I had the best performance review on the team, but another colleague was promoted [closed]

Question

I am a web developer in a large financial institution (~1,5k employees). Our team is composed of 3 developers and 1 supervisor. I have worked really hard in the last 3 years, including unpaid overtime and weekends. In the last three performances, i got the best score in the team. I also got a slightly higher salary than the rest, until now. In my last performance review, my supervisor said he was very happy with my work, i got a minimal 7% raise. However, he said that i wasn't being officially promoted to "senior developer", so that I could profit another raise in the near future. I knew i was underpaid, but I told myself to wait for a year and see what happens, since otherwise I was happy with everything else.

My colleague, who had been much more relaxed than me, and who had been assigned less responsibilities (I was even asked to manage an entire project on my own, i am also constantly asked to mentor juniors) and had a worse performance than me in the last two years, asked for a huge raise (~35%), just one month before the annual performance review. He threatened to leave, since he already got a job offer in another company. As a result, he got the raise he wanted, he was also promoted to senior developer. I think this is very unfair to me, because of all my work and efforts i put in this job, and it has affected me negatively since I already felt over-performing and underpaid.

In February, we have our annual performance review. Should I just wait for what my supervisor has to offer me and just look for another job if I am not satisfied? I doubt I would be promoted, since they make a very limited number of promotions in a short period. Should I tell him I am not happy with my colleague's promotion and tell him I will look for other jobs in case he does not make me at least the same raise? Or, maybe should I just leave?

Answer 1

Should I just wait for what my supervisor has to offer me and just look for another job if I am not satisfied?

It depends on how it works in your company/country. In some situations, it may be reasonable to talk about a raise prior to the annual performance review. If that is the case, I would most definitely ask it sooner, as many people will ask for a raise during the review.

I would look for a job prior to the raise negotiation, however. It gives you peace of mind when negotiating your salary, because you would have another option should they tell you no. I am not endorsing the usage of an offer as leverage for a raise, as it comes with lots of risks. Should you choose this path, read questions concerning "accepting a counter-offer".

I doubt I would be promoted, since they make a very limited number of promotions in a short period.

You do not know that. Your company is big enough they could promote two people in a short period of time.

Should I tell him I am not happy with my colleague's promotion and tell him I will look for other jobs in case he does not make me at least the same raise? Or, should I just leave?

NO! Do not compare your situation with his. Nothing positive will come from that. Instead, talk about your contribution to the company, your responsibilities, etc. Look for questions on "how to ask for a raise".

Should you leave or not is a decision you will have to make. You would compare your current job with other offers you have, should you take this path.