How to Negotiate Salary Increases as a Software Developer

When you are trying to negotiate an increase in salary as a developer, there are so many different things you need to balance; the needs of the HR team, individual qualities, and the goals of the companies. It’s not the easiest thing in the world.

It doesn’t matter whether you are trying to negotiate the first salary increase or have been in the business for some time, this post can help you understand the different considerations you need to make when looking for a raise. We are going to do this by answering the following questions:

• How do you approach a salary raise?
• Do you need a record of metrics to show what you are worth?
• Can you leverage your years of experience?
• Is it wise to use a job offer to add pressure?
• What can, and should you do if your raise request is rejected?

How Do You Approach a Salary Increase Negotiation?

When you are approaching your human resources team to seek a salary raise, there are some things you need to make sure you know. This includes:

• What is your company’s policy on raises?
• Does your company offer budgeting goals for salary raises?
• Is there any type of formal review processes in place?

Some startups implement strict policy in salary raises to create uniform systems for software developers. This is ideal because you don’t even need to worry about even asking for a raise.

It is often more common for some businesses to have a review process in place, where colleagues and HR personnel can critique and share honest feedback on your cultural fit, behavior, and performance. Your salary raises, if they find you’re entitled to one, are determined through these reviews. This is often the fairest way to do it, as it removes a lot of the pressure involved with seeking out a raise.

It’s important, though, to try and pick the right time to ask for a raise. If your company has no room in its budget or has struggled recently, you’re unlikely to get a raise. 

Do You Need a Record of Metrics to Show What You Are Worth?

What happens if your company offers you a raise and it’s not quite as high as you were expecting? Should you keep a record of certain metrics to show your value?

There are actually several things you can do to really show your value and help back up your request for a raise.

One-On-One Meetings

One-to-one meetings are incredibly useful as they allow your team leader to track your performance, whether it’s every month or every two months, discuss any issues, and anything else relevant.

With regards to a raise, the information gleaned from these meetings can be helpful to your HR team in deciding about your raise. 

Peer Reviews

Peer reviews are also useful. Ask your team leader or one of your colleagues to work alongside you closely so they can write a fair and accurate review of your work. It could cover your biggest achievements, how well you work in a team or why they feel you are an asset to the company. 

Metrics

Some of us software developers are not fans of keeping individual metrics, but this is still a useful way to show evidence of your value to the company. Track the right kind of metrics, though. The number of solved bugs opened PRs and commits give the HR team an idea of your value. 

Journaling

To prove your value to the company, you need to understand your own value. Journaling can help to do this, as you can track any project contributions and improvements, milestones, or important events you have achieved. How your projects affect the financial reporting of the company. This can be a great reference point when requesting your raise as a lot can happen in a year.

Can you Leverage Your Years of Experience?

As a metric, although there are plenty of software developers who leverage their years of experience metric when requesting a raise. We would recommend that you avoid using this because it really doesn’t tell your HR team and the decision-makers anything of note about your value or skill. Absolutely any developer can work for many decades for the same company without progressing. On the other hand, a new-start employee could achieve more and add greater value to a company in just two years, compared to one that worked for 10 years. 

Is It Wise to Use a Job Offer to Add Pressure?

If you intend to use the fact that you have a job offer from another company to leverage the salary raise you are after, you need to be cautious. While there are some instances when it makes sense, like if you are a highly reputable developer that contributes significantly and impactfully in the majority of projects. 

However, it’s not really the best idea, in most scenarios. It could be construed by your employers that you see your salary as more important than company culture and goals. Yes, it’s your job and yes you do care about the money, but it can be off-putting for employers if they think you are not a team player or company person. 

It is also not always the wisest approach because when you try to leverage a job offer as a reason to increase your salary to make you stay, you are showing your current employers that you have been looking for work from other companies, and potentially, competitors. This may backfire, because why would they want to give you a raise if you are looking to leave? 

What Can, and Should, You Do If Your Raise Request is Rejected?

You need to be careful if your company rejects your raise request. While you may find it difficult at first, you need to keep your emotions in check and continue to act professionally and responsibly. You want to show you are still committed to the company and want to remain professional. Remember, a company that can’t necessarily afford a raise this year might be different even in 6 or 12 months.