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Ask HN: What is the proper way to bring a job offer to my current employer?
DISCLOSURE: I'm a regular HN user with 5-figure karma. This is a throwaway account.
BACKGROUND: I'm a software engineer at a funded startup and I've been here 1 year. My pay is fair but probably on the lower end of market rates. Also, no medical/dental. I have a job offer from a larger software firm. The salary increase is 20% and includes good benefits (no relocation required). I'm actually quite happy at my current job but the pay/benefits increase is worth considering. I know only I can make the decision on where to work but I have a few questions.
QUESTIONS:
- Is it uncouth to bring this offer to my current boss before deciding? I don't want it to seem like I'm just leveraging the offer to get a raise.
- For founders/managers who have had to deal with this, what's the most respectable way to bring this to you?
- If I decide to leave, how much notice should I give?
Thanks for any input you have.
- sjs382 11y ago> Is it uncouth to bring this offer to my current boss before deciding? I don't want it to seem like I'm just leveraging the offer to get a raise. If not leveraging the offer to get a raise, what benefit would this action have? > If I decide to leave, how much notice should I give? On the low end, 2 weeks. On the high end, "enough time (reasonably) to allow them to ensure a smooth transition".
- wheretowork 11y agoMaybe I watch too much "Silicon Valley", but my understanding is it could be seen as she never intended to jump ship; she just wanted to strong-arm us into a pay increase
- sjs382 11y agoWell, what do you hope to gain by bringing the offer to your current company, other than to strong-arm them into a pay increase? If you aren't intending to leave, don't bring them the offer.
- brudgers 11y agoIf the culture is such that "couthness" inhibits discussing the basic element of the employee/employer relationship, compensation, and a critical issue for long term personal financial stability, access to affordable health care; then the workplace culture is bad. There's no need to mention or even solicit other offers. Market rate benefits and compensation are something that should be reasonable to discuss with your boss. There's no reason you should have to leverage. Just have the discussion. Keep the offer in your back pocket, and if the discussion doesn't happen in a reasonable way, then you still have the option of disclosure or just taking the other job or sticking it out with your current employer and no one is the wiser. The fact that all this is coming around the one year mark, may be a symptom that the boss hasn't been paying attention to the need to re-evaluate compensation as circumstances evolve...your actually having a job offer in hand, shows how long this has been festering. If it comes down to playing hardball and you're willing to walk, both sides are probably better off if you just take the other job. If you're not willing to walk, then you're not playing hardball. This is why couching it as a discussion about reviewing your situation rather than an ultimatum is so critical. It deescalates the conversation and gives your boss time to recognize and acknowledge and mitigate the issue on their own if they are so inclined. Good luck.