Should I talk with my boss for a promised raise?

Question

First of all I need to specify that the job is located in Mexico. I am a recent graduated Engineer and got a job as a Junior developer in a local company. When my current boss offered me this position he offered me an starting salary (which he told me he knew it was low, but would be only for the "trial period") but at the end of that period or as he said "even after" he would raise me to a more decent pay. The trial period is stated in the Mexican laws that the employer can fire you without having to pay you any extra as the law states, the duration period is maximum 3 months.

Now I've been in this company for 5 months and I haven't received any raise, needless to say I have already talked with my boss about this situation 3 times, but he excuses every time that the owner is very busy, while is well known that on January was in the beach having vacations and last week he went to Las Vegas.

On this week I received my paycheck and I received a 12 dollars raise, I wanted to check why was this small rise with the payroll area but they weren't at office yesterday. If it is my "promised raise" is a very bad taste joke, because the promised raise is too far from this.

Do you think that there is any other way to address this situation with my boss or with another area or I should start looking for a better opportunity in a more professional company?

Note: I really need that raise because I'm paying my University loan, which consumes most of my monthly payment.

Answer 1

I would say that you should look for a new place to work. I've been in some places that were like this (Not in IT but I don't think that it matters), where I was promised something but they took long time to provide it (Half-year) or it never happened.

Unless you have a paper that state on how much you should "get" and the time that should be between those periods (How much you should increase every 3 months), then I would say, it's better to find a new place.

Make sure that you understand what you're getting yourself into when accepting a contract and that you know what will happen after you've been there for a while. If you have a contract that clearly states what you're supposed to gain, then you can "pressure" your boss if he/she doesn't provide.