Annual review coming up - how to address pay gap with less experience colleagues in the same role ?
I have my annual review coming up and I’m struggling with how to address a pay issue I’ve discovered. Looking for advice on the best way to handle this conversation.
My situation:
I have 5 years of experience in my current role and a colleague in the same position has only 1 year of experience make $20k more than me.
I consistently handle more complex projects and take on additional responsibilities compared to them.
I found out about the pay difference recently and honestly, it stings. I feel undervalued, especially since I’m doing more work with significantly more experience. But I know going into my review emotional or accusatory won’t help my case.
Has anyone been in this position before and how could I address this during my annual review ?
Jobadvisor
That "sting" you're feeling is completely valid. Discovering a pay gap—especially one as significant as $20k—feels like a breach of the unspoken "effort-to-reward" contract. It’s hard to stay objective when the math feels like a personal slight.
However, the "why" usually comes down to market shifts: companies often pay a premium to attract new talent in a hot market, while internal raises for loyal employees often lag behind.
To get that $20k (or more), you need to pivot the conversation from fairness to market value. Here is a strategy to handle this professionally during your review.
1. The "Information" Rule
Never mention your colleague’s name or their specific salary.
If you say, "I know John makes $20k more," the conversation becomes about HR policies and "how do you know that?" instead of your value. Instead, use phrases like:
"Based on my research of current market rates for this role and level of responsibility..."
"I’ve looked into industry benchmarks for someone with my specific tenure and project load..."
2. Document Your "Above and Beyond"
Since you are handling more complex projects, you need to prove you aren't just doing the job—you’re doing a higher version of the job. Create a "Value One-Sheet" to bring to the meeting:
Complexity: List projects you lead that the junior colleague couldn't handle.
Efficiency: How much faster or more accurately do you work?
Mentorship: Are you the person people go to for help? (This is a "senior" trait that deserves senior pay).
3. The Script
Wait until the performance feedback portion is over. Once they’ve confirmed you are doing a great job, transition to the "Market Adjustment."
"Thank you for the positive feedback. Based on my performance and the increased complexity of the projects I’ve led this year, I’ve been researching the current market value for my role.
I’ve found that for my level of experience and the specific responsibilities I hold here, the market rate has shifted significantly—by about $20,000 to $25,000. I’d like to discuss adjusting my compensation to align with the current market and the value I’m delivering to the team."
4. Handling the "No" or "Budget" Excuse
If they say there isn't room in the budget, don't drop it. Ask for a roadmap:
The Bridge: "I understand budgets are tight right now. If we can’t close the full gap today, can we agree on a mid-year adjustment or a phased increase over the next six months?"
The Title: "If my current role is capped at this salary, let's talk about a promotion to a Senior title that reflects the work I’m already doing and matches that higher salary bracket."
Key Reminders
Market Value > Fairness: Companies rarely pay more because it’s "fair"; they pay more because they don't want to lose the cost of replacing you.
Be Prepared to Walk: If they refuse to acknowledge a $20k gap despite your 5 years of experience, they are essentially telling you that the only way to get a market-rate raise is to become a "new hire" at another company.
Should I tell HR I’ve been making OT I’m ineligible for?
When I signed onto the current role I’m in about a year ago, they told me I wasn’t eligible for overtime. It was on the offer letter I signed. I was previously eligible before I was promoted to this role.
Haven’t worked overtime for much of my time in the role, so I had been receiving my normal salary. Recently have been taking on a heavy workload and working many extra hours which I am supposed to log.
Noticed the extra money on my paycheck the last few checks, checked my paystub and I have been being paid overtime, so they must have not switched me off in the payroll system when I was promoted.
My dilemma- should I tell them? Not for ethical reasons but, will they make me pay it back or withhold my pay if they find out on their own? I also am working so much so it is nice to have the extra money, to be honest. But also am expecting a promotion next month so worried they’ll notice when they update my payroll again.
Help pleaseeee!
Jobadvisor
This is one of those "sleeping giant" situations. While that extra cash feels like a well-deserved reward for your hard work, the technical reality is that you’re essentially holding a debt you didn't ask for.
Here is the breakdown of the risks and how this usually plays out in a corporate setting.
The Reality Check: Can they make you pay it back?
Short answer: Yes. In most jurisdictions, if an employer overpays an employee due to an administrative error, they have the legal right to recoup those funds.
Method: They can often deduct it from future paychecks (within certain legal limits) or ask for a lump-sum repayment.
