He Felt He Deserved a Raise—He Only Received a 10% Offer When He Handed in His Notice

Ally Perry • Writer and Editor

Jul 23, 2026 9:15 AM EDT

Failure to raise a salary in line with inflation is a pay cut.

If we are going to be frank, the vast majority of people in the workforce are doing their jobs primarily for the financial compensation. They want the security of seeing at least a couple of zeroes in their bank account, and ideally more.

It follows, then, that one of the best motivators an employer can give to reward and retain a good employee is to give them more money. Few workers truly believe that they are being paid enough, and they are more likely to continue going above and beyond at their job if they feel like it is going to be able to fund their lifestyle.

Despite this being a relatively straightforward remedy to many workplace qualms, a lot of companies are reluctant to give people a raise. After all, higher salaries for employees do not automatically translate into higher revenue. More often than not, fairer pay feels like an expense too far. Only when somebody games the office politics or truly gives them something to think about will they reach into their pockets and look for some of that extra compensation that they are seeking.

Add as a preferred
source on Google

via Vitaly Gariev

_{^{An employee sitting behind his laptop, holding his head in frustration}}
In this post, a marketer who was the sole employee in his department had grown increasingly frustrated with his company. He had asked for a salary adjustment multiple times, providing proof that he was being paid a salary lower than average for his position. Every time, management refused him his request.
He decided it was time to look elsewhere, and quickly got an offer for another job. When he broke the news to his current employer, they finally tried to give him what he had been asking for.
My Manager said there was no budget for a raise, then offered me 10% more two hours after I handed in my notice
This happened when I was working as the sole marketing guy for a mid-sized company. For over a year, I was managing all our ad campaigns, website projects, and social channels alone.
Every performance review, I asked for a salary adjustment. I brought market data showing I was paid way below average for the workload I was carrying. Every single time, my manager gave me the exact same line: money is super tight right now, maybe next fiscal year when performance improves.
After so many rejections, he had got to the point of no return.
So I stopped asking and quietly interviewed elsewhere. Got a solid offer at a much better company and handed in my two week notice on a Tuesday morning.
Two hours later, my manager calls me into a meeting room. Suddenly, the money that did not exist for 18 months magically appeared. He offered a 10% raise on the spot and promised to hire an agency to take some work off my plate.
It's amazing what a little decisive action will do.
I just stared at him and asked, if the budget was there all along, why did I have to quit for you to pay me what I am worth? He had no answer.
I turned down the counteroffer and left. It showed me everything I needed to know. Why do management teams wait until a two week notice to finally give people what they deserve?
He knew that no matter what their counteroffer was, they didn't appreciate what he was worth.
via Vitaly Gariev

_{^{An employee rubbing his temples while sitting behind his laptop}}
Commenters agreed he had the right strategy.

via Accomplished_Pea6334
via AdventureThink
via mdhkc
via beebeebee2142
via beebeebee2142

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

He Felt He Deserved a Raise—He Only Received a 10% Offer When He Handed in His Notice

Failure to raise a salary in line with inflation is a pay cut.

My Manager said there was no budget for a raise, then offered me 10% more two hours after I handed in my notice

Commenters agreed he had the right strategy.

Tags

Handpicked for You

{{title}}

Handpicked for You

{{title}}