13 min read
How Much Should You Ask for When Changing Jobs?
If you want one starting point, take your current base pay and add 15%. That lands in the middle of the 10 to 20% band that recruiters and pay guides quote most often for someone moving into a similar job at a new company. Treat it as a rule of thumb. Its main use is to stop you asking for the small bump you would get at a yearly review, which is the wrong frame for a move.
A new employer and your current one are playing different games. The new company has to pay what the role costs on the open market today. Your current company only has to pay enough to keep you from leaving. Your old salary sets the floor for your ask; the market rate for the new role sets the ceiling.
The data backs the gap. In Pew Research Center’s look at US workers over the year to March 2022, 60% of job switchers had pay that outgrew prices, against 47% of those who kept their employer. A move is often the one moment you get repriced.
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See what fits you →If you keep one rule from this page, make it this: use 10 to 20% as guardrails, then check the band against the market. If the market says the role pays well above your current salary plus 20%, ask for the market number. If it says the role pays less, the band was too hopeful for this move, and the next section shows why.
How Much to Ask for When Changing Jobs, by Situation
A flat percentage hides what decides your number most: the size of the jump. The right raise looks very different for someone doing the same work at a rival company than for someone stepping up a level or starting over in a new field. Find your row first.
| Your move | Typical ask | What pushes it higher |
|---|---|---|
| Same role, same industry | 10 to 20% over current pay | Years of small raises that left you under market |
| Step up a level | 20% or more | The pay band for the new title, not your old one |
| Full career change | Flat, or sometimes less | How much of your old skill the new field pays for |
| Competing offer in hand | The higher offer, or a bit above it | A written offer you would take |
Same Role, Same Industry: Asking for 10 to 20% More
This is the cleanest case. You are doing work the new employer already understands, so they carry little risk in hiring you. For a move to the same kind of job at a rival employer, the answer is the 10 to 20% band, and where you land inside it depends on one question: are you paid at market today?
If you joined your company five years ago and got the usual small yearly raises, you may be well under what a new hire in your seat would earn. In that case, the upper end of the band, or past it, is fair. You are asking to be paid what the job pays, which the new employer would have to pay anyone. If your current pay is already strong, aim nearer 10% and put more of your effort into the rest of the package.
Stepping Up a Level: When 20%+ Is Justified
Twenty percent sounds like a lot when you picture it as a raise. It stops sounding like a lot once you notice the job title is changing. A senior engineer becoming a lead, or an individual contributor becoming a manager, is moving into a new pay band. The right question is what that band pays, and your current salary has very little to say about it.
Price the new level directly. More US states now make employers post a pay range with the job, so start there. If the posted range for a manager role starts above your current pay plus 20%, ask inside that range. When the title goes up, the pay band for the new level sets the number, and 20% or more is normal. Expect pushback only if your number sits above the top of their posted range.
Changing Careers Completely: Why You May Ask for Less
A full change is the one case where the band can run backward. Employers pay for proven skill in their field, and in a new field you have less of it on paper. If you are figuring out how much to ask for when changing careers, sort your skills into two piles: the ones the new role uses on day one, and the ones it does not.
Ask for the mid-range of the new field for someone with the first pile of skills. A project manager moving into product, for example, brings planning and stakeholder work the new team will use at once, and should be paid for it. Then ask for something that makes up for a flat start: a written promise to review your pay after half a year, a sign-on bonus, or training paid by the company. Our guide to career change salary goes deeper on how to plan around a dip.
Using a Competing Offer to Raise Your Number
A second written offer is the strongest card in any pay talk, because it turns your market rate from a guess into a fact. Go back to the company you prefer, tell them you have another offer, and give the total number. Then say plainly that you would rather work with them and ask whether they can match or beat it.
Only use an offer you have. Recruiters talk, and some will ask to see it. A made-up offer that falls apart costs you trust with a company you wanted to join, and that is far more than the few thousand dollars you were chasing.
How to Calculate Exactly How Much to Ask for When Changing Jobs
A range gets you in the room. A number is what you say once you are there. This method answers “how much should you ask for when changing jobs?” and gives you a figure of your own. It takes about an hour of research.
