Resigning and getting immediately bought back after bonus?
More a question for folks that are more senior, how do you act during the bonus meeting if you're disappointed with your number? Do you voice your disappointment right there? Digest it for a bit after a day or two, and then discuss your thoughts with your manager? I've heard of several instances of buybacks the past 2-years where folks will resign immediately if they're unhappy (nothing else lined up) and then get bought back instantly by their employer by either increasing the bonus or promoting them. Obviously you have to be really confident you can get another job to pull off that move. Curious to hear of more instances of this and whether this has worked or not.
That sounds more like a 2021 power move than a 2022 power move. You can express your disappointment whenever you want but unfortunately, they're probably not going to do anything about it.
Maybe so, but there are some groups that are having a killer year and will continue to do well in a recession. Guys in those groups bringing in revenue will be extremely valuable in 2022/2023. Obviously expressing disappointment does nothing, you gotta walk out the door for anyone to do something about it but wouldn't surprise me to see more buybacks in performing groups. Curious to hear opposing views.
I wouldn’t recommend immediately resigning, that seems like a bad move and one that won’t go over well with your employer. There is a chance they up your bonus but if you “quit” on the spot it may leave you in a bad spot with them (and they’ll look for ways to protect themselves from you doing that again, I.e., find someone to replace you). If you are completely irreplaceable, sure, but very few people are at that level.
If you are upset with your bonus, I would recommend voicing your concern. It is less about when, and more about how. You want to be equipped with the right information, if you just say “I think I should have more” without being able to explain why (I.e., I brought in X revenue, PnL, or I took on all this new responsibility or important project for the firm, etc) it probably won’t lead to anything.
I’ve had my bonus changed (by about 1.7X), but this usually happens before it is finalized. It’ll depend on how firms do reviews (some give you your bonus after it’s been finalized others will talk through what they are thinking before hand). In my case I went through the work that was done and compared that to previous years, and had some other seniors vouch for me as we were still working through the final number.
Thanks, this is really insightful. 1.7x change during discussions is pretty wide, good to know that it can be done.
One more thought, in my own experience some banks won't do anything unless you have an offer in hand and are deemed a flight risk. How often do you experience this or anecdotally through others?
Yeah that’s a tough position and different firms and people handle it differently. There are places that will adjust comp when people threaten to leave (or have another offer) and not do anything if they don’t. I’m not in that camp, and while I have worked at places like that, I try my best to steer clear of those work environments (but to answer your question, it definitely happens). The problem with this approach is: 1) if a firm only gives you a raise if you threaten to leave, that means they are happy to underpay you at other times (and are underpaying your colleagues) - so basically, you can’t be sure you are ever getting a fair shake (you can’t trust that they are being fair with you) and 2) you only have so many “bullets”, so if you need to do this every time you are underpaid, you’ll run out.
To me, it is a lot less about whether it’ll work (I’ve left a firm that offered to increase my pay by ~25% when I told them I was leaving) but more about whether you want to be there (I left that firm). The more you have to constantly fight and be at odds with the firm/leadership, the more painful work will be (and the higher chance you are going to be screwed on pay down the road, and the more senior you are when you get screwed, the more it hurts…). So long term I find that those places aren’t worth it.
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