It had been a grueling eight months of coding into the nights, stressful deadlines, continuous spec changes, bad planning and estimates and bug fixing that was almost impossible to replicate reliably... You know the drill.

Then the celebrations - Champaign and a company wide barbeque.

It felt good. The project, despite the delays and hiccups will bring in hundreds of thousands for the company, and the team can finally relax.

"Now is my chance" I thought, "to get that raise I had been delaying asking for".

All to be disappointed by a meagre 5% increase. I was shattered.

Truth be told, this didn't happen to me exactly like this, but close.

In case you're interested...

If you are looking for guidance in career development, I help IT developers create their dream jobs through self discovery, career planning and how to make the best out of your job. Contact me if you would like to discuss further.

Lets dive in.

What's In It For Me?

Companies don't pay after the fact. They have one degree of loyalty - and that's to its shareholders.

When they hire, they spend vast amounts of money, hundreds of thousands... Why? In order to solve a problem.

Once the problem is solved? You have lost your leverage.

Survival Of The Fittest

Whether you have been working 10 years or 10 months, when the company is downsizing, you both get one months notice and one month's pay.

So when should you ask for a raise?

When the project is about to start.

This is when the company has the most pain, and will pay for that pain to go away. Take advantage of the right time.

Let me know if you have had similar experiences before?

In case you're interested...

If you are looking for guidance in career development, I help IT developers create their dream jobs through self discovery, career planning and how to make the best out of your job. Contact me if you would like to discuss further.