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I am in my late 20's. I studied management, joined consulting as a software developer after graduation and have been working there for two years now.

I am in a good situation right now as our company is growing rapidly, generating more clients and hiring is going poorly. We are currently looking for an architect and cannot find one. All the interviews we had were futile as the candidates were far away from the requirements. That's why I am supposed to get this role now.

Now I'm moving more and more into this role: I'm interviewing with the management, I have a voice there, I'm designing new processes in terms of internal change management in my area and I'm getting more and more people and project responsibility.

At the beginning of the year, after a successful project, I talked to my supervisor and got a salary increase of 10% of the fixed part and 25% more bonus.

Now, with the announcement of increasing responsibility, my boss has invited me back for an interview and wants to renegotiate my salary again. Also, because make an effort that they do not lose me. Now I am completely at a loss as to what I should ask for.

Is it reasonable to want another 10% more in the same year?

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People often talk (and think) in terms of percentages, but they're not particularly relevant except as a comparison to annual cost of living rises. What's more significant is the market range of salaries for a particular function. It sounds like your role has changed (or will change) enough to justify looking at it as a different job.

There are various websites that provide a range and average for different functions - though you'll also want to bear in mind the company's circumstances : smaller companies are likely to be lower on the scale.

The first step is to establish what your manager will be expecting you to do - ideally in the form of a written job description. From there, you could find the market range, present it as an observation mentioning the source you used, and see what happens.

Your manager is arranging this meeting, so they are likely to already have a proposal in mind. It might be worth asking them what they were considering, and comparing that to the market rates you find with your new job description.

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    Indeed, OP never again mention or think in "percentages"
    – Fattie
    Commented Sep 17, 2021 at 12:32
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Do not get stuck at a fixed percentage.

Do your research, find out the value you will be adding to the organization with your new role and responsibilities. Search for the compensation range of the role in other organizations of your industry. Finally, arrive at a number which you believe is a fair compensation for you, and negotiate for that.

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  • I agree with this answer; For instance, if the job market for a role with your responsibilities is a 50% increase compared to your current compensation, you go into the meeting with facts that justify the pay increase to that level. At the end of the day your role and responsibilities are changing, your pay should reflect that role and responsibilities, the fact it's increase on your current pay shouldn't be part of the equation. Likewise, your employer should treat this meeting, as an interview for that role they want to promote you to. In business, there is value, in the devil you know.
    – Donald
    Commented Sep 17, 2021 at 14:53
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IMHO, you should expect and ask for a salary of Architect role that you in actuality filling

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As many have suggested, first understand your worth. Determine your role and responsibilities, and figure out what the market is currently paying for such skills. Sites like PayScale and Salary.com can give you a rough estimate about this. (Do note that pays vary based on location, and so it is important to factor in the city you live in). Other ways of figuring this out is to call recruiters / employment agencies in your city and talk to your peers and seniors in your industry. Online job listings may also give you some idea.

The second thing to keep in mind is, can your company pay you this much? Smaller companies have smaller budgets, and thus their payscale for the same designations will be lower than a bigger or more profitable company. If a company cannot afford to pay you want you want, you wil not get the job / increment you want.

Find out how much does your boss earn. Your boss / company will usually not sanction a pay rise if you are going to earn more than your manager(s).

Note that you are being promoted too. Sometimes, promotions don't necessarily come with matching pays. Sometimes you are promoted because it is cheaper for the company to do so, and that's reasonable for many small companies who expect you to grow with them. So if you insist on an Architect's salary, your company may instead prefer to not promote you.

Second, don't negotiate only on salary. You can also consider asking for:

  1. A bonus.
  2. More contribution to your pension (if your company contributes part of your pay towards your pension).
  3. Better benefits (health insurance, office, parking spot etc.).
  4. More paid / unpaid Leaves.
  5. Flexible timing.
  6. Severance pay (if applicable).
  7. Skill upgradation and / or tution reimbursement.
  8. Stocks / profit sharing.

(whatever is available or applicable at your company).

  • Important: However your negotiation goes, you should ensure that you do not lose your promotion. Why? If you quit with a better designation and role, it is easier to negotiate a better salary elsewhere.

Do note that you should also consider your future potential at your current company - if you like working there, like your colleagues, have a good rapport with the management, and believe they will help your professional growth as the company grows, keep all that in mind too when deciding what and how much to ask.

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  • Why the belif that you can not earn more than your boss? In my company (consulting) we commonly have senior specialists that are paid more than their team managers.
    – lijat
    Commented Sep 19, 2021 at 18:25
  • @lijat - That point is applicable only if you have to go through your boss to get a salary rise / increment and s/he is the person who makes the decision. In general, companies frown up giving a junior more pay than a manager above him as the manager can then make it an issue and demand a pay hike too. This is not much of an issue where salary is linked to incentives, like in sales.
    – sfxedit
    Commented Sep 20, 2021 at 12:46
  • but why would that be an argument, a senior consultant earns the company money snd is hard to replace. Middlemanagers are plentifull and are an overhead cost to company profitability.
    – lijat
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 4:45
  • In your industries, the senior specialists are a separate designation with an established payscale. Payscale is often linked with designation in many industries. And in most organisational hierarchy, those higher up in the hierarchy earn higher. It is supposed to act as a motivational tool for aspirational workers. And in most industries the middle manager often has similar qualifications to his team mate (e.g OP is now being promoted from software developer to architect). So a junior earning more with a lesser designation, is bound to create disgruntlement. And hence companies avoid it.
    – sfxedit
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 15:39
  • we don't really have official titles, the only titles existing are salespeople, managers and consultants. Overall in sweden official work titles are not ubiquitous and pay scales are often individual
    – lijat
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 18:16
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I personally think because you have a good track record in project deliverables, it is reasonable. With that increasing responsibility coming to you, its just making it more reasonable. You can bring that up on the discussion. Its a nice try with nothing to lose in my opinion.

About the value of 10%, I cannot give any opinion on that because I don't know how much additional work load they're going to give you, but a raise here is justified.

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