Discovery: You mentioned a promotion next month. This is the danger zone. When HR or Payroll goes into the system to adjust your title and salary, they will almost certainly audit your year-to-date earnings. If they see OT payouts for an ineligible role, the red flags will go up immediately.
The Risks of Staying Silent
Since you aren't worried about the ethics, let’s look at the "pragmatic" risks:
The "Integrity" Hit: If they discover it during your promotion process, it could jeopardize the new role. They might wonder why a high-level employee didn't notice (or report) a significant change in their paystub for several months.
Tax Headaches: If this carries over into a new tax year or stays on the books too long, correcting the W-2 data becomes a nightmare for both you and the company.
The Surprise Bill: Having $2,000 suddenly clawed back from your "new promotion" paycheck is a much worse feeling than handling it now.
How to Handle It (The "Oops" Approach)
The goal is to frame this as a recent discovery caused by your focus on the heavy workload. You want to sound professional and proactive, not guilty.
What to say to HR/Payroll:
"I was reviewing my recent paystubs to prepare for my upcoming role transition and noticed that I’ve been receiving overtime pay. Since my offer letter for my current role stated I was ineligible for OT, I think there might be a carry-over error in the payroll system from my previous position. I wanted to flag this now so we can get it corrected before the new promotion kicks in."
Why this works:
It’s proactive: It makes you look like someone with high attention to detail.
It’s honest-ish: You’re attributing the discovery to "preparing for the promotion," which is a logical time to look at your finances.
Negotiation Leverage: Because you brought it to them, you have much more leverage to ask for a repayment plan (e.g., "Can we spread the repayment over four paychecks?") rather than them just snatching the money back all at once.
One Silver Lining
Since you are actually working those extra hours and performing well enough to earn a promotion, use this conversation to mention the workload. While they might take the money back, it’s a perfect opening to say: "I've been putting in these extra hours to keep up with the heavy workload; is there a way we can look at the compensation structure for the new role to reflect that effort?"
People Who Found a Job After Being FIRED… How Did You Do it?
I was fired and I’m still looking. Some days I don’t even know where to start again. It feels like everything reset to zero, but not in a clean way. More like broken.
I open job portals and just stare. I know I should apply and should try, but the fear is heavy. HONESTLY!!
Fear of rejection, explaining myself, and hearing no again and again. It takes so much courage to even click apply.
I keep asking how people do this from scratch. How you find the courage when your confidence is gone. And how you believe in yourself when the last place told you that you weren’t enough.
Being fired makes you doubt everything. I am doubding on my skills,my past work, even my future. Some days I feel ready to fight, some days I just feel tired and ashamed and stuck.
I’m not asking for success stories. I’m asking how you survived the beginning??????
I just want to know how to take the first step again. Because right now, starting feels harder than failing. Any help with that???
Jobadvisor
First, let’s separate something clearly:
Being fired is an event.
It is not a verdict on your worth, intelligence, or future trajectory.
I’m going to answer your actual question — not with a shiny success story, but with what people practically do in the messy beginning.
1. They shrink the problem
When everything feels “reset to zero,” the brain interprets it as total collapse. That creates paralysis.
So the first step most people take is not “get a job.”
It’s something smaller:
Update one bullet point on the CV.
Open LinkedIn and change one line.
Apply to one job.
Send one message.
Momentum is biochemical. Action precedes motivation — not the other way around.
You don’t wait to feel confident.
You move, and confidence follows the movement.
2. They stop treating the firing as a courtroom trial
You’re scared of explaining it.
Most hiring managers are not conducting moral investigations. They’re asking one question:
“Can this person solve the problem I need solved?”
Your explanation does not need drama or self-blame. It needs neutrality.
Structure:
Brief context.
Ownership (if relevant).
What you learned.
Why you’re ready now.
Example structure:
“The role shifted in a direction that wasn’t the right fit. It pushed me to reassess my strengths, and I’m now focused on X, where I’ve consistently delivered Y.”
Short. Controlled. Forward-facing.
No shame. No over-explaining.
3. They detach identity from outcome
Right now your brain is telling you:
“They fired me → I’m not good enough.”
That’s a cognitive distortion.
Companies fire high performers.
Companies fire people during restructuring.
Companies fire people due to politics.
Companies fire people because managers are insecure.
Companies fire people because the business model fails.
A termination reflects a system interaction — not your inherent capability.
Your past achievements still happened.
Your skills did not evaporate.
Your competence didn’t get deleted from existence.
4. They treat fear like background noise
The fear doesn’t disappear before you apply.
You apply with fear.
Courage isn’t feeling strong.
It’s clicking “Apply” while your stomach tightens.
If rejection happens, your nervous system spikes.