- Write down your total pay today. Base salary, bonus, the employer match on your retirement plan, and what you pay for health cover. A higher base with weaker benefits can still leave you poorer.
- Find the market rate for the new role. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps wage estimates for about 830 occupations, by state and by metro area. Add two more sources: posted ranges for similar jobs near you, and one or two people who do the work or hire for it. Our walkthrough of the CareerOneStop salary finder shows how to read local wage data quickly. Take the middle of what you find.
- Run the two numbers. Number one is your current pay times 1.10 to 1.20. Number two is the market middle you just found. Your target is whichever is higher.
- Add room to settle. Put roughly 5% on top of the target. Most employers will come back lower than your first number, and the room lets them do that while you still land where you wanted.
- Set your walk-away number. The lowest base you would accept for this job. Write it down before any call, so you never have to decide it under pressure.
Your target is the higher of two numbers: your current pay plus 10 to 20%, or the market middle for the new role.
How Much Should You Ask for When Changing Jobs, Worked Through in Dollars
Here is how the method plays out for one made-up example, a marketing manager earning $70,000 who has an interview for a similar role at a larger company.
| Step | Number |
|---|---|
| Current base pay | $70,000 |
| Current pay plus 15% | $80,500 |
| Market middle for the new role (from research) | $84,000 |
| Target (the higher of the two) | $84,000 |
| First number you say (target plus about 5%) | $88,000 |
| Walk-away number | $80,000 |
What's a Normal Raise When Changing Jobs?
Most moves into a similar job land somewhere in that 10 to 20% band. Expect more if you step up a level or were underpaid where you are, and less if hiring is slow in your field or you are changing careers. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta keeps a wage growth tracker that plots job switchers and job stayers as separate lines, and the switchers usually run ahead. The size of that gap tells you how hot the market is for movers right now.
One note on location. These benchmarks are US norms quoted on base pay. If you are moving within India, where offers are quoted on total cost to company and hikes run on different numbers, read our guide to how much hike to expect when changing jobs instead.
When and How to Say Your Number
Timing matters almost as much as the number. The best moment to name it is after the company has decided it wants you, ideally once there is an offer on the table. Before that, they are still comparing you with other people, and a number can knock you out before they have seen what you bring.
There is a pull the other way. Harvard's Program on Negotiation notes that the first number in a salary talk tends to drag every later number toward it, and employers usually go first. If they open low, you end up countering from their figure instead of yours. The fix is research. When you already know the market middle, a low first offer reads as a low first offer, and you can say so calmly.
Put together, the rule is simple: hold your number until they want you, then say it first if you can, and say it with a reason. A number backed by your research is hard to talk down, even if they open first.
What to Say When They Ask Your Salary Expectations
Recruiters often ask on the first call. You have two good answers, depending on how early it is.
Early in the process: “I’d like to learn more about the role before I name a figure. What range has the team budgeted?”
Once there is real interest: “Based on what this role pays in this area and what I’d bring to it, I’m looking for a base of $88,000.”
Notice what the second answer leaves out: your current salary. A growing number of US states and cities bar employers from asking about pay history, and even where they can ask, you do not have to volunteer it. Your old salary is the anchor that hurts you most. If you have to put expectations in writing early, our guide to salary expectations in a cover letter covers how to phrase it.
What If the New Job's Offer Comes in Lower Than You Asked for?
It usually will. A first offer below your ask is the normal next step, and it is the step most advice skips. Here is what to do if a job offer is lower than you asked for.
- Do not answer on the call. Thank them, say you are excited, and ask for a day or two to look at the whole package.
- Ask where they have room. “Is there flexibility on base, or is the room in other parts of the offer?” The answer tells you where to push.
- Counter once, with one figure and the why behind it. “Based on the market data I found and what this role covers, I’d be able to accept at $86,000.” One clear counter beats three small ones.
- Trade on the rest if base is stuck. A sign-on bonus, a pay check-in after half a year written into the offer, a higher title, extra paid leave, remote days, or a later start date.
