Hi I am new to this site but have a question about a recent promotion I received

[running4life]

I was just offered an internal promotion at my company and accepted verbally. The raise turned out to be less than I expected and as I was not expecting such a lowball offer (half of the raise I was expecting), I did not counter when I should have. I am still excited for this opportunity but can't help but feel slighted about the offer I accepted. As It has been a few days yet still continues to bother me, should I approach my new boss about revisiting the recent offer to see if it is possible to renegotiate or has that ship sailed? What other ways can I approach this situation without damaging my relationship with my employer but also staying my concerns about the disappointing pay increase?


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[Texas Proud]

You say nothing about if you are prepared to retire etc..... so there needs to be more info before a good answer can be given...


But, if you need the job and you think that your salary is below market, you can approach your boss and tell them your thoughts.... but, be ready to back it up with info... do not expect anything to happen since your salary is probably already set and unless there is nobody else there that can do what you do, they will probably not do anything until next pay raises happen...


The downside is that you are dealing with verbal assurances... I did what I said to a boss... he said that he would adjust the next year during salary increases... problem was that they sent him to Australia and my new boss had heard nothing about it and was not willing to do anything... it took me another year, but I found a new position in the firm.... turned out to be the best move I did....

 

[Whisper66]

Would be interested to know why you thought the raise would be larger. Was it based on something relatively solid or was it more a wish and a hope.....

In any event, I'd personally bring it up with the boss but keep it in a constructive and non-pushy format. For example might be good to ask what the future potential of the assignment is because you feel you can bring more value to the job than the present salary suggests. But I wouldn't be pushy....meaning I'd probably bring it up when we two were the only ones around, would start the discussion but not push it too far if the boss doesn't appear happy about the discussion. If nothing else, you've planted a seed for him / her to think about at next salary consideration time. At best, he/she agrees with you and makes the raise larger...... who knows if you don't try?

 

[running4life]

Well my old boss planted the seed that the promotion would come with a bigger raise which I think is justifiable given the added responsibilities and longer work days. I was going to schedule a meeting with my new boss early next week to talk about the offer we agreed to but frame it as a concern that I have been thinking about since our previous discussion. I definitely don't plan to be aggressive during that conversation. Btw-my old boss was surprised that I didn't counter but when I asked him about revisiting the raise with the new boss, he said that shipped had sailed and that I'd come across as a jerk. That Is the biggest reason I'm hesitant to move forward with the dialogue. I really think that they would have trouble finding a new person to step into this role and that I am hands down the best person for that job.


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[Texas Proud]

Something just popped into my brain from a LONG time ago... over 30 year...


I was wanting to move to a different part of the company... working in finance... doing budgets, mthly reports, board reports etc. etc.... well, the job I really wanted opened up... I knew what the salary should have been since I did the budget for that group... but there was a 'freeze' on raises at that time...

Long story short, they offered me the job but lowered the pay below what I was already making.... they knew I wanted the job and planned on giving the extra money they did not have to pay me as raises to the rest of the group...

I politely declined the offer....

Remember, it is the NEW boss that decides what your pay will be... the old boss is out of the loop... unless of course both bosses have a common boss one or two levels up...

 

[cathy63]

You might want to ask at askamanager.org. She has some good tips and discussions about salary negotiations and there will be an open thread today where you could ask for help with your specific situation.

In general, it is difficult to renegotiate after you've already said yes to an offer. It's not so much that you seem like a jerk, but more that you just demonstrated that you will say yes without thinking things through and it raises questions about your ability to cope with the additional responsibilities of the new job and make good decisions.

 

[pb4uski]

Talk with new boss and explain that your raise for this new position was a lot less than you expected and that you think that you are worth the extra $x, and as TP says, provide information that the job should command higher comp and see what new boss says. What is the salary range for the position and where are you in that range? Since you said it was a promotion then I presume that it is a higher level position. Also, may companies have guidelines as to promotional increases... where does your increase lie within that guideline? As others suggested, be even keeled about it.

If the ship has sailed, then ask new boss if s/he can help broach the divide through a better bonus, better future raises, etc.

At the least you'll have planted the seed that you perceive that you are under-compensated and hopefully that will factor into their thinking when they decide future bonuses and raises.

 

[datuck]

One other thing to consider is to see if they would revisit pay level in 6 months or perhaps at year end performance review time. It might be okay to say that prior manager had thought it would be somewhat higher and see what response you get. It may be out of his control depending on what part HR plays or your compensation people set as guidelines or promotion increase rules. So many behind the scenes factors especially in a big company.


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[jerome len]

I would thank the new boss for the opportunity and tell him/her you'll be really working hard to earn your next raise. Then.....and only then.....ask for advice on what you need to do to earn the raise and then commit to do it.

I always told my employees that they should be underpaid! Why? How can you expect a raise if you're overpaid? More important than today's paycheck is the attitude of your company toward treating employees fair. If that's the case and you have a career ahead of you, suck it up, work hard, earn more and have fun being underpaid making a lot more money than you are making now.

I had a team of over 20 key managers and most of them have been with the company over 20 years. They won't even talk to another company, they are well paid and they are underpaid. Now, if the company has a reputation for being cheap, holding back on fair pay plans, you have a different problem. Then you can start the conversation the same way but start looking for a fairer employer. Good Luck......I heard this approach when I was in my early 20's from the mega corp I worked for.....and, when I did well I got great raises. I stayed with them unitl I opened my own shop.......and, all of my long term managers helped me build a nice net worth as I enjoy partail retirement.

 

[MRG]

Sometimes it's good not to be the highest compensated, within reason. After megacorp cut loose non-performers, they started looking at who made more, not who was more qualified.

 

[brewer12345]

Well my old boss planted the seed that the promotion would come with a bigger raise which I think is justifiable given the added responsibilities and longer work days. I was going to schedule a meeting with my new boss early next week to talk about the offer we agreed to but frame it as a concern that I have been thinking about since our previous discussion. I definitely don't plan to be aggressive during that conversation. Btw-my old boss was surprised that I didn't counter but when I asked him about revisiting the raise with the new boss, he said that shipped had sailed and that I'd come across as a jerk. That Is the biggest reason I'm hesitant to move forward with the dialogue. I really think that they would have trouble finding a new person to step into this role and that I am hands down the best person for that job.


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You don't ask, you don't get. I would have the discussion and see where it goes. Your time is valuable and you should be appropriately compensated. If they are not prepared to do so and you just take it, you have identified yourself as a village bicycle (everyone gets a ride). Stand up for yourself and demand appropriate pay (politely). If they will not play ball, revisit the resume and get out there.

 

[latexman]

If you do not throw a rock into the mango tree, you will get no mango!


If you throw a rock into the mango tree, you might get mango!