Just trying to get a feel for what to expect going into my first comp discussion later this week because I have approximately 0 experience. I'm at a boutique firm in the northeast and my starting salary was in-line with Big4 so there wasn't any negotiating at that time. All my ratings have been above-average since I started, and I was told (grain of salt) by a partner at my last review that I'm in line for a promotion to senior in July, which would be a year and a half since I started. Situation is a little unique because I'm in a new office of my firm, and while the company overall was profitable, my office basically broke even. I don't have any concept of how much I need to reign in my comp expectations based on this. I actually like my job, so I'd prefer to stay where I'm at, but I've heard enough to be wary of getting low-balled. My main concern is that they try to use the "impending promotion" as a way to try to get me to accept peanuts for a comp increase. I don't think I'm in a good position to jump ship right now since I don't have my CPA yet (s/b within 6 mo) so am I kind of screwed in terms of leverage here? Any suggestions on my best play?
