My department expanding - job ad shows a higher starting salary than we currently get

[sillysimms]

I work in a large company (more than 1,000) employees. My particular department had 5 people working in it, but due to workload they are hiring 4 more people. As with many companies, our employment contract states we aren't allowed to discuss our salaries with anyone and we haven't. I don't know what my coworkers make.

I have recently seen the job ad on the internet for the 4 people they are trying to hire. It has been posted by 5 different employment agencies and in each mentions the starting salary. (3 ads give an exact number with the other 2 saying "up to" the same amount that the other 3 ads mention). I know sometimes agencies give higher amounts than you'd actually get, but since they all have the same number I have to believe it is somewhat accurate.

Now the amount listed in this ad for a starting salary is about $5,000 more than I'm getting paid right now (after being with the company 4 years and getting the typical annual raise - between 3-6% annually).

For the most part I've been happy with my job, however understandably after seeing these ads I started looking at other postings. It doesn't leave a good feeling with me that new employees coming in might be getting more than me despite the fact I've been here 4 years, have a university degree, college diploma and 15 years experience in my field.

It would appear that I could get more money at another company (at least the extra $5,000 and possibly another $5,000 - $8,000 on top of that depending on the company/position) if I went elsewhere.

I believe my mistake was not negotiating the pay when I received the job offer since it was exactly the type of position I was looking for. I have worked in the HR field but not in the Compensation field in the past so I'm not sure how to approach this.

It is a large company and I believe if I am to do anything other than look for another job, I would have to contact HR directly. I've never had any dealings directly with HR as our supervisor does annual reviews etc. and we just get an email from HR on Feb. 15 every year telling us what our "new" salary will be. Our direct supervisor very likely has no input on salaries as it seems to be an HR issue.

I'd prefer not to leave, but I haven't felt happy about this job since I've started seeing these job postings with the salary listed.

Can anyone give me any suggestions on how you would handle this? I'm not sure how receptive HR will be to this and am just looking for suggestions on the best way to say something about it in an appropriate way.

[jandumm]

UGH I was in the exact same situation about 2 years back! We had a shortage of skilled professionals in my field and they were desperately trying to recruit - but it was VERY frustrating that I was training/mentoring new employees who were making 10-15% more than me. I was in the same situation as you....

I also work for a company with around 1000 people in the building.....although HR does control the salaries, they are heavily influenced by the line management. What I did was during my semi-annual review, I mentioned it to my manager in a very matter of fact and logical way - not threatening at all, just logical - said that at the end of the day, we're all trying to make a living and it's demoralizing to see new recruits coming in at salaries that are higher than ours (there was a group of us who felt that way) - I then said that if it continued, I wouldn't have any other choice than to look elsewhere to be compensated more fairly. I told them I wasn't looking to cause problems or stir the pot, it was just a matter of fairness. And they agreed and said they'd try to do something about it (typical manager speak)...

In my mind, I gave them a deadline of about a year before I'd start looking elsewhere.

It took about 1.5 years, but they finally did an "industry adjustment" where the people who had been with the company for more than 4 years were given an adjustment to bring them up to par with the new people.

The other trick that people used at my company is to quit and go somewhere else...and then they return about a year later and get the higher salary.

[boyoflondon]

General rule is that if you do not ask, you wont wont get anything.

As jandumm above mentioned, find a way to bring it up to your management in a professional manner and let them know how you feel. Worst thing is to just suck it up and keep quiet. Good luck!

[ferkel]

sucks.. but you gotta quit and go elsewhere.

[Octavius]

I say apply for the job online and make sure you put down your current employment on your resume so that they know it's you :D

[cq358]

I know how you feel. It just feel sick when you look at the dude who have no clue what he is doing and getting pay 8 grand more than you do. However, I am a new grad and I don't have much work experiences and I always set myself at the low side at the salary range and I know in the future, even with more responsibilities , my future salary won't be raise by more than 2000/yr.

However, if I am you, I will concern more about the future growth(promotion) within the company and enjoy the established team chemistry in your office. Look at the bright side, at least your company is growing and it is not slowing down :)

[siriuskao]

General rule is that if you do not ask, you wont wont get anything.


+1, my situation was somewhat different, I want to make more than the new hire. I asked and I got it. Before I walked in my manager's office I already thought about couple things, my contribution (I was doing most of my team's work), my future happiness knowing that newbie's starting salary is same as mine current salary (low) and how far am I willing to go (look for new job). For me, dollar amount wasn't the key, it's the appreciation for my efforts and respect.

