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I have joined a new job in US a week ago and as I look at the cost of living where I am employed now and the high deductible medical insurance, I think the salary I accepted is lower than my old job. It will become difficult to support a family. Can I ask for a better salary after a week joining, and whom should I contact, the team lead or HR?
I am concerned that if I ask for it they might think I am not reliable any more. Please let me know what you think.
No, typically you can't ask for a raise within a week. In fact, usually asking for a raise within the first several months is considered a no-no.
Generally, the only exceptions to that rule would be:
1) If you're promoted
2) If you're given significantly increased responsibilities from when you first started
3) If the job otherwise changes significantly (such as a 40-hours-per-week job becoming a 60-hours-per-week job, or changing from a day shift to a night shift)
4) If the company has a standard raise period (usually around the end of the year)
However...
None of these apply to you - you're essentially feeling "buyer's remorse" at having accepted a position that turns out not to be as great a deal as you originally thought. From the company's perspective, nothing has changed from last week to this week, so a discussion about "can I get an increase in pay" will seem to come from nowhere, and it's likely the company will both turn you down and gain a negative reputation of you as a result.
Can I ask for change of Salary after a week joining.
While you can ask, I cannot imagine any person reacting at all positively to that. The company made you the offer, you took your time, considered it and said "yes, that's fine.".
You knew where you'd be working... cost of living metrics are trivial to find these days. As an employer, if I didn't fire you on the spot, I would definitely be concerned about your ability to make good decisions.
Can I ask for change of Salary after a week joining.
You can always ask, just don't expect an increase. Although anything is possible. I'd be surprised if you get one.
Unfortunately, the time to negotiate salary is before accepting, not after joining. And certainly not 1 week after joining.
Next time, learn the cost of living in the area you wish to settle in, and factor that into your negotiations before accepting.
I am concern that if I ask for it then they should not think I am not reliable any more.
I'm not sure I'd use the word "reliable" here. But I could imagine your employer thinking that you might be inexperienced or just immature.
I don't think it will hurt you too badly to ask. But checking whether the salary would be adequate for your needs before agreeing upon it was your responsibility, not theirs, so asking is somewhat unlikely to help you. At this point it's almost as cheap for them to say "if you don't want the job, we'll replace you with the next-best candidate."
You will probably have to either live with it and hope for a raise during the next review cycle, or agree with the company that you shouldn't have signed on with them and go back to job hunting.
Just be frank about it and tell them what you just told us: you underestimated your cost of living and would like to be paid X dollars more. A few caveats though:
(1) Make sure it is within their capacity to pay and is comparable to your peers; if you ask for more than your peers are making it may be declined
(2) If it does get declined, they may think of you as an "unhappy" employee and it will put you at the top of the list when layoff time comes
(3) Be very specific about what you want, an exact amount. Do not just say "I want more". You need to say EXACTLY how much more you want and why.
As long as your demand seems reasonable and you are otherwise a good employee they will grant it without too much issue.
