The most commonly cited path to a salary increase is changing jobs — and the data backs it up. Job switchers typically see salary jumps of 15–30%, while people who stay in the same role often see increases of 3–5% per year at best. The "loyalty premium" has largely disappeared. In many companies, the opposite is true: new hires earn at or above what you make after years of 3% annual reviews.
But changing jobs isn't always the right answer — or the right timing. There are concrete steps you can take to increase your salary at your current employer, and situations where external moves make more sense. This guide covers both, in order of reliability and effort required.
Step 1: Know where you actually stand
You can't negotiate effectively without knowing what the market pays for your role. This isn't about having a vague sense that you "deserve more" — it's about knowing your percentile.
Use our free salary checker to benchmark your current salary against the market for your specific role, location, and experience level. If you're below the 40th percentile, there's a clear, data-backed case to make. If you're at or above the 60th percentile, you need a different argument — one based on scope, performance, or specific skills rather than market lag.
This matters because the framing of your ask changes entirely depending on where you sit. "I'm below market for this role" is an objective, easily verified claim. "I just feel I deserve more" is an opinion your employer doesn't have to act on.
Step 2: Build your evidence before you say anything
The single best preparation for any salary conversation is a document of your contributions — not a vague list of things you did, but specific evidence of impact.
Start what some call a "wins doc": a running record updated monthly that captures:
- Projects you delivered and their outcomes (quantified wherever possible)
- Responsibilities you took on that weren't in your original scope
- Problems you solved that had measurable business impact
- Feedback from stakeholders, performance reviews, and managers
Good examples: "Led the migration to the new data platform, reducing query time by 60% and saving approximately €15,000/month in cloud costs." Or: "Took on line management of two junior analysts after the team restructure — responsibility not in my original job description." Or: "Closed €280,000 in new ARR in Q3, 140% of target."
If your role doesn't produce easily quantifiable outputs, focus on scope changes: what are you doing now that you weren't doing when your salary was last adjusted? How does your current remit compare to the job description you were originally hired against?
Step 3: Time your ask strategically
Timing is underrated. A well-prepared ask at the wrong moment is harder to approve than the same ask at the right one. The moments when salary increases are easiest to approve:
- Before the budget cycle closes. Find out when your company's annual planning or salary review cycle runs, and make your ask 4–6 weeks before it closes. Once budget decisions are locked, getting an exception is much harder.
- Immediately after a clear, visible win. Your value is most obvious when it's just been demonstrated. Strike while the evidence is fresh.
- After taking on significant new responsibilities. If your role has genuinely grown — you're managing people, owning larger systems, or leading initiatives that weren't in scope — the gap between your pay and your work is hard for a manager to deny.
- When you have external validation. A competing offer, inbound recruiter approaches at higher salaries, or published salary data showing you're below median — any of these change the dynamic from "I want more" to "here's the market evidence."
Timing to avoid: immediately after a difficult quarter, mid-performance cycle with no particular trigger, or after any visible underperformance.
Step 4: Ask directly, with a specific number
Many managers won't proactively advocate for you to be paid fairly — not because they don't like you, but because the system doesn't require them to. Your salary is one line in a budget that's been pre-allocated. Unless you raise the issue, the default is: nothing changes.
When you ask, ask for a specific number — not a range. "I'd like to discuss moving my base to £72,000" is a position. "I was thinking somewhere in the £68,000–£76,000 range" tells your manager they can offer £68,000 and you'll probably accept it.
The rationale should be external and factual: your market percentile, your scope expansion, your documented contributions. Not "I feel I deserve it" and not "I need more money." Those arguments put you in a weak position. Market data and documented impact put you in a strong one.
See our full guide on how to ask for a raise for a word-for-word script and advice on handling every possible response.
Step 5: Expand your scope deliberately
Pay increases often lag behind responsibility increases — but the responsibility increase is usually the precondition. If you're doing the work of the level above you, make that visible. Don't wait for someone to notice; name it explicitly in your next 1:1 with your manager.
The conversation: "I've been taking on [specific responsibilities] over the past [period]. I'd like to talk about whether this warrants a title adjustment and a corresponding salary review." This isn't a complaint — it's a factual observation and a clear ask.
In some companies, the path to higher pay runs through a promotion before a salary jump. Understand your company's levels and how they're compensated. If you're doing the work of a Senior [Role] but paid as a [Role], the explicit ask for the senior title — with the accompanying compensation adjustment — is often more actionable than asking for a raise at your current level.
Step 6: Get a competing offer (if internal routes have stalled)
If you've had the conversation internally and the response was insufficient — a smaller increase than you asked for, a promise to revisit that hasn't materialised, or an outright no — going to the external market is the most reliable lever available to you.
A competing offer doesn't require you to leave. It requires you to go far enough in an interview process to get a real offer at a real number. That offer does two things: it tells you exactly what the market will pay you today, and it gives you the strongest possible anchor for an internal conversation.
"I've received an offer from [Company] at [£X]. Before I make a decision, I wanted to talk to you — I'd genuinely prefer to stay, but I need to understand if there's a path to a similar number here."
The risk of this approach is real: you need to be prepared to actually take the offer if your employer doesn't match. Using a competing offer as a bluff, and being called on it, damages trust and leaves you in a worse position. Only use this lever if you'd genuinely consider moving.
For a full guide on how to use a competing offer correctly, see our step-by-step guide.
Step 7: Upskill into a higher-paying bracket
Sometimes the gap between your current salary and market rate isn't primarily a negotiation problem — it's a skills positioning problem. If you're a data analyst who doesn't code in Python, or a software engineer with limited distributed systems experience, the market will pay you less than peers with those skills — regardless of your years of experience.
Targeted upskilling can shift your market positioning meaningfully within 3–6 months. The skills with the strongest premium across European markets in 2026:
- Machine learning / applied AI — commands 15–25% premium above generalist software engineering and data science roles across all European markets
- Python for data analysis — a 10–18% premium over pure SQL analysts in data roles
- Infrastructure/cloud engineering — consistent premium above generalist backend engineering
- Product analytics and experimentation design — 10–15% premium for analysts with strong A/B testing and product analytics fluency
The calculus: a 3-month upskilling investment that shifts you from the 35th to the 65th percentile in your market is worth far more in expected lifetime earnings than almost any other use of that time.
What to do if nothing works
If you've had a well-prepared internal conversation and received an unsatisfactory outcome, and you're confident you're below market, the honest answer is: your employer may simply not be willing to pay market rate. That's information. Some companies are structured to pay below median and rely on other factors — mission, culture, development opportunities — to retain people. Some are just poorly managed.
If the gap is real and persistent, moving is likely the only way to close it fully. The external market doesn't have the institutional anchoring to your current salary that your employer does — a new company prices you against what the role is worth to them, not what you were previously paid.
Start with an honest benchmark. Use our free salary checker to see your percentile — that's the foundation of every salary decision that follows.