[reservoir_dogs]

This is an interesting conversation..

My question is, how would you be able to pry the salary of the new employee? I like to keep this info private, so I think I'd be pretty uncomfortable in asking a new employee what they are making.

[Engi-Nir]

Do you ever wonder if the new guy who per say has various experience from other sectors/companies, will be able to out perform the existing staff once the person quickly catches up on the work? There is existing people in a company that have been in the same position for a long time, and are not as capable as the new hire, who will learn your job in a relatively short period of time and introduce new concepts, ideas that the existing employee is out of sync with.

I am not being a prick, but I have seen this a lot, where the new hire (assuming he is GOOD ;) ) will come in and show the existing employees,mgmt a thing or two. That is what companies want, new employees who will bring with them various experiences and further improve the company.

Now a days, companies have started to recruit management from outside and not promoting within. This is all applies to professional jobs, not sure of other jobs. Then there is employees who are underpaid, and except the new hires to get a pay cut lol, the company likes their experience and wants the person, and is willing to beat their existing salary, which may even be higher than what the employees make in the company. There is also the salary range of a position, and then companies paying at the higher end for some new hire who may have less experience than the existing employees but worked at various companies that justifies their added cost, different companies=more versatile experience.

[sillysimms]

Thanks everyone for the advice and suggestions. I think you're right. Saying nothing isn't really an option for me, since if I don't at least enquire about it, I know I'll end up going elsewhere (although I'd prefer to stay with this company). I've looked at recent postings and I could get what they're offering the new starts at our company plus a bit more if I went elsewhere.

Since tomorrow is Friday, I don't think I'll bring it up before the weekend. I'm going to give it some thought and think about the best way to "ask" about it in a non-accusatory manner. The postings are on several websites, so the company has to know that the starting salary is out there. I'll bring it up, likely next week. I'm only looking for fairness for current employees as I'd rather stay with this company, but it's the kind of thing that will make me look elsewhere if current employees aren't compensated the same as new employees (who in the case of the most recent hire, has less experience than those of us already there).

Thanks again for the thoughts!

[siriuskao]

This is an interesting conversation..

My question is, how would you be able to pry the salary of the new employee? I like to keep this info private, so I think I'd be pretty uncomfortable in asking a new employee what they are making.

I got that info from the new job posting, not from the new hire directly.

[sillysimms]

I got that info from the new job posting, not from the new hire directly.

Me too. In my situation, the way I found out is that the posting is on several well known job search sites and the salary is listed there.

[shawn2001]

change to a new job/postion is always the good way to improve yourself (ability+salary). these can keep your knowledge and salary always synchonized with industry common standard (I suppose your industry is run up).:cheesygri

[dubjk]

Do you ever wonder if the new guy who per say has various experience from other sectors/companies, will be able to out perform the existing staff once the person quickly catches up on the work? There is existing people in a company that have been in the same position for a long time, and are not as capable as the new hire, who will learn your job in a relatively short period of time and introduce new concepts, ideas that the existing employee is out of sync with.

I am not being a prick, but I have seen this a lot, where the new hire (assuming he is GOOD ;) ) will come in and show the existing employees,mgmt a thing or two. That is what companies want, new employees who will bring with them various experiences and further improve the company.

Now a days, companies have started to recruit management from outside and not promoting within. This is all applies to professional jobs, not sure of other jobs. Then there is employees who are underpaid, and except the new hires to get a pay cut lol, the company likes their experience and wants the person, and is willing to beat their existing salary, which may even be higher than what the employees make in the company. There is also the salary range of a position, and then companies paying at the higher end for some new hire who may have less experience than the existing employees but worked at various companies that justifies their added cost, different companies=more versatile experience.

interesting topic, because im currently in a similar position where we hired a new person in the dept just a few weeks ago, and he's getting paid more than me.

i understand what you're getting at, but does this mean that the company is slowly trying to replace me with someone fresh and full of new ideas? i know a lot of places do this, where the existing people dont really have a chance of staying and they would rather be constantly hiring new people. is this some current trend?

[ZoomZoom2006]

talk to whoever in charge of it and ask for the difference and leave if being rejected. it's better than simply leaving the company without even a talk.

[Firebot]

The easiest way to get a raise sometimes is by switching jobs. If your current employer isn't willing to match your salary to the offer, you are better off looking elsewhere as you are being undervalued at your current workplace.

In 5 years working at the same company, i got a pay increase of about 2K over those 5 years. 2 jobs later in 2 years, I jumped an extra 14K a year.