
Ask HN: Tell company I am getting actively recruited? - casper345
I am getting actively recruited from both large and small companies. I am not interested as a enjoy my job alot. But my yearly review is coming and I know  from others that the negotiate raises. Should I let them know about this&#x2F;will that leave a sour taste with them? I don&#x27;t want to threaten but also want them to knnow where Im coming from.
======
world32
No, don't tell them. Not because they will take it as a threat but because you
will look quite silly if you do mention this. Recruiters scan LinkedIn for
anybody that has even just a couple mention of the skills they are looking for
and then send all the matches messages along if they're be interested in a new
job.

If you had an actual job offer on the other hand then that would be a
different story. Then you could reasonably say "I have had an offer for this
much salary so please can you match that otherwise you are asking me to work
below my market rate for you and although I like working here I don't think
it's fair to ask that of me".

~~~
avichalp
Good advice. Also, if you have job offerers and you are not letting them know,
but your colleagues are effectively communicating job offers they have, then
they will be prioritised for a raise over you.

------
tedmiston
I've always personally believed in the show-by-doing approach here. If you
want to negotiate a raise, find a way to provide more value to your company,
get feedback from your boss that it would be valuable. Then come review time,
demonstrate that you've been contributing _beyond_ your current role in this
capacity.

Most engineers are getting messaged by recruiters regularly. This is not a
surprise to your boss if he has good engineers on the team. But I don't think
that leveraging this in itself is an effective technique for negotiating a
raise. In my opinion, being recruited doesn't affect the value you create in
your current role unless you believe that your comp is below market, or you
have grown significantly beyond the role you're officially in now. Just my 2¢.

------
thiago_fm
If you want to negotiate a raise, you can tell them what you did and display
that you want to grow more with and in the company. Without having anything to
show that is not possible.

You can also take those interviews, ace them and use a higher offer as
leverage, but that can be risky, as you company might say no and you need to
go to this other job.

What I recommend is that people even though that they enjoy their jobs, they
do interviews for perceived good companies, that they would like to work on,
and in case they get an offer, they negotiate with their own company. So if
the company doesn't want to give you that raise, you go to the other company
which gives you a potential good outcome for both possibilities.

------
eb0la
Would you tell your wife/partner someone is flirting with you?

We all know the job market lives crazy times right now; but if you mention you
are getting recruiter calls, It might backfire.

Better use that calls to know how to advance your careeer, which skills are un
high demand, and use that info wisely.

------
obstacle1
You negotiate when you have leverage. Leverage is an implied threat that you
will leave the company where the cost to the company of you leaving will be
significant. You have to be ready to actually leave the company in order for
this to work. Generally this involves having a competing offer in hand.

Since you do not have an actual offer and you are not going to leave the
company, you should not try any tactics in negotiating a raise. Your best play
is to make a case based on the value of your work and ask politely and hope
for the best. This will not get you a big raise, but it may get you a modest
one.

This is not the optimal position for you in terms of career development, but
it is the position you are putting yourself in by wanting to stay in your
current job regardless of potential opportunities externally.

------
vebu
I am in a similar situation but I already put my notice. What I did was speak
to my manager and then speak to the founder. Both of them agreed that I should
take the new opportunity and move on. Go ahead and talk to your
manager/founder. They'll not feel threatened. They will support you with good
advice.

------
ziddoap
In my opinion it comes down to approach.

If you hang a banner above your desk ("I'm being recruited all the time!"),
yes they will have a sour taste.

If you go through your review, and you aren't making headway on negotiations
without bringing it up - it might be time to approach it.

------
shoo
> I am getting actively recruited from both large and small companies. I am
> not interested as a enjoy my job alot.

If your employer is aware that you enjoy your job and are not interested
switching companies, that might lead them to not give you much of a raise --
since you're already happy and not going to leave. (Not everyone would think
this way, but it's a fairly obvious line of reasoning).

Suppose your yearly review does not produce a result you are happy with. What
are you going to do?

Are you cultivating alternative options for employment that you could tolerate
and would give you the raise you desire? I.e. are you turning the inbound
interest into actual offers for jobs and packages you'd be willing to accept?

------
SamReidHughes
Everybody gets actively recruited. So the words don't mean much.

------
askafriend
Ha. I’ve been getting recruiting inbound every single day for years and so
have many engineers I know.

It’s just largely top of the funnel spam.

Doesn’t give you any leverage, unfortunately.

------
saluki
y, I wouldn't express hey I'm being recruited.

If they value you and you are providing value use that as leverage. Sometimes
no matter how good a developer you are or how valuable you are they won't give
you the raise you think you deserve.

Sadly sometimes the best way to get a large raise is to change companies so
keep that in mind.

Good luck.

------
tuananh
the best leverage is when you get an offer AND you're prepare to leave!

