I have been working in Software Development for the last 15 years. 6 years ago, I came to Australia and took up a lower-paying position just to get a start. Since it was a contract role for one year, I left it after a year since my boss was not ready to give me a raise on the new contract and was lowballing me. Why? That's another story for another time.
So, I got a job in a Software Development company in a permanent position. They offered me 10% less than what I was asking for saying that the annual bonus would cover for more than that. I was stupid and I took the job. When the time of the bonus arrived, I got about $50. I got to know from colleagues that that's the amount I should be expecting since the bonus is directly related to the number of days an employee is in a company.
Bonus = (Total bonus allocated for all employees/ Number of days of all employees) * Number of days you have worked.
So, the newer employees got a lot less than those working for 10-12 years. And a lot of them were working for more than 10 years in this 15 year old company. I felt cheated but I continued since job hunting is a hassle for me.
So, in May 2021 I decided to talk to my senior manager for a raise. I told him that my salary is much lower than the market rate and surely lower than other employees in the position and I would like a salary correction. He agreed that my salary is certainly lower than market rate and asked me the number I was expecting. I told him about 25%, which is still lower than the market rate. He tells me he will try and see what he can do since the company was bought by an American company in the month of April that year. Come July, he tells me he can only give me 6% since the parent company's financial cycle is different and in December he can get me at least double digits. I reluctantly agreed. He then asks me if I am open to a role change to a Team Lead. I let him know that I am willing and that I had already discussed it with my direct manager. But it seems he did not discuss this with any of the higher-ups. So, he proposes a plan to get me the promotion in June 2022.
In September, he again comes back to me and says that they are ready to give me 20% retention bonus if I stay until September 1st, 2022. I tell him the bonus is good but I am looking for a raise. He again tells me that he is working on it.
Now, come December I get to know that the appraisal cycle has been delayed and would happen in February. In February, the performance reviews start happening but things get delayed until March. Long story short, I get the increment letter on the night of April 20th this year and I get 4% increase with a thank you note for my hard work and commitment in the email. That was a huge disappointment for me. I got so pissed that I took the next day off and updated my resume on job sites. After this increase, there is a difference of about $40k in what is being offered in the market for the same role.
I have decided not to talk about increment anymore and look for another job instead as too much time has passed and I felt insulted and cheated.
I know I will get some increment with the promotion due in June-July and the retention bonus in September, but I still don't want to stay. I might seem like I am overreacting but I can't get this out of my mind and it felt like a slap in the face for staying in this company for 5 years.
Sorry for the long post. Rant over.