Accepted job below advertised salary, use job posting to negotiate a raise

Question

I accepted a job at a small software company as a software developer. The job posting stated the salary was between 40k and 50k depending on experience. After the interview I received a call and an offer. The Owner said he and his partners wanted to start me out at 35k because of my lack of experience and after 6 months bump me up to 40k. Well its been 5 months and I've noticed my company has posted a job for my exact position(They aren't trying to get rid of me, they are growing and need more people like me)..

The salary posted was 40k to 55k depending on experience.

Well now I believe when its time to get my review for being here 6 months I feel I should ask for the 55k. Since I now have experience with this company and their products. Some key info is I'm the only developer at the moment because their salary they offer is still well below the average for the area we are in and no one as responded to their ads.

Am I right to use their job posting as a point for my raise?

EDIT: Something I don't think people realize is this is an entry level position. Any person with 1 or 2 years experience makes much more than 55k in my area. The average starting, entry level salary in my area with a B.S in CS based on glassdoor, indeed is in between 60k -70k..So based one the job description they posted and requirements and preferred experience, I don't think asking for something closer to 55k is out of line

Answer 1

You can ask for what you want, but you're still "light" on experience. 5 years' experience is what's considered "top-end" or "expert."

You may have heard of the 10,000 hour rule, basically stating it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at something. Well, there are 2,000 work hours in a man-year (50 weeks, 40 hours ea.). You've got 1,000 in, so far. You're probably safe asking for 45K, but you're going to have to put a very strong case together for why you deserve the top-end of the range. And by that, I mean outlining the value you bring to the company.

Look at it this way:

I'm a business owner. I can have $65 K (adding payroll taxes, overhead, equipment, office rent, etc. as wild guesses) in my pocket at the end of the year, or I can have your work product at the end of the year. Which one is more valuable to me?

I know your answer. Now you have to prove it to me.

Answer 2

I don't think you're using the 5 months of experience to your advantage. Try to be more specific about what your capabilities are and what you've accomplished. Consider the following:

1. Did you get up to speed faster than they anticipated? I had a job and they estimated 3 months before I would touch production code and I was doing it in about 3 weeks.
2. Are you working unsupervised? This is advantageous to your manager and the company.
3. Did you offer any new strategies or suggestions that improved the projects?

All of these are things many consider beyond an entry-level position. Make them understand you've achieved in 5 months what may take others 5 years. Don't get punished for being a fast learning.

I don't know if you can honestly defend yourself in any of these ways. If you are able to show great progress in 5 months, hopefully, they'll see you progress faster than average, so they'll want to keep you.

Knowing you can get better paying jobs should be used in your mind to come up with an offer. Indicate you see this as what the market offers. Once they think you're using hardball tactics like, "I can make more somewhere else." the negotiation usually stops. I don't think the problem with your salary offering isn't your company's lack of knowledge. It just seems like money is tight at this stage.

Answer 3

No, I don't believe you are right to use their job posting regarding your raise and I'll tell you why.

You accepted the 35k to 40k wages and they hired you in good faith. But more importantly, you don't have more experience than the 5 months you've gained working there and they are already aware of that (which is why you'll be getting the 5k raise in another month.

But there's another possibility that makes asking for a higher wage (especially using their own posting) a bad idea. You risk making yourself look greedy. Were I your manager and you came to me with what you're suggesting, I would have to give serious consideration to letting you go over keeping you long term. It makes you seem greedy and also could make them wonder if you're going to be a complainer in the future.

Bottom line is that you agreed to 40k after 6 months and you should stick with it unless you want to at best leave a bad taste in their mouth (and you probably won't get the raise you want anyway) and at worst find yourself looking for new work. Alternatively, you could look for a different job but again, since you agreed to work for 6 months and get your raise, you'd be burning a bridge which is rarely a good idea.

EDIT: Having said all that, if you do decide to ask anyway I would have something other than the job listing as justification. You need to make it about you. If you can say something like "I've completed x projects, done y amount of work which certainly should have exceeded expectations. I may be junior but I feel I've proven myself to be a stronger asset than was originally projected. My talent and progress, I feel, is exceeding my wages." In other words, you need to sell yourself that you deserve it, but not bring up how they aren't getting any bites on their listing.