Staying long in a company?? Plz help me decide

[abhishek roy]

Hi Ranchers,

I have an interesting query. I have around 4 yrs of experience in web technologies. In these 4 yrs I have only changed once, that means in my earlier company I stayed for 2 yrs and current one , this november wil be 2years. I have been satisfied by my work throughout my career but one thing is not satisfactory that is my salary. I still get 2.5 Lakhs despite working in a CMM Level 5 company, bangalore . I know I am grossly underpaid. Recently I have been promoted to the Team Lead position but I came to know that my juniors under me are making double money than me. I would really appreciate if you could suggest me some advice, that should I stay in the company or should I change.

regards,
Abhishek

[suekar meredilko]

Originally posted by abhishek goswamy:
Hi Ranchers,

I have an interesting query. I have around 4 yrs of experience in web technologies. In these 4 yrs I have only changed once, that means in my earlier company I stayed for 2 yrs and current one , this november wil be 2years. I have been satisfied by my work throughout my career but one thing is not satisfactory that is my salary. I still get 2.5 Lakhs despite working in a CMM Level 5 company, bangalore . I know I am grossly underpaid. Recently I have been promoted to the Team Lead position but I came to know that my juniors under me are making double money than me. I would really appreciate if you could suggest me some advice, that should I stay in the company or should I change.

regards,
Abhishek

Hmmm. I'm telling you a true fact.

My best friend did the same. He still works in the same company for past 7 years. I adore him because while others around him left he sticked on. I felt he was foolish. But the company on their side has been fair to him. He gets paid about 7 lk/annually..which is I would say that 30% less then market rate. But he gets hefty bonuses, he also get priority on travelling abroad. He also has got lot of influence within his team. He is known right until GM(s).

Now I am telling you this not because I want to write a story but 2 fundamental things.

(a) what do you want EOD. Money, Influence, Power. Which attribute are you willing to compromise. For sure if you are having a super-duper degree...you might get all of them.

(b) Is the company being fair to you. i.e. is something you can find my seeing the overall package. If you feel your salary is less and you need to get more, need to negotiate.

- talk to your boss to reward you for the loyality, give hints that you might leave otherwise.

- Observe if you are getting soft advantages in your team. i.e. ur immediate bosses, 100% relies on you, gives you what you ask ..leaves, flexi time, laptop, working from home, study leave, part time mba support etc. you need to work it out to your benefit.

boss end of the day...both should be in a win-win situation. If only one of them is winning...thats not fair !! So evaluate that and then decide what you want to do.

My take is that people who switched jobs say 1 per year...usually end up as executers. But if you want strategic influences and power you need to stay for moderate periods of say 5 years and then make a move. But you should stay for those 5 years with a plan on what you want to achieve.

I always believe that one should have an Exit Strategy the moment you join the company. i.e. what you want to be when you leave this organization...this could evolve but it will not be v. different from the blueprint you have in your mind.

[K Jain]

Hi Abhishek,

It really depends..

Does your company go the extra mile to retain resources? If yes, you could look for other opportunities, once you have an offer you can negotiate with your existing employer for a 100% hike.
If not, then I think that it is high time to change.

Good Luck!
K Jain

[K Jain]

Suekar Meredilko, Excellent!

[Gowher Naik]

Well it depends upon you. One thing I am sure is that you are really under paid. If u r Team Lead u should get double of ur
Current salary.First talk with ur company, if they are not ready to increase ur salary then try for change.But donot leave
Current job unless u don�t get another job.If ur company is CMM level then there must be some salary rules and regulations.
Try to find those rules and regulations and demand ur salary according.

[alfred jones]

they are cheating you...you deserve more.....see, why do you have to tell them ? its their duty!...they are stingy man ...stingy...

[Kj Reddy]

Well said Suekar.

Abhishek changing the company may not be solution every time. Management do encourage to stay long time. So talk with your management, explain them your needs and that should work for you. If thats doesn't work then you can opt for changing the job.
[ July 13, 2006: Message edited by: KJ Reddy ]

[Vishal Bhatiya]

Hi Abhishek,

I have myself been in similar positions and the question I ask is whether I am satisfied. I think this is the key. Keeping your mentality in mind even if you go to a new company and you find out that recently a guy having similar profile as yours has been recruited with higher salary what would you do?

I believe in change too, which could be change in technologies, domain etc. Its like being a jack of all. Due to this I have had to change jobs too. But this was not due to seeking more salary. That was not the prime motive. But the position I am in now could not have been better considering money and growth factors.

Please think about it, whether changing a job will give you satisfaction. In the current senario since you have been promoted I do not see the company not giving you a hike if you talk to them or drop hints. If you have performed to the best they will be after you and wont let you leave. Trust me...

