The lesson here is that you have to look out for yourself. After you didn't get a raise (despite being told you're the best) in your first performance review, y

The lesson here is that you have to look out for yourself. After you didn't get a raise (despite being told you're the best) in your first performance review, you should have done two things. 1. Immediately expressed disappointment and asked for an explanation of why you didn't receive a raise despite the feedback. They're probably not going to give you a raise at that point, but it makes clear that you're unhappy and comp adjustments are important to you. That way when they're making comp decisions at the next cycle, they can intuit that there will be consequences if they don't give you a raise. 2. ~6 months before the next comp adjustment cycle, remind your manager that you were disappointed not to have a raise last time, you've continued to outperform your peers, and it's extremely important to you to receive a significant raise in the upcoming cycle to feel valued by the company. Repeat this speech once review time starts. After not getting a raise for two cycles (whether you took the above two steps or not), you get a new job. Why are you sticking around at a place that doesn't treat you well when you're a high-performing employee with an in-demand skillset? They're treating you poorly because you allow them to treat you poorly while still getting the work they need from you. You have to advocate for yourself in your career (and the rest of your life). You're asking how to handle this situation best, but it's honestly obvious - you know what you want, so go ask for it, and if you don't get it, go somewhere else where you can get it. You don't need advice on what to do, you just need to go stick up for yourself.