Changing employers is often one of the more effective ways to increase pay, since internal raises are typically capped by a company’s budgeted merit-increase percentage for the year, while an external offer is priced against the broader market for your role and experience. A new employer is also starting a compensation conversation from scratch, without anchoring to your current salary the way an internal raise conversation often does.
That said, switching companies purely for pay comes with tradeoffs worth weighing. Frequent short tenures can raise questions from future employers about stability, even though attitudes toward job-hopping have relaxed considerably over the past decade compared to previous generations. Benefits like accrued vacation time, vesting equity, or tenure-based perks typically reset with a new employer, which can offset some of the salary gain, at least in the short term.
When negotiating a new offer specifically to increase pay, come prepared with a clear sense of market rate for the role, ideally supported by more than one data point, and be direct that compensation is a primary factor in your decision without framing it as the only one — employers respond better to candidates who can also speak to genuine interest in the role and company, not just the number on the offer letter.