Cheers
Vishal

[abhishek roy]

Thank you very much guys. These suggestions are very very important to me. Somehow during my past I was not so worried about my salary as it was not on my priority. But soon recently I got married and soon realized that I should deserve more. Hence this february I had got 2 big job offers of Wipro, SLK and Cisco and I went to the extent of putting down my resignation papers. But the problem was my family life had not been stabilized hence I reconsidered my decision to stick to it.

As Suekar had told about influence, I have got certain amount of influence and my bosses are easily influenced by me. I have been sent onsite almost every year so that is not a problem.

Now should I confide in my boss and tell him my problems?? But I doubt that being business oriented they may think otherwise and might not understand me.

What if the boss tells that in the next appraisal we shall see? Seriously telling you the appraisal is a long way forward so what should I do next?

[K Jain]

Hi Abhishek,

I think that you should first get a good offer in hand then negotiate. In this way :
-you'll know your market value
-be in a good position to negotiate
-your boss will have seen the offer letter so he will either say yes or no, he will not have the choice of postponing things.

You do deserve a 100% hike + stability of the existing job or a hike >100% + a new job. And beleive me, you'll not be able to negotiate well without an offer letter in hand!

Good Luck!
Kshama

[Jeroen T Wenting]

My sister works in HR. Someone who changes jobs all the time just because they can get something that pays better will NOT get hired by her, such people are not a good investment as they're liable to leave the company the first time something else comes up.
They're also unlikely to be motivated to do their best for the company, instead spending most of their time hunting for more lucrative jobs.

I've changed jobs only once for a better salary, and that was a job that was offered to me out of the blue that offered effectively a 50% raise on the spot, truely an offer too good to reject.
As the company I was working for at the time was being taken over and a lot of people were leaving I had more reasons though, I just hadn't been looking.
All other changed I've made were for non-monetary reasons.
One company went bankrupt, another I felt would go under quickly (and did shortly after I left), and the last they terminated my position and the job I was given was a deadend assignment so they effectively forced me out.

[Zip Ped]

Hi Abhishek,

I think you are paid very low for the experience you have. I really think you should be paid twice the amount or more as the market is really good in India. I am sure there are other companies in India who do good quality work and send their employees onsite too, if that is what you are looking for.

What's really making you stick around?

[Sai Surya]

Hi Abhishek,

Here is my experience, I joined in one company as contractor and based on my performance the company decided to offer me permanent position. At that time, one newly joined HR took my interview, and he asked me what is the guarantee that I will stay in the company for atleast 5 years. My answer is...

"What is the guarantee that company will stay for 5 months". Finally, I accepted the offer, thats a different issue.

Funny thing is, that HR left the company next week when he got an offer from somewhere. He worked in that company for 15 days.

My points are..

- What if company starts laying off employees? That means, companies always looks for their benefit.

- What great you get when stay in a company for long? Onsite travel, perks these are all peanuts compared to the money the company is earning by charging the clients by showing your work.

- We are in job just to care of our families, not to take care of the company. Don't loose opprotunities, because as you know, IT is not stable at any moment it can go down. So, make good money when you have chance,

Now, its your decision to stay for longer or to move on.

Good luck,
Surya.

[Sai Surya]

Hi Abhishek,

Here is my experience, I joined in one company as contractor and based on my performance the company decided to offer me permanent position. At that time, one newly joined HR took my interview, and he asked me what is the guarantee that I will stay in the company for atleast 5 years. My answer is...

"What is the guarantee that company will stay for 5 months". Finally, I accepted the offer, thats a different issue.

Funny thing is, that HR left the company next week when he got an offer from somewhere. He worked in that company for 15 days.

My points are..

- What if company starts laying off employees? That means, companies always looks for their benefit.

- What great you get when stay in a company for long? Onsite travel, perks these are all peanuts compared to the money the company is earning by charging the clients by showing your work.

- We are in job just to care of our families, not to take care of the company. Don't loose opprotunities, because as you know, IT is not stable at any moment it can go down. So, make good money when you have chance,

Now, its your decision to stay for longer or to move on.

Good luck,
Surya.

[abhishek roy]

Thanks Again guys. Your messages have really motivated me. About why I am staying in this company I ll tell you in a while. I have been to onsite almost every year and also this company has lots of projects and it is almost winning bids almost daily. So in the advent of new new contracts there is a tremendous oppurtunity to grow over here.

I have grown in terms of knowledge, process and as well as management. Work culture here is also good except for some nightmarish projects that had very short time schedules.

So money wise my low salary, I can compensate by onsite oppurtunities. On an average per onsite my savings come upto 2L per oppurtunity.

So somehow I am managing to make my ends meet. But as you all said I should have an offer in hand and negotiate. I ll definitely do that. Personally I want to stay in the company provided my company gives me normalized salary based on market standards.

One more query if you dont mind. After getting the offer letter should i put down the papers first and negotiate or first negotiate and then put down my resignation.

