My manger is currently advertising a similar position to mine but offers a higher rate. How do I go about raising this? [duplicate]

Question

I've been in my current position for about 3 years. Initially I started out as a solo in-house graphic designer working on web and social media graphics but with time my responsibilities grew to include photo editing, animation and recently web development.

Currently my work is mainly focused on web development but my title hasn't changed. I still help with the odd banner/resizing/image edit etc.

As per the question title, my manager is looking to hire a new person who will do essentially my job but focusing on the graphic design aspect.

I came across the job advert and saw that the starting wage is higher than what I am paid at the moment.

I'm not sure how to go about asking my manager about this as I understand she doesn't respond well when asked about pay rises. Also I would not want to make a wrong move and put myself in a negative light.

Answer 1

The situation is this: You are working there for $X. The company needs a second employee doing the same job, but they know they won't find anyone for $X, so they are offering $Y. That doesn't mean they want to pay you $Y. They are more than happy if you work for them for cheap.

You can say to your manager: Hey, manager. I see you are advertising for this new job, which pays more for mine. Seems to be a promotion, so I would like to apply for this job. Don't ask for more money directly, but throw it right into her court. Now she is the one that has the explaining to do. There is the possibility that this will lead to a raise.

You also know now what kind of money companies offer for your kind of job. So look for jobs elsewhere that pay more. And if you find something better and get the job, then you put in your notice and now your manager has to put up two job adverts. Serves them right.

Now a sad fact: If your manager should offer more money after you have a job offer, don't take it. It means she always knew you were worth more but knowingly paid you less than you are worth. She will do the same thing in the future. Actually, as you said she doesn't want raises mentioned and reacts badly to being asked, there is a good chance she will take this personally and you would be likely to be fired as soon as possible. So: Find a new and better job, don't let anyone know about it, and when you found it and signed the deal then you give notice.