But here’s what survivors learn:
Rejection hurts less than stagnation.
Stagnation corrodes identity.
Rejection just stings.
5. They create structure when motivation is gone
When confidence collapses, discipline replaces it.
Try this for 2 weeks:
1 hour max job search per day.
3 applications per day, no more.
Stop after that.
Track applications in a simple spreadsheet.
Walk or exercise after applying (physically discharge stress).
This prevents burnout and doom-scrolling portals for 5 hours.
6. They rebuild confidence outside the job market
When work identity breaks, self-worth drops.
So people survive by:
Learning something small (course, certification, skill refresh).
Volunteering.
Freelancing short-term.
Helping someone else with their resume.
Reconnecting with old colleagues.
Progress in any direction stabilizes the psyche.
7. They allow shame — but don’t obey it
Shame says:
“Hide.”
“Don’t tell people.”
“You’re behind.”
But the fastest path forward is often:
Tell 3 trusted people you’re looking.
Ask directly if they know of openings.
Send honest messages.
Networking feels vulnerable — but referrals statistically outperform cold applications.
The Very First Step (Today)
Not tomorrow.
Today:
Open your resume.
Change one sentence.
Save it.
Close the laptop.
That’s it.
No portal.
No applying.
No proving yourself.
Just movement.
Tomorrow, you do one more small thing.
You don’t rebuild confidence by thinking.
You rebuild it by accumulating micro-wins.
And one more thing:
The place that fired you is not the final authority on your value.
It was one environment.
One context.
One decision.
You are in a low-confidence phase — not a low-capability phase.
Those are very different things.
If you want, tell me:
What field you’re in
How long you’ve been searching
What specifically they said when you were let go
We can make this tactical.
Broke up with my ex, lost my job, homeless, and depression is creeping in. Where to go from here… 32F
I broke up with my ex boyfriend of almost 8 years last month. I still love him dearly but where we are in our lives vs where we want to be, just isn’t in alignment anymore and I ended up carrying a lot of the emotional labor the last year. I left and moved into my car with the plan of saving up money to get into another place but exactly one week later, I was let go from my job. I filed for unemployment immediately, that’s a long process. I filed for food stamps, can’t get those without another pending process now and I found out my tax return is going to be delayed because I need to verify my identity this year…. I’m broke. Living out of my car. I’m sad and to top it off, I’m also a parent that had to temporarily give over guardianship because of the situation I’m in currently. Depression is starting to linger more and more each day. I’ve applied to so many jobs just for ANYTHING. I’ve gotten nothing back. I’m about to go into week 3 of this hell. I can’t even door dash because of a couple tickets on my MVR from a few years ago. Life has me pinned against the wall and I don’t know what to do.
I’m also ADHD. I’m prescribed Vyvans but it only helps to some degree as far as focus. I’ve struggled financially my whole life and I’m sick of it but don’t know where to go from here. I’ve had office jobs this whole time and know I’ve hated it, but being a parent it’s hard to just up and change your career having to start from the bottom again. Especially in this economy. I also have no family and support where I live. I’m crying while writing this because I feel so helpless and depressed right now.
I know now is my opportunity to jump into a new career field but I don’t even know what I want to do. I know being the person I am, I would like something fast paced, where I’m not doing the same thing every day and can move my body. I thought about bartending or serving to get into bartending but in my area (Idaho) I don’t know if the money would be there. I’m just so lost. I need a career. I just don’t know where to turn. So here I am, asking for some support and help. I’m really down today. Thanks guys
Jobadvisor
I am so incredibly sorry you are carrying all of this at once. To lose a long-term partner, a job, and your home within a single month is a series of "life-quakes" that would level anyone. It is completely valid that you feel pinned against the wall.
The fact that you are even thinking about a career shift while living in your car shows a level of resilience that you might not be giving yourself credit for right now. Let’s focus on stabilizing your "ship" first, then look at the horizon.
1. Immediate Survival & Stabilization
Since you are in Idaho and waiting on bureaucracy (unemployment/SNAP), you need "now" resources.
Dial 211: This is the universal number for essential community services. They can direct you to food banks that don't require SNAP cards, "Safe Parking" programs for people living in cars, and emergency rental assistance.
The Identity Verification: If you can, go to a local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center in person. Sometimes they can verify you on the spot rather than waiting for the mail, which could speed up that refund.
ADHD & Vyvanse: Living in a car makes medication management and routine impossible. If your prescription is running low, check GoodRx or the manufacturer’s website for "Patient Assistance Programs" since you currently have no income.
