Underpaid compared to colleagues at same level

MarinaM

I recently got a promotion to a staff level role and received the standard 10% salary increase. However whilst reviewing GlassDoor, it appears I'm being paid 15-20k less compared to others at the same level. This is supported by the fact that more junior roles (e.g. Senior) are averaging a salary similar to my own.

How would you handle this in a professional way? Or would you wait until the next review cycle comes around?

Understandably, I'm incredibly frustrated. Thanks

Mrs OBumble

MarinaM wrote: »

I recently got a promotion to a staff level role and received the standard 10% salary increase. However whilst reviewing GlassDoor, it appears I'm being paid 15-20k less compared to others at the same level. This is supported by the fact that more junior roles (e.g. Senior) are averaging a salary similar to my own.

How would you handle this in a professional way? Or would you wait until the next review cycle comes around?

Understandably, I'm incredibly frustrated. Thanks

Look for a job in another company that will pay you more.

irishgrover

hi,
it can be very difficult to get a significant raise internally, especially after getting a 10% pay rise
I would not exclusively trust glassdoor as an indicator of how much you should be paid.
You need to take into consideration

• Previous experience
• experience in current role
• size and type of company
• FTE versus contract positions
• benefits
• location etc.

if you are in ireland I would google salary surveys and access a few of them and try to get an accurate overview of where you fit in terms of the above. (many of the bigger recruitment companys carry out these survey regularly).

I would then do some research on existing similar jobs in the market place and find out what they are paying.

I would then gather all this information, summarise it and approach your boss and/or HR as appropriate and request a salary benchmark review. Also supply your research data to support your benchmark request.

However, realistically, in my experience, if you want to significantly improve your salary you need to move companies. it is unusual for companies to offer double digit increases to employees.

best of luck.

Dick Turnip

MarinaM wrote: »

I recently got a promotion to a staff level role and received the standard 10% salary increase. However whilst reviewing GlassDoor, it appears I'm being paid 15-20k less compared to others at the same level. This is supported by the fact that more junior roles (e.g. Senior) are averaging a salary similar to my own.

How would you handle this in a professional way? Or would you wait until the next review cycle comes around?

Understandably, I'm incredibly frustrated. Thanks

Sometimes glassdoor salary ranges can vary wildly so you may not be able to rely on them too strongly but irishgrover's advice is all spot on.



I don't understand this line though

MarinaM wrote: »

more junior roles (e.g. Senior)

MarinaM

Dick Turnip wrote: »

Sometimes glassdoor salary ranges can vary wildly so you may not be able to rely on them too strongly but irishgrover's advice is all spot on.



I don't understand this line though

If I'm Staff level, a Senior level role is more junior to me, but earning is on par with mine. Hence i'm underpaid!

MarinaM

MarinaM wrote: »

If I'm Staff level, a Senior level role is more junior to me, but earning is on par with mine. Hence i'm underpaid!

No you’re not. People get pay increases based on performance every year and on promotion.

You’ve just been promoted. This gives you more room to get bigger performance pay increases year over year. You hardly expect to have the same pay as Someone doing that for years.

28064212

GlassDoor reviews are unreliable, and irrelevant even if they weren't. What your immediate colleagues are getting paid isn't really that relevant either - they agreed to work for the company for a particular wage, as did you.

Can you, personally, get paid better somewhere else? That's what matters. If you can't, why would your current company pay you more? If you can, it's time to find out why you're being underpaid, and what your company is willing to do to rectify the situation

MarinaM

fvp4 wrote: »

No you’re not. People get pay increases based on performance every year and on promotion.

You’ve just been promoted. This gives you more room to get bigger performance pay increases year over year. You hardly expect to have the same pay as Someone doing that for years.

I take your point, but if I'm currently earning what the average senior level employees earns, and 20k under what the average Staff level employee is getting - would you be satisfied? Bear in mind that even exceeding goals every year, I'm unlikely to get a double figure increase again without another promotion.

Mrs OBumble

MarinaM wrote: »

If I'm Staff level, a Senior level role is more junior to me,

That's not how I would interpret those words.

If I wouldn't, then many Glassdoor contributors probably wouldn't either.

In my mind a staff (nurse,engineer, etc) is further down the food chain than a Senior <<whatever>>.

Flinty997

If you can get a job somewhere else for the salary you think you should be on. Yes you are underpaid. If you can't you are not. There is no way of knowing this for sure without taking the risk of moving.

You should be mercenary about it.

Seems to me to be clear that you can only reliably compare your salary vs those at your own level tbh

Seeing as you have literally just attained that level, naturally the other at that level will be higher

Esse85

I'd study negotiations and become competent in it before discussing salary again.

MarinaM

MarinaM wrote: »

I take your point, but if I'm currently earning what the average senior level employees earns, and 20k under what the average Staff level employee is getting - would you be satisfied? Bear in mind that even exceeding goals every year, I'm unlikely to get a double figure increase again without another promotion.

Yes. Look staff and senior are different in every company but in general in terms of pay these kind of levels push your potential maximum and your floor up by a certain amount. You don’t get the full max pay on promotion. That’s not in the companies interest.

And the pay scales overlap too. It looks like you were paid high enough as a senior and you may have been nearly maxing out. However the very top senior might still be paid more than a newly promoted staff just because thry’ve been there a while.

However they’re stuck now if they have maxed out. You’re not. So you should expect higher raises going forward. So you should get fairly high increases if you meet or beat expectations. If not that’s the time to complain or move.

MarinaM

Thanks all for your input, definite food for thought.