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Really dissatisfied with pay increase this year in February. CEO talked up how everyone was going to be really happy with big bumps to make us more competitive

Really dissatisfied with pay increase this year in February. CEO talked up how everyone was going to be really happy with big bumps to make us more competitive (they have been struggling with high turnover after a couple of acquisitions). I get "exceeds expectations" multiple years in a row and did everything my manager suggested last year to try to get a bigger bump this year. I got 2% base salary increase and 5% bonus target increase. Chances of seeing the full bonus targets this year? Not high. I'll be looking for a new job this year for sure.

throwawaysleep 5y ago
I have to wonder why anyone bothers to ever exceed expectations except for intrinsic reasons. I assume from the day I start that I will be gone in less than 18 months.
- yonaguska 5y ago
  Networking. If I'd have been a better performer in the past, I'd have probably followed some of my high performing coworkers to their jobs and gave better overall job satisfaction. Being in teams that value good code and perform with good work life balance makes work enjoyable.
  - throwawaysleep 5y ago
    This is true. I’m currently working 3 remote jobs (just gathering as much cash as possible) and one is a good one with a tech firm and the other two are at technologically incapable places. The two tech incapable ones are pretty annoying, or at least would be if I gave a damn about my performance there. Also never met such mean people. Tech is so nice in comparison.
    - Seattle3503 5y ago
      > Also never met such mean people. You think this has anything to do with putting in the bare minimum?
    - DeathArrow 5y ago
      You work for three places in the same 8 hours?
- cebert 5y ago
  How long can you keep hoping jobs like that in the long run though?
  - igetspam 5y ago
    I see resumes like that a lot. In generally move past them. The cost of churn is high and people who constantly job hop aren't worth the effort or the potential impact to team morale. I say this as an engineering hiring manager. I've job hopped too but I always shoot for at least for years. I don't always make it but I plan for it.
    - Ithrowthisaway 5y ago
      Normally people don't like to job hop. It is unnecessary stress. However, people have responsibilities to their families. If you are concerned of job hoppers then why don't you help them to alleviate their burden. If not, and if other companies are paying higher somewhere else, why would that person stay? That would be doing a disservice to him/her and his/her family. son: "dad, why can't we go to vacation this year?" dad: "sorry son, don't have enough money. still got bills to pay and dad's company don't give enough raise." son: "why can't you just find another job?" dad: "that's treason son, we don't do that here. think of the team morale son." son: "okay dad. i love you."
      - sdoering 5y ago
        If someone job hops I don't recommend them for further interview rounds. Even in an agency setting were turn over is high. I don't want people like that on my team. I have one 7 months stint in my resume and that is framed by 5.5 on one side and now more than 7 years in my current job. My pay increased by >90 percent in my current job. The people I work with are really great and I couldn't in good conscience recommend someone for that team that goes out of their way to support each other that is only in it for themselves. I personally don't want hedonistic people on the team I am playing on. And a word about crafting BS emotional stories around how a family suffers because someone doesn't job hop. WTF. If one can't go on vacation because they did not receive a raise they are not acting financially responsible. Especially when having a family. Vacation imho always should come out of a play money budget. Put aside some amount of money every month for play and/or vacation. Next to money you put to the side for emergencies. Then pay the bills and still have money to spend. This is financially sound planning. If either one of these is missing people are not planning their financials good enough. At least imho. If anyone ever tells their kid that they are incapable of going on vacation because of a raise too low their kid should answer that they are sad their parents are lying to them about their financial incompetence.
- saberworks 5y ago
  I probably should have followed this route. I've been at my job for over a decade and all my big promotions and large pay raises happened in the first half of that. Been single digit raises since then and I don't think there's any more room to move up unless I want to try management, which I really don't.
- tomc1985 5y ago
  This this this. "Exceeds expectations" gets you the B+ treatment, at best. Meanwhile, slacking off and doing the bare minimum gets you a C rating. Every year that I bust my ass with proven results, there's always some excuse in store for me and "well maybe things will be better next year," and the same customary 2-5% raise as last year. Eventually I got bored, stopped trying, and still walked out of reviews with average or above-average marks and same pay bump. This is after getting talks from my manager about upping my game and narrowly avoiding a PIP. If an employer wants me to bust my ass for them they need to make it worthwhile. If my work unlocks significant value (verifiable 6 or more figures) for the company then I expect more than a token amount of that to be sent my way. SWE pay may be high but they use that as a cudgel to keep you from claiming value proportional to your contributions, and don't even get me started on the trap that is equity compensation
  - throwawaysleep 5y ago
    This career really feels like interviewing skills are the real skill and everything else is just a mandatory socially enforced cooldown period.
    - Ithrowthisaway 5y ago
      bingo
    - jnwatson 5y ago
      It helps to perform well enough to get influence as to what you get to work on, as that ends up on your resume.
    - 314 5y ago
      As an industry we have favored marketing of software over the quality of software. Promotion has been tied directly to that choice (expressed as "productivity" and "delivery") and then the people promoted by that system make hiring choice. It would be unexpected if the emergent outcome was not as you have described it.
      - 5y ago
- creakingstairs 5y ago
  > I assume from the day I start that I will be gone in less than 18 months. This is my mindset now, but man, I would like to be able to actually stay at a place for 5+ years. My father worked at an engineering firm for over 15 years. Although this had its own cons like everything, I'm jealous of the camaraderie that my father had with his coworkers. I suspect I'll hit local maximum for pay/career at some point in my future and try to find a job where I can stay long and cultivate meaningful connections.
  - chii 5y ago
    It kinda sucks that effective teams that takes decades to build aren't valued higher in the corporate world.

