The Complete Guide to Average Salary Increases When Changing Jobs

As a consultant helping small businesses thrive, one issue I constantly advise clients on is compensation. Attracting and retaining top talent means offering competitive pay dictated by market rates. For employees specifically, switching jobs presents a prime opportunity to significantly boost your income. But how much of a raise can you realistically expect?

In this comprehensive guide examining over 20 statistics, we’ll dig into the average salary increases achieved when changing jobs across industries, regions, experience levels, roles, and more. I’ll also provide insider tips to equip you with negotiation strategies optimized for earning the highest raises possible.

Key Average Pay Increase Statistics When Job Hopping

Let’s start by establishing a benchmark for average earnings increases obtained from switching employers:

Data sources: [1] Zippia, [2] ResumeWorded, [3] ResumeWorded

While the average increase hovers right around 15% when changing roles, keep in mind that factors like location, experience level, and negotiating ability impact the raises you can obtain. Executives switching jobs could net 20-30% whereas entry-level changes yield 3-7% typically…

What Factors Influence Salary Increase When Job Hopping?

As a small business consultant, I guide owners through compensation benchmarking and talent acquisition. Here are the key elements that dictate salary increases when employees change companies:

Your Industry, Role, & Experience Level

• High-demand fields like technology, healthcare, and finance yield above-average raises thanks to scarce talent
• Executives and specialized workers have more leverage to negotiate larger increases between 20-30%
• Entry-level changers average only 3-7% increases given easily replaceable skills

I advise targeting roles requiring niche expertise in thriving sectors when aiming for a sizable pay boost from changing employers.

Overall Job Market Conditions

• In tighter labor markets with lower unemployment like today, employers compete fiercely for talent
• Pre-2020, average increases for changing jobs were ~10% historically
• At the peak of the “Great Resignation,” increases soared to ~20% before moderating to ~13% presently

When the job market favors workers over companies, it empowers stronger salary negotiations. Time job changes wisely when possible.

Company Size, Budgets, & Geographic Regions

• Larger firms and those in higher cost-of-living areas offer better compensation
• Average increases range from 8.8% in the resource-rich Northeast to just 3% in the Midwest

Consider whether target companies have ample budgets and pay scales to accommodate above-average raises.

Your Negotiation Skills & Instincts

• Hiring managers expect negotiation, so not pushing for more leaves money on the table
• Quantifying your value-add via metrics and illustrating uniqueness build leverage

I coach clients on articulating their value and negotiating tactfully but assertively. Salary increases don’t just happen – you have to make your case!

Actionable Strategies to Negotiate a Higher Salary Increase

As an entrepreneurship consultant, I guide small business owners on talent acquisition strategy. Here I’ll share insider tips for employees looking to maximize earnings growth when changing roles:

• Research typical pay for your experience level and target role using sites like Glassdoor or Salary.com to quantify reasonable increase ranges to request
• Catalog quantifiable achievements & impact using metrics like customer accounts grown, sales closed, productivity gains delivered, costs reduced, etc. that justify above-average increases
• Identify niche skills like software expertise, compliance knowledge, specialized certifications, analytics capabilities, or other scarce qualities that merit premium compensation
• Convey other offers or interest from competitors to add leverage in negotiations and pressure employers to step up salary offers
• Practice negotiating aloud to polish articulation of value-add and smooth responses to counters
• Have a minimum acceptable increase in mind, and walk away from lowball offers failing to appreciate your worth

The average increase might be 10-15%, but employing tactics like these enable increases of 20% or more.

Key Takeaways: Average Salary Increases When Changing Jobs

While the overall average raise hovers around 15%, increases between 10-30% are possible depending on your:

• Industry & Role: High-demand fields and specialized positions pay more
• Job Market Conditions: Tighter labor supply supports aggressive negotiations
• Company & Region: Bigger budgets in high cost-of-living areas yield better offers
• Negotiation Approach: Articulating value-add and willingness to walk from low offers is key

As an entrepreneurship consultant, I highly recommend small business owners invest in formal compensation benchmarking and talent retention review. Employees changing roles should similarly research industry salary norms and polish negotiation skills. With preparation and persistence, substantial income gains are within reach!