2. High-Movement, Fast-Paced Career Ideas
Your instinct about bartending/serving is spot on for ADHD. You need high stimulation, immediate feedback, and physical movement. In Idaho (especially if you are near Boise, Coeur d'Alene, or resort towns), the money in service can be significantly better than entry-level office work because of the tips.
Other "ADHD-Friendly" paths to consider:
Phlebotomy: It requires a very short certification (often a few weeks). It’s fast-paced, clinical but social, and you move from patient to patient constantly.
Warehouse/Logistics (e.g., FedEx/UPS): Not the "dream," but they often hire quickly, it's very physical, and the "sort" environment is great for staying out of your head.
Trade Apprenticeships: Idaho has a huge demand for trades. Look into "Idaho Launch"—it’s a state program that offers grants (sometimes covering 80% of costs) for training in "in-demand" careers like HVAC, electrical, or CDL driving.
3. The "Mindset Adjustment"
You mentioned feeling like a failure for starting at the bottom at 32. Please hear this: You aren't starting from scratch; you are starting from experience.
An office background means you have "soft skills" (organization, communication, tech literacy) that many people in labor-intensive jobs lack. This makes you "management material" very quickly in those fields.
Forgive yourself for the guardianship decision. You did the most loving thing a parent can do: you ensured your child was safe and fed while you fight this battle. That isn't a failure; it's a sacrifice.
A Small, Practical Step
The "waiting" is what feeds the depression. To break the paralysis, we need one win.
Got a “promotion” without a raise or job position change
Had a full team meeting where it was announced (I was not informed previously) that I am moving into a higher position and someone in the higher position is moving down into my position. So basically we are switching places and I am now training him on everything I was doing, he has nothing to train me on…I was told I was a better fit. However, I was told I will not be getting the higher job title, the other person is keeping their higher job title, and there is no raise. So basically I am getting more responsibilities without any benefits. I am completely pissed off and don’t know what to do in this situation. I loved my now previous job and manager and feel burnt out already with the new ones. My new manager says we can put together a “performance plan” to maybe get these things in the future but I feel I already earned it because they already gave it to me?! Any advice?
Jobadvisor
That is an incredibly frustrating and, frankly, poorly handled "promotion." Being blindsided in a team meeting is unprofessional, but being told you are a "better fit" for a higher role while the person failing at it gets to keep the title and the salary is a massive red flag.
Essentially, your company is asking you to do the work of a higher bracket for a discount, while you also act as a safety net for the person who was demoted in practice but not in pay.
Here is how to navigate this without burning your career to the ground—or letting them walk all over you.
1. The "Performance Plan" Trap
When a manager suggests a "performance plan" to get a title you are already performing, it’s often a stalling tactic.
The Logic: If you weren't "performing" at that level, they wouldn't have switched the roles.
The Risk: They get the higher-level work from you now for free, while dangling a carrot that they can move further away in 6 months by saying "the budget changed."
2. The Strategy: "The Scope Realignment"
Since you are already in the role, you need to have a formal, one-on-one meeting with your new manager immediately. Don't frame it as a complaint; frame it as clarifying the business logic.
Key talking points:
Title Parity: "Since the team was told I am now in the [Higher Role] position, my external and internal title needs to reflect that so I have the authority to execute the responsibilities effectively. When will the HR system reflect this change?"
The Compensation Gap: "I understand the transition happened quickly, but I’ve taken on [List 3 New High-Level Tasks]. Usually, a shift in core responsibilities comes with a salary adjustment. If a raise isn't possible today, I need a written, dated agreement on when the mid-year adjustment will occur."
The "Training" Irony: If you are training the person who used to have the job, you are effectively a Lead/Senior trainer. Mention that this is an additional layer of responsibility on top of the new role.
3. Inventory Your Burnout
You mentioned you loved your old manager and role. This "switch" has robbed you of your job satisfaction.
The "Quiet" Search: Update your resume immediately. You now have the "Higher Position" experience. On your resume, list your title as the higher one (or "Acting [Higher Title]") because that is the work you are doing.
Market Value: Look up what the higher role pays in your area. If the gap between your current pay and that market rate is more than 15-20%, the company is essentially "taxing" you for your competence.
Summary Table: What they said vs. The Reality
| What they said | What it actually means |
| "You're a better fit." | You are more competent and we need you to fix his mess. |
| "He's keeping his title." | We don't want to deal with the HR paperwork or the awkwardness of a demotion. |
| "Performance Plan for a raise." | We want to see how long you'll do this for your current salary. |
Your Next Step
Do not wait for the "performance plan" meeting to happen on their terms.