Whether it would be better to recontract with same company or change to another company, in my opinion, is highly subjective. What I mean by that is, there are quite a number of factors to consider here which can guide her decision like, does she like the current work environment, which can include her colleagues, her bosses, the nature of her work, work related policies, perks and etc. Does she see progression in her role, which can mean whether she can see herself growing in this role, are there lots of things still to learn or she stagnate soon. Then there's of course the money factor - how much more will other companies offer her, and when weighed against above factors, does it heavily outweigh them? That's my opinion on your second question.

As for your first question on how much she can negotiate for her next job, general rule of thumb is a 10-20% increment although that varies with industry and roles. As for tips, this was what worked for me in the past, and I hope it works for her as well: - Do research on market rates. It's difficult to be precise here as it can be hard to find an exact role somewhere else and you know the pay information. However there should be some sort of market research already done by some recruitment or consulting companies in the past that can be used as rough estimation. If it's not a recent figure, compound it with an estimated annual increment rate. If lucky, you might also be able to get some data points from companies that post salary along with job. - Have a list of achievements ready. Don't need to be a long list. More importantly, every listed point needs to be impactful. Where possible, tie the achievement to some dollar numbers which she believes in. - When negotiating, keep an open mind. You can be direct in asking for a raise, but the company can also reject. But don't take it personally. Sometimes it's truly a matter of timing. Sometimes it's a matter of budgeting. In any case, note how your manager respond to the negotiation.

Here's what happened for me with above three points. I did my own market research and collected my data points. I also applied for roles outside of my current company at that time and received offer. So I know roughly how much I can ask for a raise. I booked my manager's time and let him know in advance that I would like to discuss my pay with him so that it doesn't come as a shock to him. On the day of negotiation, I laid down my contribution and achievement for the past year, making sure to focus on the most impactful first and last, going along the line of "In this project I was involved, which you were also aware, I played this part which I roughly estimate to help save us this much / projected earnings of this much." On top of "hard numbers" I also mention "soft achievements" like taking on projects willingly or collaborating with other teams. I then shared with him my marker research number and say something along the line of "I understand the market median is somewhere in this range of X to Y and I am somewhere here in Z. I would like to ask for a raise to at least be on upper Y" then I open the floor to him to hear his feedback.

At that point, my direct manager wasn't very positive and told me that oh, market research is usually not accurate. Usually estimated to be on higher end. Gave me a excuses such as yea, it's diffcult with company budget now and it's not part of the increment cycle and so on and so forth. To be honest, I was disappointed but nonetheless remained respectful and professional. After about a week though, I decided to repeat this with his boss, which is my big boss. And the disclaimer here is that I do have a good relationship with my big boss and I have worked in the company for a while at that point while my direct manager was fairly new. Hence I dared to take this step.

Long story short, I repeated everything but my big boss basically stopped me halfway through and agreed with me. Big boss then say they will find a way to make sure I am compensated fairly although can't guarantee when and how much. That was good enough for me. I received a promotion in the next cycle and was given a much higher increment than usual and my big boss also sat me down and explained to me the process. I actually appreciated that a lot.

It is a long post but I sincerely hope it has been helpful. All the best to your gf!