I employ around 60 people currently so if I parrot what other people with businesses say it can be wrong but I can tell you from my perspective. However before telling you this, I think it is important to note that from 1200 to 2000 euro it is a pretty big increase. Currently it is quite easy to job hop between companies up to the 1600 euro net mark (I always refer to net) which with 14 salaries which is what private sector legally has to pay is around 1800 closer to 1900.

Anyway, so most of the people (and especially the younger ones) only ask for money upfront and have the mentality that regardless of how much they will get it is too little and do not want to prove they are capable. I do something different, I start with whatever we initially agree on and I reevaluate in the 3 month mark where either they get a sizeable raise or leave and then at 6 months when they will get another raise and then depending on the position, a plan of how their income will grow. Different positions have different ceilings but if a person is good and shows interest I will find something else for them to do and make more money.

Since I am a medium sized company for international standards, I don’t have the pull big names do. People who come will learn and I will also invest a lot in them for jobs that have clear growth potential. A private business will always require more work because it doesn’t have the turnover of a multinational for redundancy but this is also where you can be seen and be given opportunities. I’m also in relatively niche segments where I’ll get people either for the lab or for sales and they know absolutely nothing about the job and as such it makes zero sense to start people from very high salaries but again, when someone shows potential and interest I sit them down and I tell them, every year you will get this raise, after this time I’ll cover your gas, after this time I’ll give you a car (for some), I’ll add private insurance and bla bla bla. Not everyone is like me but I’m also not in a million. So having said that, one can choose to work initially for marginally more and prove themselves and get money when they are actually useful or they can stay at their lower income jobs forever.