How to ask for a raise

Hi All. quick background on my position. I started as an admin/generalist at a fund that launched in 2014. we quickly grew and are now a multi-billion dollar fund. I started on an hourly wage and made about 65k plus 20k bonus for 2015. I got promoted to a full time compliance associate in mid 2015, as was expecting a raise for 2016, but instead they switched me to 60k base salary, so now i'm making less. I will have been with the firm for 2 years in July and have yet to receive a raise despite my promotion. I asked if i could at least have the 65k matched for my salary, and i was told that i should be grateful because no one my age (i'm 24) is making as much as me and that my health care (they cover 85%) is really expensive). I feel like I am accomplished in my role and have enough experience that I deserve a raise. I really love the firm I am working at and would like to stay here, but my rent goes up every year, and it's becoming harder to live on the same/less money as i get older.

My question, How do i best approach asking for a raise, and, specifically, how do I rebut against their arguments that I am too young to be making more, and that my health care is too expensive for a raise? I find these arguments unjustified.

Also, if anyone has any information on the average compliance associate salary and comp structure at a hedge fund, I would be happy to hear that :).

 

That smells like bullshit- switch employers. Also FWIW, compliance professionals are starting to get paid a lot more. Assuming you're in NYC, the average comp for people with the job title "Compliance Associate" was $67k on average so your employer is coming across as kind of a dipshit. I'd ask for the raise (can't help you with how) and if they say no, look for a new job.

 
Best Response

Start looking for a new job before you ask for a raise. Key point in negotiations like this is to have options if the other side doesn't give you what you ask for, or at least the confidence that you will have options, whether or not you signal to the other side that you have those options.

The attitude I've seen from most people in finance (particularly in non-frothy markets like today) is that young employees should be happy they have a job, they are in no position to bargain and there are a lot of other people knocking at the door (cases in point - many overeager posters on this site desperate to "break into Wall Street").

If you don't have options, you're in no position to bargain. Instead, you're effectively asking "can you please be nicer to me and pay me more?".

It's like when my dogs beg me for food when I'm eating. Sometimes they are cute enough that I give them a morsel, but generally I don't because I don't want to encourage that sort of behaviour. Like with analysts, I need to set their expectations early in their lives in my house and train them into good behaviour that works for me.

My dogs don't have other options.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 

It's called one step forward two steps backwards (with your decrease in base salary).

Listen, we're not talking about $1M salaries here where it might be okay to be bumped down to $950k "due to the economy".

$65k is not a lot of money. I sense they saw weakness in your persona.

I would strongly recommend you get a clean slate at a new firm.

 

Honestly, I never bother, I just switch companies. If you don't get handed a raise automatically every year you're either A) not working hard enough or B) they'll take advantage of you any way they can and you don't want to work for them. Unless you're post bschool, don't committ to any place for more than two years: they see you as expendable.

Get busy living
 

At my firm, a small RIA, we have year-end reviews as well. The awkward year-end review is coupled with a raise and bonus announcement. Given this is your first year-end review, I would keep your mouth shut and expect to get a raise. If not, take it from there. But you don't want to sound like a greedy pig for your first 6 months. Best of luck.

 

Promotion & raise go hand in hand. Since you have been with the company for only four months, you might wait for another 2-3 months and tactfully ask for promotion. If you have good relationship with your manager and team, it should not be a problem. You can ask other folks in your team about the process. If they are transparent about raise & promotion process, you will know exactly when to ask and expect.

 

Interesting topic, 4 Months to me seems like it is really soon. I've never asked for a raise, but would be interested in seeing how that turns out for you

Fear is the greatest motivator. Motivation is what it takes to find profit.
 
craze_peep:
well, the contract says 6 months probationary. Rather than asking structuring it as a salary raise, I wanted to negotiate a new "full-time" salary when my probationary period ends. As I mentioned b4, what i get paid is not market-rate....

But you agreed to it.

This conversation is happening 6 months late or 18 months early.

twitter: @CorpFin_Guy
 
NYCbandar:
Ask after you get hit on something. No mandates means no money, so why would they give their powerpoint goblin a raise?

Yup, wait until your team brings in some fees, and I'd also wait for a while in any case (you should have been negotiating before you signed, because now you're in this sort of purgatory where you have to demonstrate additional value beyond the value they expected to get when they hired you.)

 

Ask for a raise? Hell, I would first discuss with them your past salary due you from 2006 and 2007.

You could ask for a ten-fold pay increase and they still might not pay you.

