• An almost universal desire when moving jobs, but very rarely the prime motivation. The main reason for people embarking on looking for a new role is generally related to their dissatisfaction around their manager. The reasons are numerous and vary from the loss of integrity in the relationship through to that the subordinate has outgrown the manager and is no longer learning new methods or being challenged. Another prime factor is related around losing faith with the current employer, the organisation’s strategic goals or its performance against its market objectives.
You should place remuneration down the priority list and ensure that your motivations from a push factor are well founded and not just local to your particular division or manager and once this has been established and you have absolutely concluded it is time to move on then ensure that the type of new employers that you are considering resolve your issues. Money ultimately will rise to a priority once all else has been satisfied.
• The package. Gain an appreciation for what is your complete package. So include share options, pension scheme, bonus, car. How does that compare to the market? (you can take a look at comparable roles in the Online Appointments Magazine). How realistic is your desire for more money?
• Are you certain more money is not available in your current role? Around one-quarter of candidates Harvey Nash make job offers to are subsequently counter-offered by their employer. Whilst counter-offering is actually a pretty poor way to retain staff (most people who decide to stay put, end up leaving within 12 months anyway - counter offers are the equivalent of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted) its prevalence does illustrate that sometimes salary increases can be achieved without changing jobs.
• Money alone isn’t usually a good reason to leave and – of course – would make a rather poor answer to the ‘what is your motivation for moving?’ question.
• …but getting a firm understanding of what your needs and what is realistically possible is critical in deciding whether making a move is right for you, selecting what roles are worth pursuing and – later on down the line – salary negotiation.
In summary, factors that may encourage you to leave include:
• Ensure you have assessed all aspects of your rationale to move on and from a career perspective that it is the right time to move on and you have clarified your objectives
• You have investigated salary increase options and the type of role you seek
• Salary is not your sole motivation
• You have conducted your research in the market place and believe you can raise your salary by moving