3. You will *never* have a better opportunity to get a massive raise than when you first join a company. Once you're at a company, you will have to live within the system of annual adjustments. Extra compensation you negotiate coming in forms the basis of all future raises and bonuses, and it's extremely important to maximize.
When I first joined my company (almost 11 years ago), my mentor told me 'The only way to make money is after three years, you go to another job for a 33% raise, then after three years you come back for another 33% raise'. Sadly, this is the truth. I've been offered increases of that much from headhunters, but my annual raise has been between 3% and 9% except for promotions.
I am not sure if the company should reward loyalty more (retain the knowledge), or take advantage of that loyalty. You can't work for a company that is out of business because they don't have money, but at the same time a company can't stay in business without keeping talented employees.
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