A polite counter that names one figure and explains it is an ordinary step in hiring, and recruiters expect it. Offers are rarely pulled over a respectful ask. They are pulled over ultimatums and long silences.
What If They Say No to Your Number?
If the company will not move on base, find out whether “no” means “never” or “not now.” Ask: “If I hit the goals we’ve discussed, could we revisit base at six months?” Get the answer in the offer letter, because a manager’s promise on a call leaves with the manager.
Then check the offer against the walk-away number you wrote down. If it clears that line, the choice is yours to make on everything else the job gives you. If it falls below and nothing else in the package closes the gap, walking away is a fair answer, and saying “I’m grateful for the offer, but I can’t make this number work” leaves the door open for later.
Mistakes That Shrink How Much You Ask for When Changing Jobs
Most people who leave money on the table do it in one of a few predictable ways. Each one is easy to fix once you can spot it.
- Anchoring to your old salary. Your current pay reflects your old employer’s budget and your raise history, not what the new job pays. Start from the market middle.
- Leading with what you need. “My rent went up” gives the employer a reason to pay you the minimum that covers rent. Tie your number to the role and the market.
- Giving a wide range. Say “$75,000 to $95,000” and the employer hears $75,000. If you give a range at all, make your target the bottom of it.
- Naming a number too early. On the first call, before they want you, any number can screen you out or cap you.
- Forgetting the full package. A $5,000 raise can vanish into a weaker retirement match, higher health premiums, or a bonus you lose by leaving before the payout date.
- Saying yes on the spot. Even a great offer deserves a night. Speed here only signals that you would have taken less.
Your old salary is the anchor that costs job changers the most money. If you are timing the move around a bonus or a vesting date, our checklist for changing jobs lays those dates out so you keep what you earned on the way out.
Know What You're Really Asking for Before You Name a Number
Most advice on how much to ask for when changing jobs treats the ask as a single number. For most people it is a trade. You are giving up something you know for something you do not, and money is only one of the things you might be trading up for. The other common ones are growth, flexibility, and stability, and each one changes what a good offer looks like.
Two people, same offer, different answers. Someone who most wants to grow might take $3,000 less in base to work for a manager known for promoting people. Someone with a long commute might value two remote days a week more than an extra 5%. Neither one is wrong. They are asking for different things.
Before the call, write your top three in order. That list tells you which parts of the package to fight for and which to give up when base pay gets stuck. It also guards against a common trap, covered in our piece on whether changing jobs for more money is worth it: taking the biggest number for a job you will want to leave within a year.
The hard part is that most people have never ranked these honestly. Asked whether they want more pay, more growth, or more freedom, the easy answer is “all of it.” The Pigment career test does not accept that answer. Question by question, it asks which of two pulls at work matters more to you, so your priorities come out in an order you can use. The report then covers your strengths, the way you prefer to work, and roles that match both. Knowing what you are trading up for tells you which parts of an offer to fight for.
So, how much should you ask for when changing jobs? Start with 10 to 20% over your current pay, check it against the market middle, take the higher number, add a little room, and know your walk-away line before the phone rings. Then decide what else you are asking for, because the best offer is the one that pays you fairly for a job you will still want next year.
Frequently Asked Questions About How Much to Ask for When Changing Jobs
“How much of a raise should I ask for?”
For a new job, 10 to 20% above your current pay is a fair start. Then compare it with what the market pays for the role and ask for whichever is higher. Inside your current company, raises usually run smaller.
“Is asking for a 20% raise too much?”
Not when you are changing jobs, and certainly not when the title goes up or you have been underpaid. It only becomes a stretch if 20% puts you above the top of the role’s posted range.
“What should you say when asked how much you want to earn?”
Early on, ask what range the team has budgeted. Once they want you, give one number tied to market data, such as “Based on what this role pays here, I’m looking for a base of $88,000.”
“How much salary increase is normal for a new job?”
Around 10 to 20% for a similar job at another company. Stepping up a level can justify more, while a full career change may mean flat pay at first.
“What percentage increase should you expect when switching jobs?”
Plan on 10 to 20% in a typical market. Switchers usually see faster pay growth than people who stay, so the move is often your best chance to catch up to market rate.
