I work in NYC doing front office support (IT). I've been with my bank (in the top 8) for 3 years. I am very busy (lots to do) and my role (risk & pnl using excel, VBA, & in-house analytics) is unique without a good backup person. Last year I was promoted to VP. I have an MBA in finance and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. My total finance job experience is about 5 years. Last year, my salary raise was 1%, and my bonus increase was 12%. My current base is 140k and my last year's bonus was 50k. I just had my mid-year review. My manager said he was happy with me. He asked me what kind of raise+bonus would make me happy at the end of the year? I am guessing he wants to keep me happy. Perhaps I am being naive? How would you respond to such question?Some facts:NYC housing cost has gone up 11-12%. Housing is about 70% of total expenses based on my research. I am very happy with my projects and the environment in work in. I'd like to be perceived reasonable and not greedy when I respond to their question. Our team just lost 3 people for various reasons when we were 12 in total.

get an offer from other place, and show it to your boss.

First, any increase in cost of living is irrelevant - that you have higher expenses does not make you worth more to the company. I'd also be a bit careful with the "we lost 3 people so pay me more" line because that might imply that you should take a pay cut or a wage freeze if they fill the empty positions.Instead, focus on what you've done in the past year and expect to do in the next year that makes you worth more to the bank than in previous years. If you created some new analytics that saved the bank money, document that. If you're accomplishing more tasks per week than before, document that. If your tasks touch a growing book of business, document that. If what you do means that others get more done, document that. I'd focus on how what you do every hour means more to the bank now than it did in the past.

agreed, cost of living and most of the other factors you quote are irrelavant. Try to get some market colour - look around jobs boards to get an idea of what you're worth - find similar looking jobs to what you could / should be doing at your current place & see what they pay (reduce by 15%-20% for headhunter salary inflation, then add back x% depending on how good you think you are)"my manager said he was happy with me""what kind of raise+bonus would make me happy?""I am guessing he wants to keep me happy"you're happy, boss is happy, being happy is lovely & warm & nice. you should quantify more though; maybe ask your boss outright how he rates you out of 10. This should allow you to be more objective about how much you should ask for - if you know he rates you highly, you won't look daft when you ask for a considerable raise. if he rates you only ok, you can ask what you need to do by the end of the year to make it a 10. Then you can do those things (document as you go along, like T4A says), and then you can ask for a fat raise.

Your boss can't increase your base salary just beacuse your expenses have gone up. In fact, that would be violation of "no-discrimination" policy, etc that most banks and their HR are very picky about. I have a feeling that had you been a core quant or in the asset management with more finance/modeling than support, your overall package would have been much higher than what you mentioned. If you ask for some 10% raise, that is something your boss might tell you back. "XYZ makes less than you and he is in core finance". In other words, how much people aroud you make is also an important factor. You can check with some friends, if you have any from MBA or alumni as to how much they make. If you are in the ball park, then don't expect much. If you make less than them, then you know what to ask. Personally I feel that for such support roles & for your experience , you are making at par with the street standard - perhaps 10-20 k less though. You can ask for that much at least.

Did the people you "lost" choose to go, or were they part of cost cutting ?If I assume that they chose to go, then a good chunk of your work has already been done, indeed if they have comparable skill sets, then I would give them a call to see if there are any more jobs going, and what the pay is like.Having lost people is a signal that the money isn't great where you are.I agree about the cost of living items, you are worth what you can get, and if you can't eat, that is your problem.A salary raise of 1% sounds like some sort of central screw down of IT costs ?An issue to take into account is that your bonus and pay are usually done in the same time frame, so if you give too much indication that you may leave, then they may decide that any bonus paid to you is wasted.

if the need you want to keep you ... do bargain ... if can do downside cuz of cost cutting.. leave it with them,,, do keep a back door open all the time...

QuoteOriginally posted by: RiskCapitaldo keep a back door open all the time...Well, although I alwas tell people to be prepared to go the extra mile to please their boss, I think that this taking things a bit too far!

Yeah, ask your boss how much he thinks you're worth.With the run on the banks over the past few weeks, you may get less than you bargained for this year (and next) ...Pink Slips Hit Wall Street.

So I asked for a 15% raise mid year in 2007. They told me they will do the best they can. I got a total comp of about $200k. They told me that they want to keep me happy and I was in the highest paid bonus group in terms of %. Since I'm loaded with work and no one else can do the things I do, my manager wants me to help him hire some one to help me. When I asked for an increase in pay and title due to added responsibility, he said that the new guy will be under him but helping me. I asked him to discuss this with our boss since my whole heart would not be behind this with the current arrangement. He talked to our boss and they said the they are still busy dealing with people who got a lot less than me. What would you do if you were me? FYI: I'm very happy with my work, people I work with, people I report to, location of my work, etc.

I got surprised to know that you only get $200K. It seems to me that at least $250K or $300K is more reasonable for all these: (1) working on the front desk; (2) with 3+ years working experience; (3) Ph.D in engineering; (4) Master in finance; (5) very overloaded and assume quite a lot responsibilities. I can tell you that $200K -- is definitely well underpaid. I have a friend who works in the IT unit and lives a very lesure life in the investment bank. He only has a master degree but with 6+ years of working experience. But his total package is $230K. Your working experience is short, but you are working in front desk, and you are very busy, and you are a Ph.DI strongly advise you to talk with your friends or former collegues to have a general idea of their compensation, not very specific numbers but at least which compensation range they are in. Again, I'm telling you, you are very much underpaid.

That's great input Hinstings. This is one of the reasons I love our forum. I've put my resume out and head hunters have told me that they can get me $250k. At this point the only way to talk senses to my current company is to get another offer and give my notice. I wish it didn't come to this. I am turned off here and don't feel like putting my heart into my work. If you were me would you help in the hiring of a new guy? Would you talk to the head of the trading operations?

First of all, it is good for you to begin to look for your next job. Always keep yourself open to opportunities. Under normal situation, I would suggest you to move to your next job if you can get a decent offer, and do not use your offer to negotiate a better pay in your current company. Anyway, you already know the mentality of the managers in your current company. Even if they reluctantly give you a counter offer and to keep you there, that's the end. You still cannot expect any decent reward or salary increase even if you work very hard in the coming days. The worse scenario may even be -- they kick you out once they find a good backup.However, when you decide to leave, you should offer your manager to help him in the hiring of a new guy and train him if time permits. Always behave professionally. Wall street is a very small circle. You don't know when you will work with your current manager again.

With the market the way it is, i.e. the looming recession in US and the layoffs in banking, it would be best to stay put I think. Don't you agree?

to stave off an impending layoff, make an appointment with your manager and ask for a pay CUT. Ask for a 25% pay cut... they may not give so much to you since they don't want you to be unhappy. But at least they can cut you 20% and re-evaluate whether at reduced pay you might be worthwhile to keep on. This is a brilliant strategy because, when the firm starts to do better next year, everyone will remember how you "took one for the team." You will be quickly raised back to your original level plus some extra to show their appreication! All your coworkers will wonder why you got promoted.