conversation: User (SoupSaladBreadsticks): "I've been working for this company for just over 4 years. It was the first position I accepted after graduating college &amp; has been a great place to get my feet wet in the industry. I've been fortunate to advance quickly and be recognized as someone they'd 'like to promote to the leadership team in a few years time.'\n\nA few months ago, they approached me about the opportunity to relocate to one of their other offices where they'd lost a valuable senior staff member. The office is about 600 miles away from where I currently work &amp; the cost of living in that city is roughly 5-10% higher. The job they've asked me to consider includes a multitude of new responsibilities, not the least of which is managing &amp; mentoring a staff of 3-4 junior team members.\n\nI currently make just over $51k and the value of the contracts I manage exceeds $700k. The company generally makes a profit of 20% contract value. Friday, they gave me their offer consisting of a 5% raise and an offer to share moving costs. I was taken aback by this as I feel I add far more value to this company than they are compensating me for and, as it was their request that I relocate, I think they should be covering moving costs in full. When I pushed for an explanation of why the offer was low, I was told that my salary already exceeds others with my years of experience and that they can't go higher because it "isn't fair to my peers." I was told that I should be grateful for the opportunity &amp; potential 'fast-track' advancement after proving my managerial chops.\n\nIt's extremely frustrating to me to be expected to take an offer based on the promise of future advancement. They are essentially asking me to replace someone with twice my years of experience, in a different state, and to manage a staff on top of my current duties, for about $2500. \n\nI have a follow-up meeting on Monday. I'd like to make a counteroffer, but haven't settled on what that should be. 15%? 20%? If they don't budge, my inclination is to walk away from this offer &amp; my employer, chalk this up as a learning experience, and find somewhere where I'll be more valued. \n\nWhat is your thought?\n\n**EDIT: Thank you all for your input! This got far more attention than I anticipated &amp; I truly appreciate you guys taking the time to weigh-in on my situation. I'll let you know how the follow-up goes!\n\n**UPDATE: Meeting was delayed until this morning, so apologies for keeping ya'll on the edge of your seats! I decided to counter for a 15% raise (bringing me up to just shy of $60k) + full moving costs (including PTO to find a place, lodging &amp; rental costs during said trip, cost of hauling possessions, and cost to break my current lease--likely around $5k in total value). While they declined my request for a salary increase (due to years of experience, as expected despite my best effort to combat that argument), they approved paying for full moving costs &amp; are working on an offer for me to get a percentage of the profit from my contracts in perpetuity. No word on what that percentage is just yet, but I will know likely by the end of today. If it comes back as an attractive offer, I plan on accepting &amp; relocating for at least a year to get the resume line before jumping ship.\n\nFor anyone looking to do the same, this is my experience: I went in with a counteroffer letter succinctly thanking them for the opportunity, letting them know what I objected to, and restating my cause (happy to share my write-up if anyone is interested). There was **a lot** of discussion--mostly me reinforcing why I am of extreme value to the company and them reinforcing that they can't increase my salary based on their 'verified data.' We hit a stalemate about 20 minutes into the conversation, which was only broken when I asked what else they'd be willing to put on the table. They suggested the profit percentage as a way for me to have a more direct investment in the company &amp; make some extra money to bring me up to the level of pay I originally requested. I'd thought of asking about this option previously, but honestly didn't think that they would go for it--shows that you might as well throw it out there! We'll see what happens next.\n\nAgain, **thank you** for all of your input, sympathy, and cautionary tales. I would not have been nearly as prepared without your help!"
  Self: "If you really like the company and opportunity, definitely get alternative job offers, then come back to the table prepared. You'll have nothing to lose AND hard data about your potential earnings.\n\nIf you don't like the company so much...sounds like it's time to go. In which case, you have to be interviewing anyway."
  