Engineer a 30–100% Pay Raise in 12 Months

Your annual raise is set against last year's salary, not market rate. Most large pay jumps happen when you change jobs — typically 20–40% at a time. Stacking two of those moves is how people double in 2–3 years.

1. 01

   Get the market number first

   Before you negotiate anything, you need an honest read of what your role pays today, in your city, with your years of experience.

   • ▸Pull 10 listings on Levels.fyi, LinkedIn, Glassdoor — same title, same city
   • ▸Ask 3 people in your network what they pay for your role
   • ▸Write down the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile
2. 02

   Build a 'wins doc'

   Every Friday for 8 weeks, write down what you shipped, what it was worth in dollars, time saved, or risk reduced. This is your raise case AND your resume.

   PitfallListing responsibilities instead of outcomes. 'Owned X' is weak. 'Cut Y from 5 days to 1, saved $40k/year' is a raise.
3. 03

   Make yourself interview-ready

   Rewrite your resume around outcomes. Do 5 practice interviews. Update your LinkedIn so recruiters find you. You don't have to leave — you just have to be able to.

4. 04

   Start the loop

   Apply to 15–25 roles you'd actually take. Aim for 3–5 active processes at once. Interview for practice, not just for jobs you love.

   • ▸Block 2 hours every weeknight for the search
   • ▸Tell only people who would be happy for you
   • ▸Stack final-round interviews in the same week to create real leverage
5. 05

   Negotiate the offer (or the counter)

   When you get a real offer, you have three options: take it, counter it, or use it to negotiate with your current employer.

   • ▸Always counter the first offer — average bump is 5–15%
   • ▸Negotiate base, sign-on, equity, and start date separately
   • ▸Get the new number in writing before you tell your current employer anything

   PitfallAccepting a counter-offer with no structural change. ~50% of counter-offer-acceptors leave within 12 months anyway.