My boss came to me with an official promotion date and proposed salary. I’ve done a ton of research over the last year as I’ve been interviewing externally (knowing I’ve been underpaid) and doing research internally, so I had a number in mind that we’ll call $X4, which would have been a 40% increase over my current pay. In my mind, I was aiming for $X3, a 30% increase. Boss shared a number that got me partway there, $X2. After I asked if there was wiggle room, he asked if I had a number in mind. I said yes, and that I’d send him an email. This is what I sent:
Hi Boss – Thank you again for the recognition of my hard work and leadership on the otter analytics team. I am excited to step into a more formalized leadership role and remain dedicated to ensuring the success of this program while growing the capabilities of the team.
I’d like to have a discussion about my compensation. Based on my internal and external research, the proposed base of $X2 is not aligned to what others in this role have been paid, nor the market rate for comparable jobs/experience. Attached is some of my research for similar and even more junior roles. (I had attached four postings with salaries listed, some even with target starting ranges; two were within our direct industry, including one with a direct competitor. My role is very niche and not all companies have it, not even all companies within our industry, so market research can be tough.)
Ultimately, I’m looking for my base salary to be $X4.
In addition to the overall scope of this role, I feel this reflects the value I bring to the team: my experience, capabilities, institutional knowledge, and proven performance.
I look forward to further discussion and seeing what the future holds for this team!
Thank you,
Me
A day went by and he called me with a number that was not $X4, but was now $X2.7 — they had come up, but not to that $X3 number I was really holding out for. He could tell I wasn’t thrilled and asked me to think on it over the weekend. I did, then went back one more time:
Thank you again for the update on my promotion. I would like some additional consideration on my base compensation, targeting closer to $X3.3-X3.5.
The current amount of $X2.7 does not reflect the full scope of this role. I have committed not only to leading [program] through the 2026 cycle to ensure continuity, but also to spend significant time both training multiple newcomers and working through [major strategic project that has a ton of company dollars and eyeballs attached to it], which relies both on my [program] knowledge and my experience working as a product owner for [internal tools he was previously unaware of my experience on].
Additionally, I’ve led the team through over X hours of [efficiency program] savings over the last two years which conservatively save over $X in labor annually while reducing both risk and speed to delivery in multiple facets of our process. I remain committed to furthering our efforts to simplify, automate, improve, and reduce risk, and in fact have already done so in 2025 through both [two major projects I’ve already identified, initiated, and completed on my own this year].
I look forward to further discussion.
Me
Unfortunately that email did not net me anything additional. I got a short speech about the political capital it took to get me from $X2 to $X2.7, but did get a commitment to revisit both my title and pay at year end. I could tell my boss was nervous I would walk over the lack of additional funds; while I was/am disappointed to not have hit $X3, there are more factors at play than can fit into this email and I am happy enough for the time being. Because I committed to a certain length of time in this role, I do have a loose “out” date set and, whether it’s within this role or the next, there will be another reckoning with compensation soon enough. Meanwhile, I’m all but guaranteed a bump in title and a decent bonus at year end as long as I don’t completely destroy the program in my first year as a leader!
This language and strategy worked for me because I knew they were in a serious bind if I walked. They are motivated to keep me not only in my role and on my team, but at this company. I am one of our top performers globally and would be considered a loss in terms of talent planning. I had leverage, and I used it about as well as I could have without damaging my reputation. Advocating for myself was incredibly uncomfortable and my heart rate skyrocketed more than once while writing these emails and having these conversations, but they were necessary to get me anything close to what I am worth — a 27% increase isn’t nothing, even if it was on an underpaid salary to begin with.
Thank you, Alison and the AAM commentariat for your years of collective wit and wisdom — they’ve been both valuable and invaluable!