely talented; however years after languishing and convincing myself what a happy workplace I had, I finally trained myself to be smart, hard negotiator and worked relentlessly on my interview skills.
Early 2017, I took my 4th job. I will now make close to 3X total compensation of what I made in 2006. In fact, I am making more than 2X of what I made in early 2013 (before making my first ever switch). The table below will show the salary history.
| Year | Total comp raise over last year (in thousands) | Company | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | - | A | Starting offer, no negotiation, was desperate. |
| 2007 | 7 | A | Good raise due to strong performance |
| 2008 | 6 | A | Lower raise for even stronger performance. No bonus. |
| 2009 | 5 | A | Smaller raise, small bonus. Performance was at peak. |
| 2010 | -1 | A | Though company did well, recession excuse to freeze salaries. No bonus was awarded. |
| 2011 | 4.5 | A | Started to realize no matter how I performed, I was getting a constant raise and potential for super growth was zilch. |
| 2012 | 3.5 | A | Worst raise at this company, no bonus. Company was acquired by a bigger fish. |
| 2013 | 14 | B | Got out, interviewed tens of times, got an offer and a bump in salary and about 10% bonus. |
| 2014 | 1 | B | Immediately, company turned out to be cheapskate. No raise, only a small bonus adjustment. |
| 2015 | 18 | C | Third company, better raise and a bonus structure. |
| 2016 | 17 | C | Outstanding performance. However, I was exclusively awarded in larger bonus and only a 4% adjustment to salary base. |
| 2017 | 35 | D | A solid bump in base, solid bonus structure at a new company. The total compensation does not include restricted stocks, which could push it higher this year. |
The salary progression has helped us. I have started to shore up the retirement accounts, investment accounts and we continue to live in the same house that we bought in 2013 (no plans to switch). At one point, we thought we could not afford a second child, which changed last year. Now, we can afford to hire a full time nanny to take care of her.
I believe this change could not happen had I stayed too long at any of the past employers. FWIW, here is what A, B and C employers went through:
- Multiple friends still at A. A went though a deep round of layoffs in 2015. In hindsight, I would not be laid off (my best guess), but salaries are close to frozen, and the people at A have outdated skills. Now they are old, and don't have experience working on new technologies and still susceptible to future layoffs.
- Some folks still at B. B struggled to expand and was bought over by a private equity (bad news). A limited restructuring was done in 2016. I heard salaries haven't budged much, and bonuses were cut in half in 2016. Clearly, staying in B would have meant a massively less paycheck, a negative work environment and lack of skills again.
- C is a major silicon valley company going through some upheaval right now. It remains to be seen if my decision is right. I took a major risk by leaving C, because I had excellent relationships with my managers there. However, my base salary wasn't increased much (which looks like a company wide salary) despite stellar performance, and D just happened.
- D: Cool company, established and solid. Newest of new tech. For the first time, I will get restricted stocks. Great base (more than 20% bump over C), and a bonus similar to C. So far, so good.
What I think:
- See the writing on the wall before anyone else as an employee. This is the single most important skill.
- Evaluate your personal situation very frequently.
- Practice interview skills. Tons of resources out there. Interviewing is like dating.
- Do not be afraid to take calculated risks.
**Edit: Changed the second column according to a suggestion in comments to convey the message a little better. **
Submitted March 14, 2017 at 08:49AM by apd78 http://ift.tt/2njra96
