Shark Tank judge Anupam Mittal sparks debate on 35% hike demand while changing jobs, asks ‘Ye standard kisne banaya?’
Anupam Mittal, Shark Tank India judge and founder and CEO of People Group and Shaadi.com, sparked a heated debate online after questioning why candidates were demanding 35 per cent raise to change jobs.
Mittal lashed out at job seekers asking for a 35 per cent raise to change jobs, writing a mock dialogue on social media platform
As of 8.46pm on October 27, when this article was written, the viral post has been viewed at least 1 lakh times on the platform. Additionally, more than 290 comments, approximately 35 quote posts, and more than 800 likes were generated.
‘He has the right to have some arbitrary standards’
Anupam Mittal’s post, known for his vocal engagement on social media, appeared to receive significant pushback. He followed up four hours later with another post explaining why he questioned the percentage job seekers were demanding in salary increases.
“What most of you geniuses are missing is that you have the right to have an arbitrary standard. If a role deserves it, you have to ask for twice as much, why only 35%? In the end, the market decides,” he said.
‘Why can’t people ask? 35% less…’: How did netizens react?
Anupam Mittal’s post sparked a heated debate about salary hikes and increments at X, with many netizens calling out the founder’s stance on the issue.
A social media user commented on the post, “35% to Kam bola (35% less)… More than 50% these days. Nowadays candidates want salary according to skill.” Mittal accordingly agreed that “value (increase) should be proportional to skill.”
Another user joked, “Sir, 35% bonus is given in valuation to qualify karte hain, this is VC standard.” (Sir, they deserve at least a 35% bonus in the last valuation round, this is the VC standard).
A netizen also asked the entrepreneur: “Why can’t people ask for a higher raise when you can always ask for higher equity?” Mittal replied: “They can definitely ask, but will the market determine what they won’t buy?” and the commenter added: “Sure. Giving that raise depends on the market, value added, budget and importance of the role. However, I believe it’s totally okay to ask for more if you can support it. Maybe “standard hai” isn’t the way to do it.”
Another netizen asked: “Okay… then do you want to give 100%?” and Mittal replied: “Absolutely. If that’s what the role requires. But I’m definitely not suggesting you pay some made-up ‘standard’ pay.”
Another user asked Mittal what is the best way to ask for a raise: “What do you think is reasonable to ask in these situations? It’s quite difficult to measure. Shouldn’t the HR team talk about the salary they are willing to offer?” To which Mittal replied: “I think it should be a function of being paid for the role. Whether it’s 10%, 35% or 100%. Ultimately the market decides your value, so the idea should be to maximize capacity. But no one can ask for 35% because that’s a ‘standard’. In my opinion, that would be immediately rejected.”
‘Offer according to your budget… imaginary value, imaginary market… share the salary band’
However, netizens were not convinced. Many said companies do not post a salary range in job postings up front, which will then eliminate the conversation. Others added that it was company HRs who used previous salaries as a reference for the new offer, and candidates complied. Others noted that “market value” is too vague a term to measure in percentage terms when talking about salaries and raises. Here’s a look:
