Advice Needed about Salary Negotiations
I' m in a slightly unique situation. The gist of it is my boss has promised me a raise, but has notcommitted to an amount or a timeline as to when I will receive it. Ihave another job offer and I would like to use that job offer (whichcomes with a higher salary) to force my boss to tell me what myproposed raise will be and when I will get it. I basically want to knowso I can more accurately assess my options and make a decision. (Ibasically took on a lot more responsibility 9 months ago. It took 7months for the promotion that reflects those new responsibilites to beconfirmed and I' m still waiting on the raise. Note that I work for apublic/gov. institution so there is some bureacracy involved and thesesorts of things do take longer than with non gov. corporations). Ialready know I am getting a raise so I am not necessarily negotingsalary, but I figure during the process my boss will have to seriouslythink about my raise based on the other offer on the table. Everything I have read says to be careful about using a job offer toget a raise, but I' m using one to find out how much my raise will beand when I will get it. If my current boss was to offer me what the HRdepartment says I am eligible to make based on my skillset,responsibilties and work experience, then I would be inclined to stayat my current position for at least another year or two. Why? Becausein one year I will be vested with the company so there is that toconsider as well. Why did I interview for another position? Bascially for the issue athand. I' m doing more work but no more pay and I feel that my salary isvery low for my job responsibilities, skillset and years of experience.I keep taking on more and more duties but my salary is slow to catchup. I wanted to interview for some other positions to see if I wastruly on target with what I am worth and I am. Now I just want to seeif my current boss agrees. If my boss doesn' t offer me that much more money than that tells me howmuch I am valued here and that all of my hard work isn' t worthvery much to my boss (I' ve improved my area of responsibility quite abit and even won industry awards for these improvements). At thatpoint, I would be inclined to make the lateral move and take the otherposition. Am I being reasonable here? Does this seem like an acceptable approach to take? The reason everything says to be careful is because you' re blackmailing your boss and issuing an ultimatum. You' re saying "give me what I want" (whatever that is) "or I' ll leave, see, I have other offers." That can seriously backfire on you and result in your quick demise. You know he' s working on it. Either cool your jets or take the other offer. Don' t try and play games. An acceptable approach? You' re kidding, right? What you' re talking about doing is commonly referred to as salary blackmail. This is a terrible approach! A far better way to do this is to accept the other offer, give your two-weeks notice, and leave. My expectation would be that if you do what you' re suggesting, you' ll probably be shown the door anyway, so I hope you' re totally prepared to take the other job and move on, because this is very likely to backfire on you. Trying to force your employer to specify when you' ll get your raise and how much it will be under the threat of taking another job is totally unprofessional. If your boss has any backbone at all, you' ll be in the new job sooner rather than later. Why don' t you just schedule a meeting with your boss, and, rather than attempting salary blackmail, simply discuss the issue of a raise, flat out ask when he thinks your raise will go through, and ask if he has an idea of what amount it might be. DO NOT, as Tess & Paul have said, use this other offer as leverage. In fact, do not mention it at all. That' s probably the worst thing you can do. Just talk to your boss, point out how much you' ve done over the last few months, and what you' ve accomplished for the department. If he cannot, or will not, answer your questions, or hedges, then you should accept the other job, then give your notice. This seems so simple and common-sense like I don' t understand why you haven' t done it. Of course, some of this depends on the timeframe you have to make your decision about the other job. If you can' t meet with your boss before then, either make the decision to go, or pass on this job and keep looking for another one. Let me clarify. I am happy to ask my boss directly about my raisewithout ever mentioning the offer. I just want to assess the pros andcons of each position before making my decision, including salary,benefits, job duties etc. I just thought that mentioning the other joboffer might expedite a decision that quite frankly should not be takingthis long. My boss' s track record in this area is not the best. Forexample, my recent promotion came about out of necessity and not as areward for a job well done or for continually taking on more and moreresponsibilities and performing well and getting excellent performancereviews. I work for a state-funded agency and the state required me tobe promoted based on the nature of the duties I assumed. So what I amsaying is that my boss isn' t one for proactively or appropriately compensating employees. Another example that makes me question whether my boss is working on myraise is that it took her 24 hours to "check the budget" and confirmthat we could offer x amount instead of x-y amount to hire our newemployee, yet after two months she is unable to "check the budget" andconfirm how much of a raise I will get. The amounts come out ofthe same account/budget. I appreciate the feedback on my approach. I didn' t really intend for itto be "blackmail" although I did realize it would force my boss to giveme an answer instead of stringing me along (something she has also donebefore). And I am prepared to take the other position. You are right. That is probably what I will do andlet her response tell me what I need to know to assess my options. I think you can have a conversation with your boss about the prospects of an increase, but I really wouldn' t mention the other job offer. Not mentioning it is just a more professional approach to discuss you own situation and prospects with your boss - as a stand-alone topic. At least you know you have the other opportunity in your pocket if things do go as you' d like or as you' ve been told they would. You can have the conversation but don't mention the other offer. If you do, two things will happen. First, you will have played your hand that you were looking to leave. Your manager will assume that you may still leave and will probably start the process to replace you on HIS terms, not yours. Second, you will have tried to blackmail him. Yeah, it is a harsh word and maybe it was not intended, but that is what happened. If he agrees, he just sets himself up for every other employee to line up outside his office with job offers in hand looking or a raise/promotion. How to avoid that? Fire you. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but rest assured there's a bulls eye on your back. I agree that salary blackmail is not what you want to do. It seems to me, and I have experienced it in the past, if you give notice and your boss wants you back, she will make you a counter-offer or see what it would take to keep you. Good Luck. | |
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