Good luck to you in finding a more secure position. You now have the experience to sell yourself with!

And you are certainly a more loyal person than I for sticking it out so long.

 

"All totaled my firm bexpected[/b] to pay me in the range of $40 to $45 for 2006. This didn't happen by a long shot."

Were you given a hard number, or were they told that they hope to pay you $40k - $45k?? It sounds as if the company is not performing as hoped and that no one is making the money that they all hoped for. I'd start looking for a new job or I would expect an equity position in the company as you are taking on operating risk. The second piece probably isn't going to happen, so start looking for a new job.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/

My first lesson in PE was get everything in writing. Unfortunately, nothing about my comp has was in writing. The only hard numbers I was given were the base pay and the guaranteed bonus pool. And you are right, the firm hasn't performed as expected. After 5 LOIs we have yet to close a deal for one reason or another.

I like the idea of taking an equity position in the firm and I actually think I could get a piece of it. However, that might burn some bridges if I end up leaving in the next 3 to 6 months.

Thanks to all for the feedback.

 

Do extra work and put in some face time then ask "What do I have to do to earn more money?" It worked for me once but my company has since grown stingy with pay so I'm jumping ship. Honestly, if a company was going to pay more they would have.

Triangulate the pay: land another job paying more, then tell your employer what you've done and that they're going to have to pay you more. If they bite, then talk [nicely] to the new job and tell them your current employer is upping the ante. This works best if you've already been accepted to a grad school of some sort and they know it: they are not in a position to dick you.

Companies: treat 'em like the whores they are

Get busy living
 

I was at a place that was not necessarily up and out so I used various scenarios/catalysts to negotiate for more comp. If an analyst/associate left for b-school or left for whatever reason and I was expected to pick up some slack I would sit down with one of the partners and explain the situation. I would also be prepared to point to specific areas where you add value and do your best to make yourself indispensable. While it is important to be a generalist early on in your career as you determine what you enjoy and what you are best at you should also try to build some expertise in a few specific areas. For example, maybe you have a knack for translating business terms into legal concepts which could help you draft a confidentiality agreement, term sheet, or augment a boiler plate purchase agreement which may help save the firm money before you send the docs off to outside legal for official review and comment. I am rambling but the key is to sit down and be able to point to actual results and areas of value add.

 

There's a pretty solid way to approach this. You need a few pieces of info handy though.

  1. Where do you stack up performance-wise? On a relative and absolute basis; relative to your peers and absolute based on responsibilities you have vs. your level.
  2. What is market? High end, low end, median. Where does your firm typically compensate in this spectrum. I.e. while its helpful to know that mkt is X, if your firm typically pays in the bottom decile of market, that's information you should know.
  3. How valuable are you at the firm? i.e., how inclined are they to keep you happy?
  4. How mobile are you?

Be able to point to specific points like.... (I'll give a banking example even though your question wasn't for banking)... You're an analyst, but almost always take on typical responsibilities of other associates in the firm, as a result the deal teams you're on very seldom need and have an associate staffed, providing leverage to the group/firm.

Main structure is: 1. You're happy where you are, the team, responsibilities, experience you're getting etc. 2. But one area you feel like maybe you're not "market" based on your performance, contribution, and market intel is compensation 3. Don't throw a number out unless your back is to the wall and you're specifically asked 4. You feel like your comp is not competitive to market based on: a. market b. level of performance c. contribution to the team / leverage you provide

I would shy away from saying what market figures are, but I would have that in your back pocket just so you can if you need to.

If you're valued, the firm is doing well and you execute the ask properly you'll almost always get a raise, IMO.

 

I have similar advice as to what UFOinsider and junkbondswap provided.

Have you made an impact in any way? If so, use this as a jumping off point to start the raise conversation with your boss. And even better, have a plan to show how you will continue to make an impact - and therefore, why you are more valuable than your current salary.

Or, have another job offer lined up that pays better and tell your employer you're considering moving on. If you want to stay where you are at, hopefully your current employer will offer a raise. Or not, in which case you take the new opportunity.

I'm currently interviewing with two companies, and both are great opportunities for me. I continually make an impact in my current role - sustaining and building relationships with clients, and seeking new opportunities to gain new clients. Most importantly my boss is very aware of this. It will be interesting to see how my current employer reacts if/when I have the other offers on the table. If I'm tactful maybe I can whore-out all three as UFO suggests.

Array
 

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"If you want to succeed in this life, you need to understand that duty comes before rights and that responsibility precedes opportunity."
 

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