How can you get higher pay at your current company without burning bridges?

Question

I know that it's in the company's best interest to lowball you: Is there a way to get around this without burning bridges? I'm wary of doing something like getting a counteroffer, since that feels very aggressive.

Adding on to this: Even though we're a startup, we do have a fairly defined career matrix. We have levels (junior, intermediate, senior, etc) and a performance review every 6 months where levels are reassessed and promotions/raise are given where appropriate. So that's a path that can be taken.

Alex Chiou · Accepted Answer

There's 2 scenarios here:   The company is very warm and altruistic, willing to give an out-of-cycle raise because it's deserved.   The company is trying to get as much value from employees as possible and is more calculating as opposed to human. This 2nd is what 98%+ of companies are like. Companies are not charities. If they can retain you for X, they are going to pay you X, not X + 10. So you need leverage. Either you threaten to leave without an offer in-hand or you threaten to leave with one (most powerful option). In your scenario though, it looks like you have all the infrastructure needed to avoid leverage wars. Just do good work, and you'll get the promotion and raise to intermediate! Make sure to have a great self-review and feedback from your intermediate+ peers.  Related resources: Full in-depth session about performance review

How can you get higher pay at your current company without burning bridges?

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