throwawaysleep 5y ago

I have to wonder why anyone bothers to ever exceed expectations except for intrinsic reasons. I assume from the day I start that I will be gone in less than 18 months.

yonaguska 5y ago
Networking. If I'd have been a better performer in the past, I'd have probably followed some of my high performing coworkers to their jobs and gave better overall job satisfaction. Being in teams that value good code and perform with good work life balance makes work enjoyable.
- throwawaysleep 5y ago
  This is true. I’m currently working 3 remote jobs (just gathering as much cash as possible) and one is a good one with a tech firm and the other two are at technologically incapable places. The two tech incapable ones are pretty annoying, or at least would be if I gave a damn about my performance there. Also never met such mean people. Tech is so nice in comparison.
  - Seattle3503 5y ago
    > Also never met such mean people. You think this has anything to do with putting in the bare minimum?
  - DeathArrow 5y ago
    You work for three places in the same 8 hours?
cebert 5y ago
How long can you keep hoping jobs like that in the long run though?
- igetspam 5y ago
  I see resumes like that a lot. In generally move past them. The cost of churn is high and people who constantly job hop aren't worth the effort or the potential impact to team morale. I say this as an engineering hiring manager. I've job hopped too but I always shoot for at least for years. I don't always make it but I plan for it.
  - Ithrowthisaway 5y ago
    Normally people don't like to job hop. It is unnecessary stress. However, people have responsibilities to their families. If you are concerned of job hoppers then why don't you help them to alleviate their burden. If not, and if other companies are paying higher somewhere else, why would that person stay? That would be doing a disservice to him/her and his/her family. son: "dad, why can't we go to vacation this year?" dad: "sorry son, don't have enough money. still got bills to pay and dad's company don't give enough raise." son: "why can't you just find another job?" dad: "that's treason son, we don't do that here. think of the team morale son." son: "okay dad. i love you."
    - sdoering 5y ago
      If someone job hops I don't recommend them for further interview rounds. Even in an agency setting were turn over is high. I don't want people like that on my team. I have one 7 months stint in my resume and that is framed by 5.5 on one side and now more than 7 years in my current job. My pay increased by >90 percent in my current job. The people I work with are really great and I couldn't in good conscience recommend someone for that team that goes out of their way to support each other that is only in it for themselves. I personally don't want hedonistic people on the team I am playing on. And a word about crafting BS emotional stories around how a family suffers because someone doesn't job hop. WTF. If one can't go on vacation because they did not receive a raise they are not acting financially responsible. Especially when having a family. Vacation imho always should come out of a play money budget. Put aside some amount of money every month for play and/or vacation. Next to money you put to the side for emergencies. Then pay the bills and still have money to spend. This is financially sound planning. If either one of these is missing people are not planning their financials good enough. At least imho. If anyone ever tells their kid that they are incapable of going on vacation because of a raise too low their kid should answer that they are sad their parents are lying to them about their financial incompetence.
saberworks 5y ago
I probably should have followed this route. I've been at my job for over a decade and all my big promotions and large pay raises happened in the first half of that. Been single digit raises since then and I don't think there's any more room to move up unless I want to try management, which I really don't.
tomc1985 5y ago
This this this. "Exceeds expectations" gets you the B+ treatment, at best. Meanwhile, slacking off and doing the bare minimum gets you a C rating. Every year that I bust my ass with proven results, there's always some excuse in store for me and "well maybe things will be better next year," and the same customary 2-5% raise as last year. Eventually I got bored, stopped trying, and still walked out of reviews with average or above-average marks and same pay bump. This is after getting talks from my manager about upping my game and narrowly avoiding a PIP. If an employer wants me to bust my ass for them they need to make it worthwhile. If my work unlocks significant value (verifiable 6 or more figures) for the company then I expect more than a token amount of that to be sent my way. SWE pay may be high but they use that as a cudgel to keep you from claiming value proportional to your contributions, and don't even get me started on the trap that is equity compensation
- throwawaysleep 5y ago
  This career really feels like interviewing skills are the real skill and everything else is just a mandatory socially enforced cooldown period.
  - Ithrowthisaway 5y ago
    bingo
  - jnwatson 5y ago
    It helps to perform well enough to get influence as to what you get to work on, as that ends up on your resume.
  - 314 5y ago
    As an industry we have favored marketing of software over the quality of software. Promotion has been tied directly to that choice (expressed as "productivity" and "delivery") and then the people promoted by that system make hiring choice. It would be unexpected if the emergent outcome was not as you have described it.
    - 5y ago
creakingstairs 5y ago
> I assume from the day I start that I will be gone in less than 18 months. This is my mindset now, but man, I would like to be able to actually stay at a place for 5+ years. My father worked at an engineering firm for over 15 years. Although this had its own cons like everything, I'm jealous of the camaraderie that my father had with his coworkers. I suspect I'll hit local maximum for pay/career at some point in my future and try to find a job where I can stay long and cultivate meaningful connections.
- chii 5y ago
  It kinda sucks that effective teams that takes decades to build aren't valued higher in the corporate world.