For context, I’ve been offered a promotion with my current responsibilities plus a significant increase in responsibilities for only $4k more a year in annual salary. It’s around a 6% increase but I would get a 3.5% increase regardless if I accept the position. They won’t budge on giving me more because some other person is on the same level as me and they have more experience.
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So in reality it’s just a 2.5% increase AND a significant increase in responsibilities? That would be a hard **NO** for me.
I did turn down a promotion. Damn near cost me my job. I didn’t realize that turning down a promotion usually means they will let you go and find somebody that plays the game that they want you to play.
It’s probably risky and politically damaging depending on what you want to do in the future with the company. Which is sad, because not everyone wants to chase the promotion. Or it’s not always the right move for them. My Dad was pretty career ambitious when I was younger and I’ll never forget overhearing him tell my Mom that he wished he never accepted his last promotion because he no longer enjoyed his job. It stuck with me.
And I’d argue that them not paying the other person enough isn’t your problem.
In your situation, take the promotion and add all of the new responsibilities to your resume and linkedIn profile. Then start looking for a new job *immediately*.
You cannot advance your career or your salary by staying in the same company and moving up. But you can ladder your salary significantly by showing you have more responsibilities when you go looking for a new job.
Take it!
They value you – take it but make sure you provide feedback in a constructive way. Make sure they understand you are being paid at the lower end. Do amazing work and negotiate next year.
Growth is very important that more money, growth brings more money one way or the other but to be stuck in the same level is a different story.
If you can do the extra work without hurting your work/life balance significantly, take it and then look for better offers outside of the company. If taking the position will hurt you in some way, turn it down and then look for better offers outside of the company
I did. It was for a management position in an area that just didn’t feel right. I did not accept the promotion, and have never looked back.
I’m old (60+), but 15-ish years ago I was a Senior Director in tech. I was always a player/coach and kept my skills up.
I always hated corporate BS and politics, and the higher up you go the more it takes over. So….I asked to move back into a tech contributor role. My company at the time was flexible enough to let me do that and I’ve never looked back (or up).
At subsequent companies I’ve been asked to move up and I’ve always said (hell) no. No repercussions from any of my employers.
But that works for me, your mileage may vary. Some people enjoy the management/exec life, but it is NOT for me.
I’ve turned down a couple of promotions now. They came to me with a jump up in responsibility and nice bump in pay. I asked if it meant more meetings. (Do people like being in meetings all day? I find it to be hell.) They said yes. I said I dislike meetings, rather stay at my desk being a rock star contributor. They went away. Worked out fine for me.
At this point I tell employers I prefer being an individual contributor going in.
I had a similar thing happen this past winter. Promotion for less than the inflation rate. I took it and now my old employer is courting me to come back for a significant bump on that. Take it and slap it on the resume and give it 6 months, then look. Any company throwing out 6% for a promotion during the worst inflation in 40+ years deserves what they get.
Yes. Multiple times. $15k more and supervisor. I wanted a better quality of life and took a different job that probably limited my career ladder. And now I work from home. Worth $15k to me to have a great QOL and be appreciated where I am.