I am asking you because my company has a very strict policy of 90 days notice period. And the HR plays with you like a typical Indian Government Official.

Thanks again , I really appreciate your comments

regards,

Abhishek

[abhishek roy]

Thanks Again guys. Your messages have really motivated me. About why I am staying in this company I ll tell you in a while. I have been to onsite almost every year and also this company has lots of projects and it is almost winning bids almost daily. So in the advent of new new contracts there is a tremendous oppurtunity to grow over here.

I have grown in terms of knowledge, process and as well as management. Work culture here is also good except for some nightmarish projects that had very short time schedules.

So money wise my low salary, I can compensate by onsite oppurtunities. On an average per onsite my savings come upto 2L per oppurtunity.

So somehow I am managing to make my ends meet. But as you all said I should have an offer in hand and negotiate. I ll definitely do that. Personally I want to stay in the company provided my company gives me normalized salary based on market standards.

One more query if you dont mind. After getting the offer letter should i put down the papers first and negotiate or first negotiate and then put down my resignation.

I am asking you because my company has a very strict policy of 90 days notice period. And the HR plays with you like a typical Indian Government Official.

Thanks again , I really appreciate your comments

regards,

Abhishek

[Sai Surya]

Hi Abhishek,

You only agreed how generous your HR guys. First get an offer, then negotiate, if negotiation went positive, reject the offer. If negative, put down resignation and accept the new offer.

But, how will you manage 3 months notice period? Generally, new companies cry to give one month time notice!!!

Anyway, good luck.
- Surya

[nazeer hussain]

hi

all you need is a 100% hike in your current salary. everything else is already yours.

[ankur rathi]

I haven't read whole post so might be a repeatation...

Well, you are compensating salary with onsite savings. So, just think about other things like work-life balance (congrats for your marriage ) and anything you feel important for you.

All the best.
[ July 14, 2006: Message edited by: rathi ji ]

[Srishal SA]

Hi abhishek,

I feel this is a right time for you to quit. So get some new offers in hand
bargain hard for it. Multiple offers help you to bargain.
Also look for work life balance etc intangible things in your new employment.

Someone here advises to stays for at least 5 years per company. Although this advice
is ideal but not practical. In fact competent people find new opportunities easily
as against the people who stay in a particular company doing routine work.
their skillsets also rust

. Any company starts to stink after 2,3 years unless it pays you really
well or you get a lot of new things to learn/manage.

Your company seems to be growing and you definately need your share of pie.
The company management may only appreciate/reward you when you show them the offer letters.

Dont talk about 3 months notice. The future employer will run away from you..
1 month is fair enough.

Wish you good luck

[jay shankar]

There are 2 things you should look at when staying with a company for the long run.

1) Are you growing professionally (technology wise, domain knowledge, honing your skillset); You should see a pattern of progressive growth when you look back

2) Are you getting paid fairly w.r.t prevailing market rate

I personally don't believe much in compromising on things in return for reputation in the company, etc. You should always try to acquire skills that are universally acceptable, not only with a particular company. Remember that whatever you are called is only a particular "role" in the context of your employment with that company. If you improve your skillset and have confidence your abilities, you should look for better things or negotiate to strike a balance b/w the above 2 things.

I worked with a company for 7 continuous years and then left, as i felt that i'm not getting either of the above 2 things. The reason i stayed even for that long is that it paid me very well (when i was working in India), then came to the US thru the same company and realized that i'm being grossly underpaid. Unfortunately the market slumped in 2001 and i had to hang on until 2004 for things to stabilize. I nearly tripled my salary in 2 years after making that move.

Just my thoughts.

[abhishek roy]

Thank you shrishal, Jay for your suggestions. These are very vital for me. Yes I have decided to make the move. Just yesterday got the appraisal and you wont believe it, they have given me 7 percent increase. Well now I have decided that I will not negotiate with them. Now I have to change.

Thank you guys and thanks Java Ranch for really giving me some practical solutions. Now I have found the answer that is to change my job.

regards,
Abhishek

[Rambo Prasad]

Good decision Abhishek..Wish you all the Best...

[Shaan Shar]

Originally posted by abhishek goswamy:
Thank you shrishal, Jay for your suggestions. These are very vital for me. Yes I have decided to make the move. Just yesterday got the appraisal and you wont believe it, they have given me 7 percent increase. Well now I have decided that I will not negotiate with them. Now I have to change.

Thank you guys and thanks Java Ranch for really giving me some practical solutions. Now I have found the answer that is to change my job.

regards,
Abhishek

Hey it's really pretty less hike...
Let us know, when you got shifted, that where finally you have moved....

I wish you best of luck for you upcoming offers..

[abhishek roy]

Thank you very much Ankur, Prasad and Java Ranchers,

Definitely I will post all my experience on this post.
And keep all of you informed. Thank you very much for helping me taking a decision.

regards,
Abhishek