Hey folks! How do you decide what's a good % of hike after working at a company? So far, I've mostly accepted what the company said (say 20%) or tried to check stackoverflow jobs to see 75th/90th percentile based on similar jobs/experience etc but overall it feels like I just say a random number and not super happy with the approach I take. There have been instances where I felt underpaid after some time (because I work more hours/put more effort than I expect to get stuff done). Do you follow any specific method that works well?

Instead of asking for X percentage of hike, ask the company what's their budget for the job/profile. Never reveal your salary details because that's their trump card to manipulate you. If possible, try to delay sharing the salary details until the very end of all rounds, at that point, they will simply hire you for whatever amount you ask.

Thanks for your answer, but even when they say the amount - it's the problem of deciding whether it's a fair value. Simply put, my question is more about if X is a fair amount of money for the work I'll be doing in the future.

its a never ending loop , whatever compensation one gets after 3-6 months starts thinking that i could have get better compensation. There is not way to find out fair value , its all relative so better is find a workplace where you enjoy working and feel comfortable , fair amount compensation will follow you automatically

Compensation is weakly correlated to amount of work or skill, if it is even correlated at all. I pulled a ridiculous number out of thin air and got what I quoted no questions asked, which made me think I may have underquoted. 😂. It's neverending like @clean-salesmen-57717 said. Find a place that you can tolerate or enjoy, and get a number that covers your costs and savings for future aspirations, somewhere in the market range.

Thanks for your answers